The band members met in the DC punk/indie scene, though their music draws from more faraway sources. The band formed in the fall of 1998 from the ashes of local bands The Impossible Five and Colour, when singer-guitarist Jason Simon, bassist Steve Kille, and drummer Mark Laughlin set out to fuse their love of early 70s hard rock and 60s psychedelia with their love of writers J.R.R. Tolkien and H.P. Lovecraft.
Dead Meadow released their six-song debut in 2000 on Fugazi bassist Joe Lally's Tolotta Records, and a joint vinyl release on Washington D.C. indie label Planaria Records. In 2001 the band released its second album, Howls From The Hills, on Tolotta. Whereas the first self-titled album was recorded in their practice space for a couple hundred dollars and plenty of learning curves, Howls From The Hills was born in a barn in Liberty, Indiana. Their sound fuller without losing its live essence, the band grew to encompass everything from ambient guitar drones to surging psych-funk sludge, blues-folk tunes to barbiturate space-rock, and some southern slow boogie thrown in for good measure.
In spring 2002, original drummer Mark Laughlin reluctantly quit the group, replaced by old friend and previous collaborator Stephen McCarty (whose grandfather's farmhouse is where the band recorded Howls From the Hills). Also in mid-2002 the band found an unlikely patron in Brian Jonestown Massacre's Anton Newcombe, who recorded, produced and printed Dead Meadow's live disc 'Got Live if You Want' it on his "Committee to Keep Music Evil" imprint of the legendary Bomp label. Soon after, they recorded a Peel Session at the Fugazi practice space - the first time the BBC recorded a Peel Session outside their own studios.
Shortly after signing with Matador in 2003, Dead Meadow self-produced 'Shivering King And Others' in the basement studio of the DC Pirate House over five months and during a busy schedule of touring. Along with the heavy rockers and bluesy numbers as on the previous two records, the band went deeper into the psychedelic realm, with chiming acoustic touches and lovely, disorienting ballads.
With the addition of 2nd guitarist Cory Shane and beautifully spacious production, their 2005 album 'Feathers' features songs like "At Her Open Door" and "Stacy's Song" influenced by the droning modal character of Eastern music as by classic rock riffs.
In early 2008, the band released Old Growth on Matador Records. A collection of songs that brought the band back initially to the same farm where their second release Howls from the Hills was created and eventually finished up at the Sunset Sound studio in Los Angeles.
In March 2010 the band released a live film and soundtrack, Three Kings, which was recorded at the final show of the band's five-month "Old Growth" tour.
In August 2010, it was announced that original drummer Mark Laughlin had re-joined the band.
Their album "The Nothing They Need" was released in 2018.
Dragonfly
Dead Meadow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They're empty enough to pour in the skies.
Circling down to the grass on the ground,
A dragonfly is seeing it's helped
Lying on our backs in summer grass,
So fast the day go past.
A smoke ring rises up into the sky.
Feel like I'm blowing the glow of the sun.
As soon as the afternoon has begun,
the sun goes down.
The lyrics to Dead Meadow's song "Dragonfly" seemingly captures a moment of contemplation and fleeting youthfulness. The song starts with the line "I slowly open my eyes" and immediately sets the tone for a dreamlike state. The line "They're empty enough to pour in the skies" suggests that the singer has a blank or empty mindset, like a canvas waiting to be filled with the beauty of the world around them. The next line mentions a dragonfly circling down to the grass, creating a peaceful moment.
The second part of the song paints the picture of lying on one's back in the summer grass letting time slip away, while a smoke ring rises and disappears. The imagery here reveals the fleeting and temporal nature of events, moments, and in this case, the innocence of youth. The following line "Feel like I'm blowing the glow of the sun" suggests that the singer's inner light or energy feels connected to the sun and fades as quickly as the afternoon transitions into night with the fading of the sun. The song doesn't have a traditional narrative, but it's poetry in motion, drawing on impressions and idle moments of reflecting on youth and life.
Line by Line Meaning
I slowly open my eyes.
Groggily, I reluctantly arise from my slumber.
They're empty enough to pour in the skies.
My eyes are devoid of emotion, as if they could absorb the vastness of the atmosphere.
Circling down to the grass on the ground,
A dragonfly descends, making its way towards the earth below.
A dragonfly is seeing it's helped
The dragonfly enjoys the assistance it receives from the earth, feeling grateful for its role in the ecosystem.
Lying on our backs in summer grass,
We recline in the greenery of the season, surrounded by natural beauty.
So fast the day go past.
Time seems fleeting as the daylight hours swiftly pass by.
A smoke ring rises up into the sky.
A puff of smoke ascends into the heavens above.
It's blown apart by the wind blowing by.
The gusts of wind, forceful enough to disperse the smoke ring into nothingness, demonstrate the power of nature.
Feel like I'm blowing the glow of the sun.
I sense that I am capable of dispersing the radiance emanating from the sun by exhaling with great force.
As soon as the afternoon has begun,
Just as the daylight hours seem to have commenced, they are on the verge of ending.
The sun goes down.
The setting sun marks the end of another day, as darkness descends.
Contributed by Violet J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Justin Wallace
on Darlin'
Darlin', by Dead Meadow
Oh, my darlin'
Oh, my dear
Your lovely form is such that I
Cannot keep it clear
It shifts and shakes out in the haze
Of your fucked up atmosphere
Oh, my darlin'
Oh, my dear
Hope and horror
Faith and fear
These are the only things
These are the strings that keep you near
If you're feeling lonesome
If you are feeling down
I will do what I can
To help bring you round
No need to worry
No need to fear
Oh, my darlin'
Oh, my dear
Hope and horror
Faith and fear
These are the only things
These are the strings that keep you near
Angels in the attic
Ghosts down below
Jealous of a love that they
Could never hope to know