Death Cab began as a solo project of Ben Gibbard, now the band's vocalist and guitarist. Gibbard took the band name from the satirical song Death Cab for Cutie, performed by The Bonzo Dog Band in The Beatles' 1967 experimental film Magical Mystery Tour. As Death Cab for Cutie, Gibbard released a cassette titled You Can Play These Songs with Chords; the release was surprisingly successful, and Gibbard decided to expand the band into a complete project. He recruited Chris Walla (who had also worked on the cassette) as an electric guitarist, Nick Harmer as bass guitarist, and Nathan Good to play drums.
The four released the LP Something About Airplanes on August 18th 1998. The album was favorably reviewed in the independent music scene, and in 2000 the band released We Have the Facts and We're Voting Yes. Nathan Good left the band at some point during this album's production. His playing on “The Employment Pages” and “Company Calls Epilogue” were kept, but Gibbard played drums on all other songs.
Michael Schorr would first appear on The Forbidden Love E.P., released on October 24, 2000. In 2001, another LP was released, entitled The Photo Album. Limited editions of this album contained three bonus tracks, which were later released separately as The Stability EP.
In 2003, there was another change of drummer, with Jason McGerr of Eureka Farm replacing Schorr. McGerr would play drums on the next release, Transatlanticism.
Transatlanticism was released in October of 2003. It received critical praise and also became the band's top-selling album, with 225,000 copies sold during its first year out.
In spring of 2004, the band recorded a live E.P. titled The John Byrd E.P., named for their sound engineer. The E.P. was released on Barsuk Records in March 2004.
In November of 2004, Death Cab for Cutie signed a “long-term worldwide deal” with Atlantic Records, leaving their long-time label Barsuk Records. Gibbard stated on the official website www.deathcabforcutie.com that nothing would change except that “Next to the picture of Barsuk holding a 7", there will be the letter "A" on both the spine and back of our upcoming albums.” This was a marked change from Gibbard's earlier views on major-label relations, which he said “are set up to fuck you and take all your money.”. After signing to Atlantic, the band was still nervous about corporate economics, and encouraged fans to download its songs from the Internet.
The first and second singles off the band's Atlantic Record release Plans were “Soul Meets Body” and “Crooked Teeth”, respectively. The full album was released in August of 2005. Plans was somewhat well-acclaimed by critics and fans, and received a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best Alternative Album of 2005. It achieved Gold Status in 2006 after charting on Billboard for 47 consecutive weeks.
The band released a touring DVD titled Drive Well, Sleep Carefully in 2005. Known for their contributions to animal rights, the band is supporting the activist group PETA in giving away copies of the DVD to promote animal rights.
In early 2006, the band announced the upcoming release of Directions, eleven short films inspired by songs from the Plans album, each directed by a different person. The videos were posted one at a time at the band's website and the DVD went on sale April 11, 2006.
On May 12, 2008 their album, Narrow Stairs, was released and was well received by both critics and fans. It was their first album to reach #1 on the Billboard 200. The album contains the singles "I Will Possess Your Heart", "Cath..." and "Grapevine Fires".
The band's latest released The Open Door EP, which was released on March 31, 2009. Their main styles consist of slow progressive rock with dark lyrics.
The band's seventh album, Codes and Keys, was released on May 31, 2011. The album's first single was "You Are A Tourist".
On October 11, 2013, the band reportedly began working on their eighth studio album. This was then confirmed by the group's official Instagram profile in which an image was uploaded with the caption "DCFC LP8 begins". The new album will be produced by Rich Costey and is expected to be released in early 2015. In an interview with Stereogum, Gibbard said of the new album, "I do think from start to finish it's a much better record than Codes And Keys. If that record turned anybody off, I feel pretty strongly that this one could win them back. There are threads in this one that connect back to our earliest stuff that people love." On October 29, 2013, the band released a remastered tenth-anniversary version of their 2003 album Transatlanticism. The new album included a vinyl LP and MP3 download, with demos for all the songs from the album.
As part of the 2014 Record Store Day, the band released its first live album, a vinyl-only double LP recorded during various 2012 tour dates with Magik*Magik Orchestra. Included within the packaging was a code for a digital download of the recording.
On August 13, 2014, after 17 years as a member of Death Cab for Cutie, guitarist and songwriter Chris Walla decided to part ways with the band, with his last performance occurring on September 13, 2014 at the Rifflandia Music Festival in Victoria, British Columbia. Walla states that he plans to "...continue making music, producing records, and erring on the side of benevolence and beauty whenever possible." When asked in an interview about Walla's involvement in the eighth album, McGerr confirmed that Walla "played on everything and has been involved all the way through, even in the mixing. Even though he's played his last show with us, he's still been involved in everything involving this record."
9. What Sarah Said
Death Cab for Cutie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That every plan
Is a tiny prayer to father time
As I stared at my shoes
In the ICU
That reeked of piss and 409
As I said to myself
That I'd already taken too much today
As each descending peak
On the LCD
Took you a little farther away from me
Away from me
Amongst the vending machines
And year old magazines
In a place where we only say goodbye
It sung like a violent wind
That our memories depend
On a faulty camera in our minds
And I knew that you were truth
I would rather lose
Than to have never lain beside at all
And I looked around
At all the eyes on the ground
As the TV entertained itself
'Cause there's no comfort in the waiting room
Just nervous paces bracing for bad news
And then the nurse comes round
And everyone lifts their heads
But I'm thinking of what Sarah said
That love is watching someone die
So who's gonna watch you die
So who's gonna watch you die
So who's gonna watch you die
The lyrics to Death Cab for Cutie's song 09. What Sarah Said is a poignant reflection on the fragility of life and the inevitability of death. The song is centered around the experience of being in a hospital waiting room, watching a loved one slowly slip away. The first verse sets the scene, with the singer staring at his shoes in the ICU, a place that "reeked of piss and 409". He's cognizant of the fact that every plan he's ever made is a "tiny prayer to father time", a recognition that time inevitably marches on and that no one can escape its grasp.
The second verse delves deeper into the singer's emotional state. He's rationing his breaths, feeling as though he's already taken too much that day. Meanwhile, the LCD screen with its descending peaks is taking the person he loves farther and farther away from him. The third verse describes the waiting room itself, a place where goodbyes are said and memories linger like a "violent wind". The chorus brings everything together, with the singer realizing that he'd rather have loved and lost than never loved at all, but also grappling with the difficult truth that love means watching someone die. The song ends with a haunting question: "So who's gonna watch you die?"
Overall, the song is a meditation on the transience of life, the inevitability of loss, and the bittersweet beauty of love. Its raw emotional power is underscored by the simplicity of the lyrics and the stripped-down instrumentation, which allows the words to cut straight to the heart.
Line by Line Meaning
And it came to me then
I suddenly realized
That every plan
All our future intentions
Is a tiny prayer to father time
Are but small hopes against the inevitability of death
As I stared at my shoes
Looking down at my footwear
In the ICU
Inside the intensive care unit
That reeked of piss and 409
Filled with the foul smell of urine and cleaning supplies
And I rationed my breaths
Deliberately controlled my breathing
As I said to myself
Thinking to myself
That I'd already taken too much today
Realizing that my emotional capacity had been exhausted
As each descending peak
With the decline of each number
On the LCD
On the electronic display
Took you a little farther away from me
Your vital signs indicated a further separation from me
Away from me
Further apart from my presence
Amongst the vending machines
Surrounded by snack dispensers
And year old magazines
Outdated reading materials
In a place where we only say goodbye
In a location where final farewells are exchanged
It sung like a violent wind
Echoed like a forceful gust of air
That our memories depend
That our recollections rely
On a faulty camera in our minds
On the imperfect recording in our brains
And I knew that you were truth
I understood that you were authentic
I would rather lose
I preferred to suffer a defeat
Than to have never lain beside at all
Than to have never experienced your physical presence
And I looked around
I surveyed the area
At all the eyes on the ground
At the individuals avoiding eye contact
As the TV entertained itself
As the television played for its own enjoyment
Cause there's no comfort in the waiting room
Because the waiting area provides no solace
Just nervous paces bracing for bad news
Only anxious movements anticipating negative results
And then the nurse comes round
And then the healthcare worker rounds the corner
And everyone lifts their head
And everyone raises their gaze
But I'm thinking of what Sarah said
But I am contemplating the statement Sarah made
That love is watching someone die
That being present for someone's passing is a demonstration of true love
So who's gonna watch you die
Who will be there for you at the end
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Benjamin D. Gibbard, Christopher Ryan Walla, Jason Patrick McGerr, Nicholas Scott Harmer
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Frank
on I Will Follow You Into The Dark
This song sucks