Dishwalla, which emerged out of the early stages of post-grunge, is composed of J.R. Richards (vocals), Scot Alexander (bass), Rodney Browning Cravens (guitar), Jim Wood (keyboards), and George Pendergast (drums). They spent the mid-'90s touring with the likes of Sheryl Crow, Blind Melon, and the Goo Goo Dolls in support of Pet Your Friends. Prior to making a second album, the band was caught in the middle of the Polygram/Universal merger and such a move left Dishwalla pondering what to do next. Their second album, And You Think You Know What Life's About, was released in 1998; promotion and sales were lackluster due to label downsizing. Dishwalla's time with A&M was short-lived and exhausting because of such corporate behavior, but they stuck it out to contribute their cover version of "Policy of Truth" for the Depeche Mode tribute album For the Masses. By the new millennium, Dishwalla left behind major-market America for a third album. They signed with Immergent while Pendergrast parted ways with the band. Pete Maloney, a drummer picked up on the 1998 tour, resumed percussion duties. In 2002, Dishwalla issued their experimental third album Opaline (Immergent), quickly followed by 2003's Live... Greetings from the Flow State. A self-titled album produced by Sylvia Massy (Tool, System of a Down), Bill Szymczyk, and Ryan Greene (NOFX, Nerf Herder) followed in 2005 before the band went on indefinite hiatus.
Three years passed before Dishwalla would return in 2008. Debuting a lineup that joined original members Alexander, Pendergast, Cravens, and Wood with new vocalist Justin Fox, the band hit the road, touring sporadically over the following years. They would not return to the studio until 2016, when they began recording their first album in a decade. Juniper Road arrived in 2017.
Biography by MacKenzie Wilson
Collide
Dishwalla Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now I've come back to destroy,
And I've got nothing left,
And it's a shame what we've become,
When we hurt the ones we love,
And it's a place I can not go,
Anymore.
When we collide we break in two,
And as we push and we shove and we hurt the ones we love,
It's a hard mistake.
When we collide,
We break.
When the cold comes crashing down,
And the fight lost what it's about.
I could tell that you had left.
It's a shame what we've become,
When we hurt the ones we love.
It's a place I can not go,
Anymore.
When we collide we lose ourselves.
When we collide we break in two,
And as we push and we shove and we hurt the ones we love,
It's a hard mistake.
When we collide,
When we collide.
It's a hard mistake,
When we collide.
It's a mistake,
When we collide we lose ourselves,
When we collide we break in two,
And as we push and we shove and we hurt the ones we love,
It's a hard mistake,
When we collide,
When we collide.
It's a hard mistake,
When we collide, we break,
We break
The lyrics of Dishwalla's song Collide appear to be describing the aftermath of a broken relationship. The lines "When I came here there was more. Now I've come back to destroy" suggest that the singer has returned to a place that used to hold happy memories, but now they feel only pain and a desire to destroy. The lyrics also express regret over the way the relationship has ended, "And it's a shame what we've become, When we hurt the ones we love." The line "When the cold comes crashing down," may allude to the emotional numbness and emptiness that often follows the end of a relationship.
The chorus, "When we collide we lose ourselves. When we collide we break in two," creates the sense that the relationship was once a source of unity between the two lovers, but has now caused them to lose sight of themselves and fracture apart. The lines "And as we push and we shove and we hurt the ones we love, It's a hard mistake," seem to express the idea that the pain caused in a relationship is often unintentional and arises from two people's reciprocal attempts to achieve their own desires, resulting in an inevitable clash.
Overall, Collide is a poignant reflection on the destructive nature of discordant relationships and the emotional toll they can take on individuals. It is a cautionary tale about the importance of treating loved ones with care and empathy and the consequences of failing to do so.
Line by Line Meaning
When I came here there was more.
When I was first here, this place had more value/importance.
Now I've come back to destroy,
I have returned with the purpose of causing damage and ruin.
And I've got nothing left,
I am now without means or resources.
And it's a shame what we've become,
We've regressed into a state of disappointment or disgrace.
When we hurt the ones we love,
It is especially tragic when we cause harm to those we hold dear.
And it's a place I can not go, Anymore.
This destination holds too much pain and regret for me to ever return again.
When we collide we lose ourselves.
When we have conflicts, we lose sight of our true character/identity.
When we collide we break in two,
When we have conflicts, they tear us apart emotionally.
And as we push and we shove and we hurt the ones we love,
As we engage in aggression and violence towards those we care for,
It's a hard mistake.
It is a very difficult and painful error to make.
When the cold comes crashing down,
When the harsh reality hits us,
And the fight lost what it's about.
And the argument or conflict no longer has a clear purpose or goal.
I could tell that you had left.
I could sense that you had emotionally withdrawn or physically departed.
It's a hard mistake,
It is a very difficult and painful error to make.
When we collide, we break.
When we have conflicts, they tear us apart emotionally.
We break.
We are broken and damaged by our conflicts with others.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Howard Day, Kevin Griffin
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind