A chance job engineering at ACME Recording in Chicago gave Devin the opportunity to work on his debut solo record, 'Lonely People of the World, Unite!'. Inspired by the long hours he spent working on the record, mostly alone at night, the album combines pop energy with classic '60s pop song craft, calling to mind the best work of kindred spirits like Sloan, and The New Pornographers.
Cannons At The Courthouse
Devin Davis Lyrics
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We were buried under blankets in the dark
All night long I laid and listened to your song
It didn't stop until the morning
When the rays from space took up marching on my face
And I was pulling covers up over my eyes
Before I knew it I was in some other room
With a rope ladder hanging from the ceiling
When sliding down the rope came Willie Nelson
Sayin' "Son, let's find the party that never ends"
We smoked some reefer on the roof of the White House
Couldn't wait to get back on the road again
Where the arctic sea had melted up to Tennessee
And we were running from the searchlights on the shore
I paddled my canoe down the alley after you
Over the cannons at the courthouse
It's three o'clock, the streets are empty
Man, this looks like no other place I've ever been
They leveled old Miss Miller's house and built a Walmart
Man, I don't ever want to move back here again
There's a Starbucks on top of Mount Everest now
There's a plan to land two on the moon
Each one fully equipped with some young artists hip to new
Paintings of Jesus in aerosol cheeses
While hell might be frozen when I get my toes in
The diamond sparkling stream...
That's airbrushed in the background of your wildest dream
A nameless extra in your wildest dream
A standby contestant on your wildest dream
A stand-in for the sidekick on your wildest dream
That's buried in the backyard of your wildest dream
Oh ma ma
Keep the mighty wheels beneath me
All the way to the rails in the sky
Oh ma ma
Keep the mighty wheels beneath me
All the way to the rails in the sky
In Devin Davis's "Cannons At The Courthouse," the first stanza captures a moment of intimacy between two people who have just woken up in the morning. There is a sense of comfort in their togetherness as they listen to each other's songs all night. The imagery starts to shift, however, as the singer describes a vivid dream they had, where they slid down a rope with the country singer Willie Nelson and first smoked weed on the roof of the White House before paddling their canoe down an alleyway over cannons at the courthouse. The second stanza becomes much more surreal, blending elements of the present world with bizarre fantasy, including a Starbucks on top of Mount Everest and two fully equipped art studios on the moon. The singer seems unsettled by the changes they see around them, longing for a sense of permanence and stability as they set off on a journey into the unknown, hoping to find something that feels more authentic and real.
The song is a commentary on the alienation that many people feel in the modern world. The first stanza depicts a moment of connection between two people in a dark room, but the dream sequence that follows feels like a more accurate reflection of the singer's inner state - a bewildering mix of fantasy and reality, where nothing is what it seems. The second stanza comments on the way that capitalism and consumerism are changing our world beyond recognition, erasing any sense of continuity or tradition. Devin Davis seems to be arguing that it's hard to find a stable footing in such a world, but that we can still find moments of beauty and connection if we look for them.
Line by Line Meaning
By the time we'd run another race around the sun
After a year spent together
We were buried under blankets in the dark
We spent the night in a bed.
All night long I laid and listened to your song
I listened to your voice all night long.
It didn't stop until the morning
Your voice wasn't silent until the morning.
When the rays from space took up marching on my face
Sunlight woke me up.
And I was pulling covers up over my eyes
I covered my eyes with blankets.
Before I knew it I was in some other room
Suddenly, I found myself in another place.
With a rope ladder hanging from the ceiling
There was a hanging ladder in the room.
When sliding down the rope came Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson appeared sliding down the ladder.
Sayin' "Son, let's find the party that never ends"
Willie Nelson invited me to a never-ending party.
We smoked some reefer on the roof of the White House
Willie and I smoked marijuana on the roof of the White House.
Couldn't wait to get back on the road again
We couldn't wait to go back on the road.
Where the arctic sea had melted up to Tennessee
The Arctic had melted up to Tennessee.
And we were running from the searchlights on the shore
We were running away from searchlights on the shore.
I paddled my canoe down the alley after you
I followed you down the alley on a canoe.
Over the cannons at the courthouse
We paddled past cannons at the courthouse.
It's three o'clock, the streets are empty
It was 3 o'clock in the morning, the streets were deserted.
Man, this looks like no other place I've ever been
The place was unfamiliar to me.
They leveled old Miss Miller's house and built a Walmart
Miss Miller's house was destroyed, and Walmart was built.
Man, I don't ever want to move back here again
I don't want to come back to this place again.
There's a Starbucks on top of Mount Everest now
Now, there's a Starbucks on top of Mount Everest.
There's a plan to land two on the moon
There's a plan to land two people on the moon.
Each one fully equipped with some young artists hip to new
The artists are fully trained and knowledgeable.
Paintings of Jesus in aerosol cheeses
The paintings of Jesus were sprayed in cheese aerosols.
While hell might be frozen when I get my toes in
I might not actually experience it.
The diamond sparkling stream...that's airbrushed
The diamond sparkling stream appears artificial.
In the background of your wildest dream
It's there, in your dream's background.
A nameless extra in your wildest dream
It's just an unnamed background object in your dream.
A standby contestant on your wildest dream
It's present in every wild dream.
A stand-in for the sidekick on your wildest dream
It's not the main focal point of your wildest dream.
That's buried in the backyard of your wildest dream
It's hidden away in the recesses of your wildest dream.
Oh ma ma Keep the mighty wheels beneath me
Oh, mother, keep me safe while moving.
All the way to the rails in the sky
Keep me safe until my journey's end.
Lyrics © DistroKid
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