Dinosaur Pile-Up formed after Matt Bigland's old band Mother Vulpine split up back in 2007. Matt had been creating songs used for Dinosaur Pile-Up whilst he was in Mother Vulpine. Matt recorded a demo tape consisting of the songs "My Rock 'n' Roll", "Love Is a Boat and We're Sinking", "Melanin", "Let's Get Up", "What Howard Said" and "I Get My Direction" whilst he was still in Mother Vulpine. A short time later, after Mother Vulpine broke up, Matt recruited Tom Dunford on bass and Steve Wilson on drums to complete the line up.
Matt Bigland has said he thought of the name 'Dinosaur Pile-Up' after watching the 2005 film King Kong. Matt Bigland has said in an interview; "I watched the remake of King Kong. Which was pretty bad! It was ages ago, before this band, or even the idea of this band ever existed. Anyway, there was this part in it where this stampede of dinosaurs, the front one is shot in the leg or something, and it trips up, and then all these huge dinosaurs trip up, roll down this hill, and it just ends up in this massive pile up, and everything in between them survives. I thought it was ridiculous, and as a joke I said, I have to start a band called Dinosaur Pile-Up.
Dinosaur Pile-Up then released My Rock 'n' Roll EP in late 2008 and the Traynor 7" and The Most Powerful EP in the Universe in 2009. Also in 2009, they played on the BBC introducing stage at Leeds Festival and were invited on tour with alternative rock group Pixies on their European tour. Then in 2010, Tom Dunford and Steve Wilson left the band. Steve Wilson joined the band Japanese Voyeurs (whom Dinosaur Pile-Up would later tour with on the Rock Sound Exposure Tour alongside The Xcerts), and Tom Dornford-May joined the punk rock band Fake Death. This meant that Matt would have to bring in new members Harry Johns (formerly of Old Romantic Killer Band) on bass and backing vocals and Mike Sheils on drums. Matt Bigland then went into the studio to record Dinosaur Pile-Up's debut album Growing Pains.
The recording of Growing Pains took place between late 2009 and early 2010 in the space of about two and a half months. Growing Pains was recorded solely by Matt Bigland playing all the parts on the album in a home studio in Bridlington. After the release of Growing Pains in October 2010, Dinosaur Pile-Up began a full UK tour, also playing in the rock exposure tour and various dates across Mexico, as well as supporting slots with bands such as Feeder, Cage the Elephant, Turbowolf and Twin Atlantic. By August 2011, the band had finished their tour and are set to record their follow up album due to be released at the beginning of 2012. On December 1, they uploaded to their SoundCloud and Facebook accounts demos of two tracks, "In My Room" and "Thread", which are said to be featured on the up-coming album.
In November 2011, Matt Bigland posted on the Dinosaur Pile-Up website that Harry Johns had left the band to concentrate on his solo project and that two people known as Alessio and Scott were filling in on bass and second guitar. Also, On March 8, 2012, Japanese Voyeurs had announced their breakup and said on their Facebook that their bassist Johnny Seymour had joined Dinosaur Pile-Up. Matt Bigland has also said he's currently in the studio recording the second album and will be recording every instrument on the record as he did on Growing Pains.
Heather
Dinosaur Pile-Up Lyrics
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Heather what you done
You're down on your luck again
Heather what you done
Yeah if you die by morals then
Then we'll be dead by tomorrow
And yeah you're down on your luck again
Don't go breaking my heart again
I can't cope
Breaking my heart again
I can't go on
Tired and alone again
Heather what you done
You said you're tired alone again
Heather what you done
Yeah if you rest on your laurels now
Then we can sleep in a living hell
Yeah you're tired and alone again
Heather what you done
Don't go breaking my heart again
I can't cope
Breaking my heart again
I can't go on
Don't go breaking my heart again
I can't cope
Breaking my heart again
I can't go on
The lyrics to Dinosaur Pile-Up's song Heather seem to be discussing a woman named Heather who is continuously struggling and down on her luck. The repetition of "Heather what you done" could be interpreted as the singer questioning what actions or decisions Heather has made to lead her to her current state. The mention of morals and resting on laurels could indicate that Heather has made choices that have negatively impacted her life or the lives of those around her. The chorus is a plea for Heather to not break the singer's heart again as they cannot endure the pain and heartbreak.
The lyrics evoke a feeling of frustration and helplessness towards Heather's circumstances. The repetition of "again" in phrases such as "down on your luck again" and "breaking my heart again" reinforces the idea that these events have occurred before and the singer is tired of seeing Heather in this position. The line "then we'll be dead by tomorrow" suggests a sense of urgency and danger, as if the consequences of Heather's actions could lead to dire outcomes.
Overall, the lyrics to Heather convey a sense of desperation and dismay towards a person who seems unable to break out of their cycle of misfortune. The chorus serves as a warning and a plea for Heather to not hurt the singer again, as they cannot handle any more pain.
Line by Line Meaning
Down on your luck again
Heather is facing misfortune once again
Heather what you done
The singer is asking Heather why she has ended up in this situation
Yeah if you die by morals then
Then we'll be dead by tomorrow
And yeah you're down on your luck again
Heather what you done
The singer is warning Heather that if she continues to stick to her morals, they will all end up in trouble like she is now
Don't go breaking my heart again
I can't cope
Breaking my heart again
I can't go on
The artist is telling Heather not to hurt them again because they cannot handle the pain
Tired and alone again
Heather what you done
You said you're tired alone again
Heather what you done
Heather is feeling exhausted and isolated again, and the artist is asking why this has happened
Yeah if you rest on your laurels now
Then we can sleep in a living hell
Yeah you're tired and alone again
Heather what you done
The singer is warning Heather that if she becomes complacent now, they will all suffer and be miserable
Don't go breaking my heart again
I can't cope
Breaking my heart again
I can't go on
The singer is reiterating that Heather must not hurt them again because they cannot handle it
Contributed by Kaelyn E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.