1) Come was an American indie … Read Full Bio ↴There are multiple artists named "Come".
1) Come was an American indie rock band from 1990-2001 formed in Boston, Massachusetts by Thalia Zedek (vocal, guitar), Chris Brokaw (guitar, vocal), Arthur Johnson (drums), and Sean O'Brien (bass).
Come came into being after a mutual acquaintance invited Brokaw, O'Brien, and Johnson to play with him; after one show the three decided to split off into their own project, inviting Zedek to join them. Zedek's former band, the post-no wave New York band Live Skull, disbanded in 1990. Zedek played in the bands Uzi and Dangerous Birds before that. Brokaw was playing drums with Codeine, and he and Zedek had been talking about playing together. Johnson was previously the drummer for the Athens, Georgia band Bar-B-Q Killers, while O'Brien had played with Kilkenny Cats and Fashion Battery, two other 1980s Athens bands.
After a year of jamming together, Come debuted with the 12-inch single Car on Sub Pop in 1991. The song, a seven-minute epic in the blues-noir style of The Birthday Party and These Immortal Souls, encapsulated what was to become the trademark style of Come: dark, intense and lengthy songs marked by Zedek's emotional and distressed vocals, abrupt rhythms, and the tension-filled guitar interplay between Zedek and Brokaw, both extraordinarily accomplished guitarists.
Come released its debut album Eleven:Eleven on Matador Records in 1992 to general acclaim in both the independent and established media. Brokaw left Codeine after the release, devoting himself full-time to Come.
The band released its second album, Don't Ask Don't Tell, in 1994. Though somewhat calmer than its predecessor, it was equally as grave. Among the highlights of the album, and of the whole of the band's impressive song catalogue, are the two dark ballads, Let's Get Lost and Arrive, each closing a side of the vinyl edition.
Johnson and O'Brien left the band after Don't Ask Don't Tell to pursue other careers. The following album, the short Near Life Experience, was recorded with a number of different musicians, including drummer Mac McNeilly of the Jesus Lizard and John McEntire of Tortoise.
Come's original lineup formed the backing band on Steve Wynn's 1996 album Melting in the Dark.
The last album from Come, the 66-minute tour de force Gently, Down the Stream, took its cue from Near Life Experience, but with a more fluent integrated soundscape.
Zedek and Brokaw took a break after Gently, Down the Stream, and the band has released no new music since 1998. However, its founders have since each released multiple albums, both solo and with new projects. The band reformed for a few performances in 2007-2008, including the 20th anniversary of the Middle East Club in Cambridge, which had been the site of Come's final performance. In November 2008, Come reformed for a one-off performance in Castellón, Spain, as part of the 2008 Tanned Tin Festival.
As of 2018 Come is again touring, with the original lineup of Chris, Thalia, Arthur, and Sean.
2) Come was an English industrial/noise project which was founded in 1979 by William Bennett, who would later create the infamous power electronics group Whitehouse after Come disbanded. Other members of Come were J.G. Thirlwell, who would later leave the group and create Foetus, and Daniel Miller, founder of Mute Records.
(3) Come may appear as an incorrect tag for the French singer-songwriter Côme: https://www.last.fm/music/Côme
Poison
Come Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hold onto where you're leaking
Give the flower to the teacher
Eat the apple before it eats you x2
Why should I be
Any different?
Even though I am
I haven't changed
It's just a different time
And it's not the same
You better watch what you're breathing
You better smell what you're eating
Would you swallow if you were drowning? X2
An d you tell me
Just stop that thinking
I'm gonna stop
But I can still think
But what do you think?
Do you join the procession?
Join the procession?
You tried to help me but I felt so surrounded
Tried to get out but I felt so surrounded
The lyrics to Come's song "Poison" might seem cryptic and abstract at first glance, but they actually convey a powerful message about the pressures of conformity and the need to stay true to oneself. The song opens with the lines "You better hold on to yourself / Hold onto where you're leaking," which suggest a warning against losing one's sense of identity and becoming absorbed into the expectations of others. The next lines, "Give the flower to the teacher / Eat the apple before it eats you," seem to reference the story of Adam and Eve and the temptation to give up one's own agency in favor of external authority.
The second verse continues the theme of struggling against conformity, with the lines "Why should I be / Any different? / Even though I am / But you tell me that / I haven't changed / It's just a different time / And it's not the same." These lyrics suggest that the pressure to conform can be especially insidious when it's presented as "just the way things are," and that it takes real effort to resist the pull of expectations.
The chorus, which repeats the lines "You better watch what you're breathing / You better smell what you're eating / Would you swallow if you were drowning?", further emphasizes the dangers of blindly accepting external messages and the need to be conscious of what's happening around you. The final lines, "You tried to help me but I felt so surrounded / Tried to get out but I felt so surrounded," drive home the overwhelming pressure to conform and the difficulty of escaping it.
Overall, "Poison" is a powerful critique of societal pressure and a call to stay true to oneself even in the face of intense external expectations.
Line by Line Meaning
You better hold on to yourself
Take care of yourself and be mindful of your actions
Hold onto where you're leaking
Don't let your insecurities and weaknesses control you
Give the flower to the teacher
Share your knowledge and experiences with others
Eat the apple before it eats you
Deal with your problems before they become worse
Why should I be any different?
Why should I change who I am to fit in with society's expectations?
Even though I am
Despite being unique and different
But you tell me that I haven't changed
Others may not see or appreciate personal growth and change
It's just a different time
The world and society is ever-changing
And it's not the same
Things are not the same as they were in the past
You better watch what you're breathing
Be cautious of what influences and ideas you allow into your life
You better smell what you're eating
Be mindful of what you consume and how it affects you
Would you swallow if you were drowning?
Don't blindly accept everything that comes your way
And you tell me just stop that thinking
Don't let others discourage your independent thought and ideas
I'm gonna stop but I can still think
Even if you try to conform, you can still have independent thought and ideas
But what do you think?
What are your thoughts and opinions on the matter?
Do you join the procession?
Will you conform to society's norms and values?
You tried to help me but I felt so surrounded
Even with good intentions, external help can feel overwhelming and intrusive
Tried to get out but I felt so surrounded
It can be difficult to escape societal pressures and expectations
Contributed by Jonathan F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.