Dirty Projectors is an experimental pop group led by singer/songwriter and … Read Full Bio ↴Dirty Projectors is an experimental pop group led by singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist David Longstreth which formed in 2002 in Brooklyn, New York, United States.

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.

Just from Chevron
Dirty Projectors Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Where she collapses into the shore
Pump the byproduct and ask her for more
There a man lay dying in ice
Gasket hair busted out
Pinned down like a vice
As the sun sank into repose,
A friend knelt down
Listened into his dying words as he froze.

Tell my love don't mourn too intense
I'm going down to her great good expense
Now all the air is quiet and still
Wish I was back home on the [nell?] of the hill

Don't think I won't try
When I close my eyes
Whatever the people will drive
I swear I will survive
All of my friends my enemies too
Live in the shadows of the dirtiest few
Burns the land and it's paper to ruin
While winds always whistling an infinite tune

Don't think I wont try
When I close my eyes
Whatever the people will drive
I swear I will be alive
Don't think I won't try
When I close my eyes
Whatever the people will drive

I swear I will be alive
I swear I will be alive
I swear I will be alive
I swear I will be alive
I swear I will be alive

Now "So long," he whispered softly
Closing his eyelids with his face turning grey.

When the workers cleaned up the spill
Sent the man home to his nell in the hill.

Overall Meaning

The song "Just from Chevron" by Dirty Projectors tells a story of environmental destruction and the impact it has on people's lives. The opening lines describe a woman collapsing on the shore, likely due to pollution from an oil spill caused by Chevron, and the company continuing to pump the byproduct despite the harm it is causing. The song then shifts focus to a dying man whose last words include a plea for his loved one not to mourn too long before stating his wish to be back home on the "nell" (hill). The rest of the lyrics express a determination to survive and be alive despite the destruction caused by humans, with a promise to try and make a difference.

The lyrics paint a vivid picture of the devastation caused by oil spills and industrial development, while also highlighting the resilience and determination of individuals who are impacted by it. The use of specific details, such as the dying man's last words and the woman collapsing on the shore, adds to the emotional impact of the song. The repeated promise to be alive, despite the odds, is a powerful message of hope in the face of adversity.

Line by Line Meaning

Where she collapses into the shore
She falls down onto the shoreline

Pump the byproduct and ask her for more
Take the waste materials and request further use from her

There a man lay dying in ice
A man lay dying on the ice

Gasket hair busted out
Hair coming out of his head due to pressure

Pinned down like a vice
Held down firmly like a machine vise

As the sun sank into repose,
As the sun was setting

A friend knelt down
A friend got down on their knees

Listened into his dying words as he froze.
Listened to the man's last words as he died

Tell my love don't mourn too intense
Tell my love not to grieve excessively

I'm going down to her great good expense
I'm going down at a great cost to her

Now all the air is quiet and still
Now the air is silent and still