Dead to Me is a punk band from San Francisco. The band formed in 2003, shor… Read Full Bio ↴Dead to Me is a punk band from San Francisco. The band formed in 2003, shortly after One Man Army broke up and founding members Jack Dalrymple and Brandon Pollack sought out other SF punks to shore up the lineup of a new band. Jack shares vocal duties with bassist Chicken, who ayed in Western Addiction. Chicken's cousin Ian Anderson is the drummer. Original Guitarist Kyle from Semi-Evolved Simeans left after breaking his ankle on tour, and Nathan joined shortly after. Jack left in 2008 after his wife had their first kid. Dead to Me was a three piece with Chicken, Nathan and Ian, however Nathan left to pursue a solo career. Sam and Ken joined, making Dead to Me a 4 man band.

In 2006, the band released its debut album, cuban ballerina on Fat Wreck Chords. Many of Dead To Me's songs deal with addiction and recovery (Chicken had recently emerged from rehab), while others address strife around the world (ie. war in Iraq and expanding prison systems). It was produced by Alex Newport, who previously produced records for At the drive-in and the locust.

By The Throat
Dead to Me Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Feel, don't watch the mercury drop
Things fell apart and then I turned and stopped and said
I can't go on anymore like this

Save me from the tired hums
The crooked stares of the broken ones
One by one, let's watch them all disappear

I used to climb up to the attic at night
I'd end up in the basement screaming
I'm floating above all of you now

It feels like now they've got me by the throat

You make it sound so sincere
I never believe what I always hear
I never thought I'd see the day
They've got me by the throat
I'm force-fed all the answers
My paranoia spreads like cancer
I'm so far from all my problems now

So I packed what's left of me and I'm leaving
These city walls are closing in on me
Take me back before it all began
Before I'd run and before I cared
Sometimes my best just isn't enough

It feels like now they've got me by the throat

You make it sound so sincere
I never believe what I always hear
I never thought I'd see the day
They've got me by the throat
I'm force-fed all the answers
My paranoia just spreads like cancer
I'm so far from all my problems now

All of the things that I've left behind

Have washed out to sea and soon comes
The day that a hard rain falls on me

Overall Meaning

In these lyrics, the singer is grappling with feelings of being trapped and suffocated by their current situation. They are tired of the monotony and hopelessness of their life, and they long to escape to a time before they cared about anything. The first verse sets the tone for the rest of the song, with the singer acknowledging that they have reached their breaking point and can no longer continue in the same way. They want to be saved from the "tired hums" and "broken stares" of those around them. The second verse reveals that the singer has dealt with these feelings for a long time, as they used to seek refuge in the attic and basement to escape their problems. However, now they feel as though they are being suffocated, like someone has "got them by the throat."

The chorus drives this feeling home, with the singer expressing their disbelief that things have gotten this bad. They are force-fed answers and consumed by paranoia, unable to escape from their own thoughts. They feel far away from all of their problems, but the reality is that they are still present and looming over them. The bridge offers a glimmer of hope, with the singer packing what's left of themselves and heading out to escape the city walls. They long for a time before they cared and long for a hard rain to wash away everything they've left behind.

Overall, this song is about feeling trapped and suffocated by the mundanity of everyday life, and searching for a way to escape.

Line by Line Meaning

Feel, don't watch the mercury drop
Instead of just observing the temperature drop, let yourself feel the coldness and reality of the situation.

Things fell apart and then I turned and stopped and said I can't go on anymore like this
Once everything fell apart, the singer realized that they couldn't continue living in the same way.

Save me from the tired hums The crooked stares of the broken ones One by one, let's watch them all disappear
The singer seeks to escape from the monotonous sounds and hopeless stares of the defeated, hoping to see them vanish one after the other.

I used to climb up to the attic at night I'd end up in the basement screaming I'm floating above all of you now
In the past, the artist would have fears and emotions that they kept locked up, but that they now feel like they are hovering above everyone around them.

It feels like now they've got me by the throat
The artist feels like they are trapped and at the mercy of someone or something else.

You make it sound so sincere I never believe what I always hear I never thought I'd see the day They've got me by the throat I'm force-fed all the answers My paranoia spreads like cancer I'm so far from all my problems now
The singer can't trust anyone else's words, “they” have control over their life like someone choking them, and the singer doesn't know who they can rely on anymore.

So I packed what's left of me and I'm leaving These city walls are closing in on me Take me back before it all began Before I'd run and before I cared Sometimes my best just isn't enough
The singer is trying to leave and escape the constraining city, and wishes to return to a time before everything took a turn for the worse, even though they know that sometimes trying your best is still not enough.

All of the things that I've left behind Have washed out to sea and soon comes The day that a hard rain falls on me
The artist knows that all things that they have left in the past cannot be recovered and it is only a matter of time before they face the consequences of their choices.

Lyrics © KILLPHONIC

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