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."
I Was Once a Loyal Lover
Death Cab for Cutie Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When these bones are old and brittle?
I wait to talk when I should listen
And cloud mistakes with false revisions
All my friends are forward-thinking
Getting hitched and quitting drinking
And I can feel them pulling away
And you can't even begin to know
How many times I've told myself "I told you so"
I was once a loyal lover
Whose lips did never seek another's
But now each love's more like a match
A blinding spark that burns out fast
And they all conclude with the same sentence:
"I've never met someone more self-centered
Who thinks that life with a nice girl's like
Waiting for a bus to work"
And you can't even begin to know
How many times I've told myself "I told you so"
And you can't even begin to believe
There's so many bridges engulfed in flames behind me
If you deem it so
Just cut the cord and go
You'll be fine
There's plenty of hills to climb
You can't even begin to know
How many times I've told myself "I told you so"
And you can't even begin to believe
There's so many bridges engulfed in flames behind me
You can't even begin to know
How many times I've told myself "I told you so"
And you can't even begin to believe
There's so many bridges engulfed in flames behind me
"I Was Once a Loyal Lover" is a reflective song by Death Cab for Cutie that explores the idea of regret, stagnation, and missed opportunities. The lyrics convey the idea that the singer is feeling left behind by his friends who are moving forward in life while he remains stuck in his old ways. The chorus with the repetition of "How many times I've told myself 'I told you so'" suggests that the singer is full of regret for not taking action or making changes in his life as he watches others move on. He acknowledges that he waits to talk when he should listen and doesn't learn from his mistakes, clouding them with "false revisions." He also reflects on his past relationships, noting that he used to be a loyal lover, but now he finds himself unable to commit and that he's become "more like a match, a blinding spark that burns out fast."
The song's bridge, "And you can't even begin to believe, there's so many bridges engulfed in flames behind me," is a metaphor for the singer's past mistakes and missed opportunities. It suggests that he's burned too many bridges in his life to turn back and make amends. The final lyrics, "Just cut the cord and go, you'll be fine, there's plenty of hills to climb" seem to be a message to himself to move forward, to let go of past mistakes, and to keep climbing despite the hurdles.
Overall, "I Was Once a Loyal Lover" is a song about recognizing missed opportunities and moving on from them. The singer laments his inaction and his stagnation in life, but the song ends on a hopeful note, encouraging him to cut ties and start anew.
Line by Line Meaning
Will I have learned so very little
I'm afraid that I haven't learned enough in life
When these bones are old and brittle?
When I'm old and close to death
I wait to talk when I should listen
I don't listen to others enough
And cloud mistakes with false revisions
I make excuses for my mistakes
All my friends are forward-thinking
All of my friends are moving forward in life
Getting hitched and quitting drinking
They're getting married and making positive changes
And I can feel them pulling away
I feel them becoming distant from me
As I'm resigned to stay the same
But I'm okay with staying the same
And you can't even begin to know
You have no idea
How many times I've told myself "I told you so"
How many times I've been right and told myself so
I was once a loyal lover
I used to be faithful in love
Whose lips did never seek another's
I never cheated on anyone
But now each love's more like a match
But now each love is short-lived
A blinding spark that burns out fast
Like a spark that quickly goes out
And they all conclude with the same sentence:
Everyone I date eventually says the same thing
"I've never met someone more self-centered
"You're the most self-centered person I've met
Who thinks that life with a nice girl's like
Who believes life with a good person is easy
Waiting for a bus to work"
Waiting for something good to happen without putting in effort
And you can't even begin to believe
You have no idea
There's so many bridges engulfed in flames behind me
I've burned many bridges in my past
If you deem it so
If you think it's best
Just cut the cord and go
Just end the relationship and leave
You'll be fine
You'll be okay
There's plenty of hills to climb
There are other opportunities out there
You can't even begin to know
You have no idea
How many times I've told myself "I told you so"
How many times I've been right and told myself so
And you can't even begin to believe
You have no idea
There's so many bridges engulfed in flames behind me
I've burned many bridges in my past
You can't even begin to know
You have no idea
How many times I've told myself "I told you so"
How many times I've been right and told myself so
And you can't even begin to believe
You have no idea
There's so many bridges engulfed in flames behind me
I've burned many bridges in my past
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BENJAMIN GIBBARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Frank
on I Will Follow You Into The Dark
This song sucks