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
parade
Damien Jurado Lyrics
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Pack up the things, roll up the sleeves
So different
Can't tell the things your money saved
Get in the car for the parade
The lyrics of Damien Jurado & Gathered in Song's "Parade" speak to the act of leaving town, of needing to pack up and move on but with a sense of ambiguity around what exactly is being left behind. The opening line is evocative of determination, of someone who is coming to town with a purpose, but the follow-up line, "get ready to leave," complicates this idea. It suggests that this arrival is not necessarily a welcome one, or at the very least, that the singer is not planning on staying for long. The imagery of packing up and rolling up one's sleeves reinforces this sense of transience and relocation, and the repetition of the word "different" in the second stanza underscores the idea that whatever is being left behind is not quite as it seems. There is a sense of disillusionment or estrangement, an awareness that the things one might have thought were important (e.g. money) no longer hold the same weight.
The notion of a "parade" further complicates the idea of leaving, as parades are often celebrations of something or someone that is being welcomed or honored. Here, however, the parade is an opportunity to escape or to move on to something new. The final line, "so different," crystallizes the song's central conflict: the singer is leaving behind something familiar, but whatever they are moving toward promises to be fundamentally different. The song is notable for its ambiguity, which allows each listener to relate to it in their own way, and for its haunting melody, which underscores the sense of longing and uncertainty at its core.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm coming to town, get ready to leave
I'm headed towards the city, so you should start planning to depart from here.
Pack up the things, roll up the sleeves
Start collecting your belongings and prepare to do some hard work.
So different
Things have changed drastically from how they used to be.
Can't tell the things your money saved
There's no way to distinguish how much you have conserved as a result of money being spent, as it's complicated to evaluate.
Get in the car for the parade
Join us in the car so we can go to the parade together.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAMIEN JURADO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind