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.
Dear Congress
Dispatch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No little steps in the middle of the night
And the nation's numb, is this what our forefathers had in mind?
What is happening in Washington?
'Cause it's not enough
Your thoughts and prayers
You send your love, you say you care
Oh but my heart has died
Standing alone in an empty room
Except for my child but she's not really there
And all the people have gone
And I want to pick her up and take her home
Can't bear to leave her here
It's not enough
Your thoughts and prayers
You send your love, you say you care
But you are not my baby
Oh bless the child
Oh rest their souls
I bet those law makers don't know
This feeling that it's not enough
Your thoughts and prayers
You send your love, you say you care
But you are not my baby
Can you do something
So that there's not more gone babies
26, 58, 49, 14, 12, 27, 13, 32... 17
The majority of the lyrics in Dispatch's song Dear Congress are about the pain felt by a mother whose child has died in a mass shooting. The lyrics express the feeling of the mother being left with an empty room and her child not being there. The lines, "No little steps in the middle of the night, And the nation's numb, is this what our forefathers had in mind?" suggest that the current state of the nation, where mass shootings and gun violence have become almost commonplace, was not what was intended when the forefathers created the Second Amendment and the Constitution.
The chorus of the song focuses on the inaction of politicians who offer "thoughts and prayers" but are not taking action to prevent future tragedies. The lines "Oh bless the child, Oh rest their souls, I bet those lawmakers don't know, This feeling that it's not enough" express the anger and frustration that many people feel towards politicians who refuse to change laws or policies that could prevent further loss of life.
The final lines of the song contain a list of numbers that represent the ages of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012. The inclusion of these numbers serves as a reminder that shootings like these have happened before and will continue to happen unless something is done to prevent them.
Line by Line Meaning
No hands to warm, no bedtime story, no lullaby
There is no one to love and care for the innocent children affected by gun violence.
No little steps in the middle of the night
There is no chance for these children to grow up and have a future.
And the nation's numb, is this what our forefathers had in mind?
The country is unresponsive to this crisis. This is not what the founding fathers imagined for America.
What is happening in Washington?
People are wondering why there has not been any action taken by Congress to address this issue.
'Cause it's not enough
Your thoughts and prayers
You send your love, you say you care
But you are not my baby
Sending thoughts and prayers is not enough to save the innocent lives lost, and politicians cannot fully understand the pain of the families affected.
Oh but my heart has died
Standing alone in an empty room
Except for my child but she's not really there
The parents of the victims are empty and heartbroken, standing alone in a world without their child.
And all the people have gone
And I want to pick her up and take her home
Can't bear to leave her here
The parents are left alone to grieve, longing to take their child home and unable to bear leaving them behind.
Oh bless the child
Oh rest their souls
I bet those law makers don't know
This feeling that it's not enough
The victims of gun violence are innocent children who deserve to be blessed and rest in peace while politicians may not comprehend the scale and depth of this tragedy.
Can you do something
So that there's not more gone babies
This line is a plea to Congress to take action and pass reform to prevent more innocent children from losing their lives.
26, 58, 49, 14, 12, 27, 13, 32... 17
This line lists the ages of some of the victims that suffered gun violence, indicating the importance of addressing this issue. The final number, 17, is a reference to the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, a turning point for many people in advocating for reform.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Brad Corrigan, Chadwick Stokes, Pete Francis Heimbold
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@carlsanders6153
THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS
(Written By Carl Dorsey May 25, 2022 Inspired by Mass Shooting in Uvalde, Texas)
Can’t believe it’s happened again.
Another mass shooting. Another family grieving.
Tell me when will it ever end?
We express our outrage but who are we deceiving?
So I say to politicians and leaders
Please demonstrate that you really do care.
‘Cause we need more from you than just your empty words.
We need more than just your thoughts and prayers.
Yes, we need more than just your thoughts and prayers.
CHORUS:
Keep your D___ thoughts and prayers
If you ain’t gonna do something about it.
If you ain’t gonna do something about it.
Keep your D___ thoughts and prayers
If you ain’t gonna do something about it.
If you ain’t gonna do something about it.
PLEASE DO SOMETHING! SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
This is not the time for moments of silence.
‘Cause it’s to stand up. It’s time for roaring!
Our silence and inaction is a cancer.
Too many children are dying when they should be soaring.
So I say to the Senate and to Congress
Can’t you see how our hearts are laid bare?
We need more from you than just your empty words.
We need more than just your thoughts and prayers.
Yes, we need more than just your thoughts and prayers.
Keep your D___ thoughts and prayers
If you ain’t gonna do something about it.
If you ain’t gonna do something about it.
Keep your D___ thoughts and prayers
If you ain’t gonna do something about it.
If you ain’t gonna do something about it.
PLEASE DO SOMETHING! SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
BRIDGE:
We need gun control. We need self-control.
We need legislation to save our nation.
We need gun control. We need self-control.
We need legislation to save our nation.
Keep your D___ thoughts and prayers
If you ain’t gonna do something about it.
If you ain’t gonna do something about it.
Keep your D___ thoughts and prayers
If you ain’t gonna do something about it.
If you ain’t gonna do something about it.
PLEASE DO SOMETHING! SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
PLEASE DO SOMETHING! SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
PLEASE DO SOMETHING! SOMETHING ABOUT IT!
@nabsiegel
Powerful song.
@milodasandwich2260
Thank you Dispatch.
@meatstack
Hello from May 2022. We are still singing this same song
@gelle00
Wow... Fantastic song. Ending is amazing.
@jacobrose1274
Saw this live when you all played it in Providence just recently and couldn't help but weep. Gets to the heart of the issue as always, and humanizes what is too often a discussion in hypotheticals and abstractions. Please, keep writing music like this.
@braap350
I also was there and I could not agree more
@matthewcupelli5901
This is excellent
@eliseusilva1777
Fantastic work guys, absolutely loved it. Keep up the great work
@ashleyspearman6378
I have dispatch for 15 plus years but wow. Thank for your message.
@TDuMars27
I love you all. Dispatch, you get it right everytime.