The band originated in the early 1990s as One Fell Swoop, but changed their name to Dispatch in 1996. Chad Urmston, Braddigan, and Pete (Francis) Heimbold, who were all attending Middlebury College in Middlebury, Vermont comprised the band's lineup throughout their entire career. Their music has drawn on several influences, such as acoustic folk-rock, reggae, and funk.
Dispatch gained much recognition outside of New England, without any help from a label, and stuck together long enough to release seven albums, three of which were live performances. During concerts, the band had been known to improvise upon their album releases, often resulting in a song ending in twice the length of the original. The group was also fond of switching instruments and vocal duties when playing live.
Upon the announcement of its break-up in 2002, the band scheduled one final concert. The free show was performed at the Hatch Shell in Boston on July 31, 2004. "The Last Dispatch," as it was referred, is said to be the largest concert in independent music history; roughly 110,000 fans from over 20 different countries attended the show. Parts of the performance were released as a CD/DVD two-disc set later that year, entitled All Points Bulletin, along with an earlier show in Somerville, Massachusetts.
All three of the band's members are currently still in the music industry. Urmston is now the frontman of State Radio, while Corrigan (now credited as Braddigan, a nickname by which he was known since his time with Dispatch) and Heimbold (now credited as Pete Francis, his middle name) are succesfully pursuing solo efforts.
After the song Elias, written by Urmston after his experience living and teaching in Zimbabwe, the "Elias Fund" was formed to send children from the ravaged country to college.
Dispatch came out with a movie entitled "Last Dispatch" in July 2005, which documents their final 12 days together as a band and tells the story of how they became "the band that redefined independent music history". The film was released and previewed in Boston. Chad, Brad, and Pete attended the showing and celebrated throughout the weekend with their fans.
On December 22, 2005, Corrigan helped to organize a benefit concert, known as the Relief Project, at Irving Plaza in New York, New York. Along with several other performers, Corrigan invited Heimbold and State Radio to play. The three reunited very briefly, playing the song Here We Go as an encore. Corrigan stated there that he plans further Relief Project concerts featuring all three and perhaps sometime in 2007, a major Dispatch reunion concert.
Entitled "Dispatch: Zimbabwe", Dispatch arranged for one show in Madison Square Garden, with all the money sent towards relief efforts in Zimbabwe. Originally billed as a one show deal on July 14, Dispatch was surprised how quickly this first show sold out and set two more shows for the 13 and 15. After all three shows sold out, Dispatch announced another smaller show on July 11th at Webster Hall in New York, where they made their comeback debut to great success.
Dispatch had a second set of reunion concerts beginning at Red Rocks amphitheater in Denver, Colorado on June 3, 4, and 5th, 2011. These performances launched a reunion tour around the US and the release of their Dispatch EP on May 17th.
In 2017, the band released the song, "Only The Wild Ones" from their album, America, Location 12.
Atticus Cobain
Dispatch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You never been to Spain
I never been to war, you never been to prison
But we never been the same
After all is said and done
There was so much more to relate
Now the world will never know just what it lost that day
Give me some hotdamn, give me some birdman, give me some Proud Mary
The one with Claudia Lennear
Give me that mix tape, give me those school days,
Give me some hard cider the one we did not mean to make
I was never beaten down like you were
I got to grow up in your wake
Momma always protected you, and dad was my ticket away
And after all that was said and done
There was so much more to relate
Now the world will never know just what it lost that day
Give me some hotdamn, give me some birdman, give me some Proud Mary
The one with Claudia Lennear
Give me that mix tape, give me those school days,
Give me some hard cider the one we did not mean to make
In prison there was more drugs than i ever seen
And they let me stay out all night and trip the starlight til my soul was clean
And when i got out, I began my journey to the east
As they were filling you up with pills
Give me some hotdamn, give me some birdman, give me some Proud Mary
The one with Claudia Lennear
Give me that mix tape, give me those school days,
Give me some hard cider the one we did not mean to make
Give me that long skate, give me that heartache
Give me some Proud Mary the one with Claudia Lennear
Give me that penalty kill, give me some big chill
You be Dignan Redding, i’ll be Atticus Cobain
The lyrics of “Atticus Cobain” by Dispatch are deeply personal and introspective, touching on the differences and commonalities between two people. The first verse establishes the separation between the two, highlighting how they have each had different life experiences, such as never having been to London, Spain, war or prison, but they do share a common bond. The chorus repeats the line, “after all is said and done, there was so much more to relate, now the world will never know just what it lost that day,” indicating a deep sense of loss and missed opportunities to connect.
The second verse delves deeper into the contrasts between the two individuals, with the singer discussing how he never experienced the same hardships and challenges as the other person, but still had to navigate life in their shadow, albeit with some advantages. The concluding verse describes a moment of separation, with one person going to prison while the other embarked on a journey to Asia. It ends with the two trying to find a way to connect again, with the singer asking for various things that remind him of their shared experiences, ending with the line “You be Dignan Redding, I’ll be Atticus Cobain.”
Overall, the lyrics to “Atticus Cobain” convey a sense of longing for connection and understanding, despite differences in life experiences and choices.
Line by Line Meaning
I never been to London
I have never been to London.
You never been to Spain
You have never been to Spain.
I never been to war, you never been to prison
I haven't experienced war and you haven't been to prison.
But we never been the same
Despite our different experiences, we still understand each other.
After all is said and done
When everything has been considered and concluded,
There was so much more to relate
There was so much more to understand and communicate.
Now the world will never know just what it lost that day
The world will never fully understand the loss we experienced.
Give me some hotdamn, give me some birdman, give me some Proud Mary
Give me some excitement and good music.
The one with Claudia Lennear
Referring to a specific song with a particular performer.
Give me that mix tape, give me those school days,
Give me the memories of our youth.
Give me some hard cider the one we did not mean to make
Reminiscing on an accidental but fun memory.
I was never beaten down like you were
I was privileged and didn't experience the hardships you did.
I got to grow up in your wake
I learned and benefited from your experiences.
Momma always protected you, and dad was my ticket away
Your mother was there to support, and my father helped me leave for a better life.
In prison there was more drugs than i ever seen And they let me stay out all night and trip the starlight til my soul was clean
In prison, I saw more drugs than I had ever seen before, but I still found moments of peace.
And when i got out, I began my journey to the east As they were filling you up with pills
When I was released, I started a new journey, while at the same time, you were struggling with your own personal battles.
Give me that long skate, give me that heartache Give me some Proud Mary the one with Claudia Lennear Give me that penalty kill, give me some big chill You be Dignan Redding, i’ll be Atticus Cobain
Let's enjoy more memories of our youth, and take on fictional personas.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Bradley Corrigan, Chad Urmston, Peter Heimbold
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DISPATCHOFFICIAL
We initially thought this song (from the demos) was going to be one of focus songs for us on this record but it almost didn’t get recorded at all... and then even once we recorded it, it narrowly beat out another song to be included.
The verses were written about a friend of mine and his brother - one who went to war and one who was thrown in prison for selling LSD. The "good one” was ruined by the war and the years of medication that was piled on afterwards - he became a shell of himself. The other got out of prison (where he “did more drugs than I've ever seen”) and sought enlightenment in the far east.
The chorus was written more about my own siblings. It’s all about growing up and looking back at things that we loved together - characters like Dignan from the movie Bottle Rocket and Atticus Finch and real people like Otis Redding, Kurt Cobain and Claudia Lennear (from The Ikettes and who sang with Bowie and the Stones and who actually came in and sang back up on the track!!)
@Pilkman15
I want to hear the song that almost beat this out, because this song is incredible.
@turb00o
One of the songs I try not to over listen to much, though its hard because I want to hear it play every day.
@Alk3mix
So glad you didn't leave this one out. One of my Favorites and the ending swing is a killer. Keep rockin.
@Om3194
Such a cool concept for a song. I really love your music. Don’t stop!!!
@ozenozmedia
Oh. :>)
@QBG
After listening to the whole album a ridiculous number of times, I think this may take the crown as my favorite song.
@sakurasensations4786
Not my favorite (because of Only the Wild Ones) but it’s definitely up there! It’s really great!
@rtoddestoddes-miller3885
Thank you for the back ground on this song! The album is beautiful, nostalgic, terrific. Best with the tour; Philadelphia loves you!
@anubhavmallick8739
I am a real die hard fan of the song circles around the sun my goodness...........I AM CRAZYYYYYYYYY.WHAT A SONG