Stith comes from a musical family: his father is a college wind ensemble director and former church choir director; his grandfather is professor emeritus in the music department at Cornell University; his mother is a pianist; his sisters sing opera, play piano, tap dance, play timpani and are excellent soft ball players. Stith grew up dreading the family ensemble's appearances in church, preferring instead to draw mazes on the blank sides of church bulletins during services. In fifth grade, a harrowing performance of Phantom of the Opera at a school assembly (accompanied by his mother on piano) nearly turned him off to music for good. He started a noise band in high school, called Starchild (or Starchildren, or The Pool - they never did quite decide); but they preferred painting their guitars over playing them. David wrote a lot of bad poetry during this time.
In college, Stith attempted writing a novel and a children's book, illustrating his work with original woodcut prints. His pursuit of writing and illustration brought him from Rochester to Brooklyn, where he took up work as a graphic designer. While in Brooklyn, Stith befriended Shara Worden (of My Brightest Diamond), and soon after began facilitating, in small technical ways, the recording of her album Bring Me The Workhorse. This, in turn, spurred Stith to begin writing and recording songs of his own. It was a casual, private affair. He spent countless days stored away in his bedroom, sketching folk songs with epic electronic gestures, a rekindling of passions for his first familial love: music.
Stith completed his first catalog of songs for an album called Ichabod and Apple, written and recorded in the first month of his song-writing experiments. His first full length album is Heavy Ghost, on Asthmatic Kitty Records.
Stith collaborates with fellow American John-Mark Lapham (formerly of UK/US quartet The Earlies) under the band name The Revival Hour.
His second studio album "Pigeonheart" was released on July 29, 2016.
Pigs
DM Stith Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
oh, what I done, what I done to keep this mystery
cuz, this is the night of reckoning
and it don't seem right to keep to me
I'm leaving out the parts I don't believe in
Oh, I'm restless as a geyser,
like a blind animal in water
oh, arm of the devil, fool of the devil
oh, arm of the dreamer, the dreamer, the dreamer
about to rain
bind and unbind starlings
cursive with litanies about to rain
overtake and overtake..
like out at the pond when the storm came marching in
where play turns to play turns to play
it marks the day
so I'm done leaving out my family in the rain
The lyrics to DM Stith's song Pigs talk about rejecting something that is being offered to the singer. The singer has done something in the past to keep a certain mystery, but tonight is the night of reckoning and keeping this mystery doesn't feel right. The singer wants to leave out the parts they don't believe in and they feel restless, like a geyser or like a blind animal in water. The lyrics mention the arm of the devil and the arm of the dreamer, and the imminent rain. The rain is the signal for the starlings to bind and unbind, as if in cursive with litanies. The storm came in like it does in the pond, where play turns to play, marking the day. The lyrics end with the acknowledgment that the singer is done leaving their family out in the rain.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm through accepting what you offer me
I am no longer willing to take what you give me without questioning it.
oh, what I done, what I done to keep this mystery
I wonder what actions I have taken to keep the secrets hidden from myself.
cuz, this is the night of reckoning
Because tonight is the time of judgment.
and it don't seem right to keep to me
And it does not feel fair to me to keep it hidden.
I'm leaving out the parts I don't believe in
I am omitting the parts of the story that I do not believe to be true.
Oh, I'm restless as a geyser,
I feel unsettled and explosive like a hot spring.
like a blind animal in water
I feel lost and vulnerable, like an animal without sight in a body of water.
oh, arm of the devil, fool of the devil
I am torn between the attempts of the devil to lead me astray, and my own misguided actions.
oh, arm of the dreamer, the dreamer, the dreamer
At the same time, I am also caught between the world of reality and the world of dreams.
about to rain
The storm is on the way, and something is about to happen.
bind and unbind starlings
Metaphorically, I am attempting to control or release a group of birds in the sky.
cursive with litanies about to rain
As the storm rolls in, I am praying and writing in elegant script.
overtake and overtake..
I am being taken over by a flood of emotions and events.
like out at the pond when the storm came marching in
It feels like the moment when I was caught in a storm while at a pond, and everything began to change.
where play turns to play turns to play
Where seemingly innocent actions lead to more and more chaos.
it marks the day
This event will be forever remembered as a turning point.
so I'm done leaving out my family in the rain
I am no longer going to exclude or mistreat my family, even if it means facing uncomfortable truths.
Contributed by Owen I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.