Damien Jurado (born 12 November 1972) is an American singer in the indie-ro… Read Full Bio ↴Damien Jurado (born 12 November 1972) is an American singer in the indie-rock tradition of Seattle, Washington. His music is regarded as being heavily influenced by folk music. Over the years he has released albums on many labels; today his primary label is Secretly Canadian. He was once in the band, Coolidge, with Seattle's David Bazan.

Jurado's solo career began during the mid-1990s, releasing lo-fi folk based recordings on his own cassette-only label, Casa Recordings, beginning in 1995.

Jurado often makes use of found-sound and field-recording techniques, and has experimented with different forms of tape recordings. In 2000 he released Postcards and Audio Letters, a collection of found audio letters and fragments that he had found from sources such as thrift store tape players and answering machines. Also released in 2000 was Ghost of David,, Jurado's bleakest and most personal sounding record to date. I Break Chairs, (2002) was produced by long time friend, David Bazan. It was his last album for Sub Pop, and was a much rockier, electric affair. After signing for the Indiana-based label Secretly Canadian, Damien Jurado reverted to his trademark folk ballad-based style, releasing six more albums: Where Shall You Take Me? (2003), On My Way To Absence (2005), And Now That I'm In Your Shadow (2006), Caught in the Trees (2008), Saint Bartlett (2010) and Maraqopa (2012).

Official blog: iamcaughtinthetrees.blogspot.com

Lion Tamer
Damien Jurado Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We said goodbye a year ago
We sat within the farmhouse
So you know, don't you?

I went to the house alone
The power out, no telephone
You know, you'll know

The gun in the drawer
The long distance call
A story to tell

Patience drifts into the sound
You are nothing to me now
I need time to figure out
Save us now before we drown

Hello, goodbye I said last we met
I'll be easy to forget
You know, you'll know

An empty beer, the sealing broke
The saddest song we ever wrote
You'll know, don't you?

It's all for the best
It's not what it seems

The gun in the drawer
The long distance call
A story to tell

Patience drifts into the sound
You are nothing to me now

I need time to figure out
Save us now before we drown

Overall Meaning

In "Lion Tamer," Damien Jurado tells the story of trying to move on from a past relationship that ended badly. It begins with the singer acknowledging the emotional distance between himself and the ex-lover, indicating that they said their farewells some time ago. He recalls being inside a farmhouse with her before, perhaps alluding to happier times, but now he is alone. The power is out and there is no way to connect with her. The lyrics are set up in a way that suggests that the relationship ended under less than ideal circumstances, with a gun in a drawer and a long-distance call.

The tension heightens as the singer clings to the past while also being unsure of how to proceed in the present. The hook, "Patience drifts into the sound, you are nothing to me now," emphasizes his need to move on, his realizations that there are no second chances, and the urgency of it all. He continues to struggle with holding onto his pain and confusion as the song progresses, ending simply with an empty beer can and the thought that "it's all for the best" - a small glimmer of hope.

Line by Line Meaning

We said goodbye a year ago
We parted ways and ended our relationship a year ago

We sat within the farmhouse
We had a conversation while inside the farmhouse

So you know, don't you?
You are aware of what happened between us, aren't you?

I went to the house alone
I visited the house by myself

The power out, no telephone
There was a power outage and the telephone wasn't working

You know, you'll know
You will come to understand and know this eventually

The gun in the drawer
There was a gun in the drawer

The long distance call
I made a phone call to someone far away

A story to tell
I have a story to share

Patience drifts into the sound
A sense of patience lingers in the silence

You are nothing to me now
You no longer hold any significance in my life