… Read Full Bio ↴Colour Revolt is an American indie rock band from Jackson, Mississippi.
Colour Revolt's members first played together while they were high school students at Jackson Academy in Jackson, MS under the name Foxxe, then changing to Fletcher and releasing a full length entitled "Friends Don't Speak". They then moved on to become college students at the University of Mississippi in Oxford, Mississippi. They take their current name from Edwin Abbott's mathematical novel, Flatland.
The group had intended to record their first EP in Mississippi in August of 2005, but Hurricane Katrina interrupted the recording session, and so they recorded it in the house of local label Esperanza Plantation's owner. The self-titled EP came out in December of 2005; following this the group toured with Brand New and signed to Interscope Records, who re-released the EP on their subsidiary Tiny Evil in October 2006.
The group has also performed at SXSW and toured with Dinosaur Jr., Black Lips, Okkervil River, Menomena, Paper Rival, Explosions in the Sky, Malajube, Anathallo, and Manchester Orchestra.
They then signed with Fat Possum Records; their full-length debut, produced by Clay Jones, was released on April 1, 2008. In 2008, Boston newspaper The Phoenix named them the Best New Band from Mississippi.
Jesse Coppenbarger - vocals, guitar, keyboard
Sean Kirkpatrick. - vocals, guitar, keyboards
Former
Len Clark - drums, vocals
Drew Mellon - bass
Patrick Addison - bass
Jimmy Cajoleas - guitar
Swamp
Colour Revolt Lyrics
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Something easy you could read good
And they shaved your head
Now quickly man
All that salt went pouring in
It gets harder as you get older
Something deep inside your chest
Just the innocence and the bliss
And i said to him
What a demon man you have conquered
Cause every man has a different plan of what he wants
Deep down in the seas of what you had and what you do not know
Every man has got a different plan of where he goes
And i said, i've got nothing
This evil body never tried
With all them rattling bones
Yeah i guess i sleep alright
My mind, my body
Were made for good and evil too
Well i got an eye for an eye if you gotta a tooth to use
I have nothing
Your hands of time
Ripped off a soft rewind
I'll rip them off the spine
Of all your hands of human kind
Well some may see it this way when the devil's got his armies marching in
Even in the summer where the day it ends and night begins
Thought you see it this way the king has got it's own way back
Aw yeah, i want it easier than anyone
I have nothing to prove
I have nothing
Ripped off a soft rewind
Well i'll rip them off the spine of all your hands of human kind
My mind, my body
Were made for good and evil too
Well i got an eye for eye
If you got a tooth to use
I have nothing
Your hands of time ripped off a soft rewind
Well i'll rip them off the spine of all your hands of mankind
The lyrics of Colour Revolt's song "Swamp" are deceptively simple, yet offer a wealth of interpretation. The opening lines - "Well they wrote it nice and clearly son / Something easy you could read good" - suggest a critique of society's predilection for simplification and oversimplification. The singer then alludes to some kind of physical alteration - "And they shaved your head / Now quickly man / All that salt went pouring in" - that is perhaps a metaphor for the stripping away of identity or individuality.
The subsequent verses touch on themes of innocence, inner turmoil, and the variability of human desires and drives. The line "And, my god, there's nothing wrong here / Just the innocence and the bliss" could be seen as a reference to the singer's own psychological state - he may feel that there are no external issues plaguing him, only the internal turmoil that so often accompanies the human experience. The singer also touches upon the idea that each person's individual motivations and yearnings are unique and often obscure - "Every man has a different plan of what he wants / Deep down in the seas of what you had and what you do not know."
The final lines of the song - "Your hands of time / Ripped off a soft rewind / Well I'll rip them off the spine / Of all your hands of human kind" - suggest a desire to seize control of one's own destiny and reject the strictures of time and society. The overall mood of "Swamp" is at once melancholic and introspective, yet tinged with a subtle desire for liberation.
Line by Line Meaning
Well they wrote it nice and clearly son
The message was delivered in a straightforward manner
Something easy you could read good
The message was simple and understandable
And they shaved your head
They took away your identity
Now quickly man
Act fast to preserve yourself
All that salt went pouring in
The harsh reality hit you hard
It gets harder as you get older
Life becomes more challenging as time passes
Something deep inside your chest
There is a profound feeling within you
And, my god, there's nothing wrong here
Everything seems to be in order
Just the innocence and the bliss
You are living in a state of purity and happiness
And i said to him
I addressed the person
What a demon man you have conquered
You have overcome a personal demon
Cause every man has a different plan of what he wants
Everyone has their own desires and goals
Deep down in the seas of what you had and what you do not know
There are unknown depths within yourself
Every man has got a different plan of where he goes
Everyone has their own path in life
And i said, i've got nothing
I have nothing to offer or prove
This evil body never tried
The physical body has never been challenged
With all them rattling bones
In spite of the body's limitations
Yeah i guess i sleep alright
I can rest easy at night
My mind, my body
Both my mental and physical being
Were made for good and evil too
Are capable of both good and bad
Well i got an eye for an eye if you gotta a tooth to use
I am capable of retaliation
I have nothing
I lack possessions and accomplishments
Your hands of time
The passage of time controlled by fate
Ripped off a soft rewind
Undoing past actions is impossible
I'll rip them off the spine
I will break free from predetermined fate
Of all your hands of human kind
Of the fate that controls all humanity
Well some may see it this way when the devil's got his armies marching in
Some see evil prevailing when it appears to be winning
Even in the summer where the day it ends and night begins
Even during times of change and transition
Thought you see it this way the king has got it's own way back
The establishment will always maintain control
Aw yeah, i want it easier than anyone
I desire an easy life
I have nothing to prove
I do not have to demonstrate anything
Your hands of time ripped off a soft rewind
Fate makes it impossible to undo actions
Well i'll rip them off the spine of all your hands of mankind
I will resist and break free from predetermined fate
My mind, my body
Both my mental and physical being
Were made for good and evil too
Are capable of both good and bad
Well i got an eye for eye
I am capable of retaliation
If you got a tooth to use
If provoked, I will respond with force
I have nothing
I lack possessions and accomplishments
Your hands of time ripped off a soft rewind
Fate makes it impossible to undo actions
Well i'll rip them off the spine
I will resist and break free from predetermined fate
Of all your hands of mankind
Of the fate that controls all humanity
Contributed by Sadie C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.