The current lineup of Dirty Projectors is Dave Longstreth (vocals, guitar, other instruments), Nat Baldwin (bass), Mike Johnson (drums), Maia Friedman (guitar, keyboards, vocals), Felicia Douglass (percussion, keyboards, vocals), and Kristin Slipp (keyboards, vocals).
Based in Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn with connections to the Portland, OR music scene, the group has produced a distinctive sound of electronic experimentation, melded with traditional instruments and harmonically complex vocals. Their recordings range from Prince-style one-man-recording-studio productions (The Glad Fact), to arranged orchestrations (the "Slaves' Graves" half of Slaves' Graves & Ballads), to basic voice over nylon-string guitar (the "Ballads" half of the aforementioned) to an amalgamation of all these tactics (the 'glitch opera' of The Getty Address and the mixed nature of New Attitude EP). Throughout, Longstreth's aggressively melodic vocals provide a consistent identity for otherwise widely divergent approaches to pop music. Longstreth claims influences ranging from Don Henley to Mariah Carey. The former's influence is most easily seen in The Getty Address album, which is a conceptual opera written from the point of view of Henley as a Spanish Conquistador, though the latter's vocal gymnastics clearly provide a clue to Longstreth's approach. Rise Above is an attempt to re-imagine the lyrics of Black Flag's DamagedDamaged album from memory over complex music that sees influence from the contemporary African blues and funk of such artists as Ali Farka Toure and Konono No. 1.
Members of Dirty Projectors collaborated with Björk to perform an original composition by Longstreth, written for five voices and acoustic guitar, as part of a charity concert to benefit Housing Works, a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing shelter for homeless men, women, and children suffering from AIDS.
Depression
Dirty Projectors Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All by myself
I ain't got nobody else
The situation
The situation is bleeding me there's no relief
Depression
Depression is gonna kill me tonight
Depression
Depression
Depression is gonna kill me tonight
I ain't got no friends to call my own
I just sit here all alone
There's no girls, there's no girls, there's no girls
That wanna touch me get away I don't need your fucking sympathy
Depression is gonna kill me tonight
Depression
Depression
Depression is gonna kill me tonight
Depression
Depression
Depression gonna kill me
Everybody just get away
I'm gonna boil over inside
They say
They say things
They say things are gonna get better
All I know is they fucking better
Depression is gonna kill me tonight
In "Depression," Dirty Projectors take a hard look at the debilitating effects of mental illness. The singer begins by stating that they are completely alone, with nobody else around. This solitude is only compounded by the situation that is "bleeding" them dry - it's an overwhelming situation that seems impossible to escape. Depression feels like it's going to "kill" the singer tonight, which is a powerful admission of the intense pain that they're experiencing. It's a raw and honest depiction of the depths of despair that can be reached when struggling with mental illness.
The second verse explores the isolating effects of depression. The singer has no friends and is completely alone. They assert that there are no girls around who could possibly offer comfort, and they don't want anyone's "fucking sympathy" anyway. The repetition of the word "Depression" throughout the song feels like an endless loop of darkness, emphasizing that the grip of mental illness can feel like an impossible cycle.
Dirty Projectors may not provide any solutions or platitudes in "Depression," but the song is a powerful statement about the reality of living with mental illness. Those struggling with depression may find solace in the fact that they're not alone in their struggles, while those who may not understand the intensity of depression may gain some insight through the song's raw portrayal of pain.
Line by Line Meaning
Right here
The singer is currently in their present location
All by myself
The singer is currently alone, with no one else present with them
I ain't got nobody else
The singer is lacking people in their life who they can rely on or who can provide them with emotional support
The situation
There is something happening, a circumstance or event, that is causing the artist distress
The situation is bleeding me there's no relief
The artist is experiencing constant and intense distress that is causing them to feel drained and exhausted, with no hope of escape
Depression
The singer is feeling a sense of emotional and mental despair and sadness, which could lead to mental illness
Depression is gonna kill me tonight
The singer fears that their depression will become unbearable and could ultimately result in suicidal thoughts or actions
I ain't got no friends to call my own
The artist feels lonely and lacks a social support system
I just sit here all alone
The artist is idle and has no activities or people to occupy their time
There's no girls, there's no girls, there's no girls
The artist is specifically lacking the company of women in their life
That wanna touch me get away I don't need your fucking sympathy
The singer is rejecting physical touch or comfort from others and sees sympathy as insincere and unwanted
Depression gonna kill me
The artist is reiterating their fear that their depression could lead to suicidal thoughts or actions
Everybody just get away
The singer wants to be left alone and needs space from others
I'm gonna boil over inside
The singer is overwhelmed with emotions and needs to release them in some way
They say
The singer is referring to unattributed statements or advice given to them by others
They say things
The artist is referring to the unspecified things or advice they have been told
They say things are gonna get better
The advice or comfort that others have given to the artist is that their situation will improve over time
All I know is they fucking better
The singer is skeptical of the advice or comfort that others have given them and expects to see improvement soon
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: DAVID LONGSTRETH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind