Department of Eagles began in 2001, when Daniel Rossen and Fred Nicolaus we… Read Full Bio ↴Department of Eagles began in 2001, when Daniel Rossen and Fred Nicolaus were randomly assigned to live together by New York University. During their academically lax spring semester, they made an "album" of beat-type songs best described as "What DJ Shadow's retarded little brother would sound like." Nevertheless, a small record company in California heard the CDR and wanted to release a couple of 7" singles. Around that time, a friend's father, Jeff Saltzman, invited the group to record in his new studio. Fred and Dan used the opportunity to record the bulk of their debut album, which featured a blend of the beat-type stuff and more straightforward songwriting. It was released in 2003 and did fine, selling a modest number of copies and garnering some decent press.

In 2004, the group graduated from college and moved into an apartment in Brooklyn with an aggressive, hirsute landlord named Baki. Shortly thereafter, Daniel joined the group Grizzly Bear and began playing guitar and singing with them (he went on to write a goodly portion of their sophomore album, Yellow House). Fred tried to escape his boring magazine job by going on tour opening up for the band Subtle, but the tour was cancelled when Subtle's bus crashed, tragically injuring keyboardist Dax Pierson. DOE was on something of a hiatus. Then in 2005, a British label re-released their debut album in Europe under a different title, and the group began working on new material. This time around, the music featured little-to-no electronic embellishments and was inspired by Randy Newman, Van Dyke Parks, Paul Williams, and Paul McCartney. On October 7, 2008 they released their follow-up, In Ear Park, on 4AD.

Daniel plays guitar, bass, piano, drums, cello, and sings. He majored in Linguistics. His grandfather, Robert Rossen, directed the critically acclaimed movies All the Kings Men and The Hustler. Fred plays drums and various random instruments. He majored in Art History. His father, Martin Nicolaus, wrote the definitive translation of Karl Marx's Gundrisse.

www.departmentofeagles.com

Department of Eagles went on to join Grizzly Bear with their recording of 2009 LP 'Veckatimist'

The Curious Butterfly Realizes He Is Beautiful
Department of Eagles Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

(We'll do it together, not like one-two, we'll switch off, like, one, like together, as in our voices like together, okay?)

I wanted to be a butterfly for so long (oh yeah)
Oh-ho, yeah
Now I'm being a butterfly, a butterfly in this song (oh yeah)

(Hi I'm Wes Anderson)

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "The Curious Butterfly Realizes He Is Beautiful" by Department of Eagles resonates with the theme of self-discovery and acceptance. The song portrays a sense of longing and desire to transform oneself into something beautiful, in this case, a butterfly. The opening lines of the song, "I wanted to be a butterfly for so long, now I'm being a butterfly in this song" highlights the singer's desire to become something different and more beautiful. The song urges the listeners to embrace their true selves and to be comfortable in their own skin.

The inclusion of the line, "Hi I'm Wes Anderson" adds an interesting twist to the narrative. Wes Anderson is an American filmmaker known for his distinctive style of filmmaking. This could be a nod to Anderson's signature use of whimsical and quirky elements in his movies.

Overall, the lyrics of "The Curious Butterfly Realizes He Is Beautiful" touches upon some of the most profound themes in our lives, such as self-reflection, acceptance, and transformation.

Line by Line Meaning

I wanted to be a butterfly for so long (oh yeah)
I longed to take flight and flutter with beauty, oh yes indeed.

Now I'm being a butterfly, a butterfly in this song (oh yeah)
And now, in this musical masterpiece, I am transformed into a winged creature of splendor.

The curious butterfly takes a moment to look at his wings
With a sense of wonder and awe, the butterfly exalts in his own magnificence.

He's so amazed by the colors, and all the beautiful things
He takes a breath to marvel at the kaleidoscope of colors that adorn his wings, and at all the other breathtaking wonders around him.

He thinks about all the hours that he spent in his cocoon
Recalling the time he spent in his cocoon, undergoing the grueling transformation process, the butterfly muses upon the sheer determination and toil that brought him to this point.

All the work that he went through, now he's flying in his room
And now, as he flutters about the room, he revels in the fruit of his labor.

The curious butterfly realizes he is beautiful
Suddenly, it dawns on the curious butterfly that he is, in every sense of the word, a beautiful creature.

And he cries
Filled to the brim with emotion, the butterfly sheds tears of elation and amazement, overcome by the beauty and wonder of his own being.

The curious butterfly realizes he is beautiful
And the refrain echoes once more, a beautiful testament to the butterfly's newfound appreciation for himself and the wonders of the world around him.

Contributed by Landon I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS