Stetson earned a degree in music from the University of Michigan in 1997. Six years in San Francisco followed, then another four in Brooklyn, NY. Over this time, he developed his techniques on saxophones and clarinets, culminating in the release of the album New History Warfare Vol. 1″ on Agoo Records in 2008.
His album New History Warfare Vol. 2: Judges” will be released Feb. 22, 2011 on Constellation. The final album of the trilogy, New History Warfare Vol. 3: To See More Light, was released by Constellation Records in April 2013, and was a long-list nominee for the 2013 Polaris Music Prize.
Aside from his work as a soloist, Stetson has brought his talents to the stage and studio with dozens of artists, including Tom Waits, Arcade Fire, TV on the Radio, Feist, Bon Iver, Laurie Anderson, Lou Reed, David Byrne, Jolie Holland, Sinead O’Connor, LCD Soundsystem, The National, Angelique Kidjo, and Anthony Braxton.
He is a regular member of the bands Sway Machinery and Bell Orchestre and has been a touring member of Bon Iver in support of their new record in 2011, on which he also appears.
A collaborative studio album with violinist Sarah Neufeld entitled "Never Were the Way She Was" was released in 2015. Subsequent albums include "SORROW: A Reimagining of Henryk Górecki's 3rd Symphony" (2016), "All This I Do for Glory" (2017), Chimæra I (2022)...
Since 2013, Stetson has contributed, the scores to several films and television series.
Constellation Artist Page: www.cstrecords.com/colin-stetson
Billions Artist Page: www.billions.com/colinstetson
All the Colors Bleached to White
Colin Stetson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is a fast color always zooming away
This was something everyone knew
And here they come, the people from the bible
And so we waved our shredded flags
Not knowing what they mean at all, after all
All the colors bleached to white
The opening line of Colin Stetson's song All the Colors Bleached to White, "Red is a fast color always zooming away," is a poignant commentary on the fleeting nature of human existence. Red, often associated with passion and intensity, is described as zooming away, suggesting the transience and impermanence of life. The next few lines mention "the people from the bible" and how they wave "shredded flags," but don't really know the meaning behind them. This could be interpreted as a criticism of blind faith, or following a belief system without truly understanding or questioning it.
The closing line 'all the colors bleached to white' is a powerful image representing the loss of diversity and vibrancy in life over time. Colors fading away and turning white suggests a loss of character, identity, and uniqueness.
In summary, the song All the Colors Bleached to White is a beautiful rumination on the transient nature of life, the danger of blindly following belief systems and the loss of diversity over time.
Line by Line Meaning
Red
The color red represents speed and is always quickly moving away.
Is a fast color always zooming away
Red represents speed, always zooming away from us at a fast pace.
This was something everyone knew
Everyone was aware that red represented speed and was always moving quickly.
And here they come, the people from the bible
The people from the bible have arrived on the scene.
And so we waved our shredded flags
In response, we began waving our shredded flags, uncertain of what they truly represented.
Not knowing what they mean at all, after all
Despite waving our flags, we didn't fully understand their true meaning.
All the colors bleached to white
Over time, all the colors lost their vibrancy and eventually became white.
Writer(s): Colin Stetson, Laurie Anderson
Contributed by Adeline H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.