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.
Get Ready Boy
Dispatch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't really wanna hold much longer
Silver sun I feel your love
Very soon we will ride
So get ready boy because here I go
I've been waiting my whole life just to let it roll
And I bank to the right and away I fly
Back to the ground we came from
Hey back to the ground we fall
Caught the rain with your all alone
The milkweed and the green below us
It's early yet but wind is strong
And there's a world on it's way
So get ready boy because here I go
I've been waiting my whole life just to let it roll
And I bank to the right and away I fly
Back to the ground we came from
Hey back to the ground we fall
Hey back to the ground we came from
Hey back to the ground we fall
So get ready boy because here I go
I been waiting my whole life just to let it go
And I bank to the right and away I fly
Back to the ground we came from
Hey back to the ground we fall
Hey back to the ground we came from
Hey back to the ground we fall
Hey back to the ground we came from
Hey back to the ground we fall
Hey back to the ground we came from
Hey back to the ground we fall
The lyrics to Dispatch's song Get Ready Boy convey a sense of anticipation and a desire to escape from the present moment. The first two lines suggest a weariness with the current situation and a longing for change. The "silver sun" is perhaps a symbol of hope and love, a promise of something better that is just out of reach. The repeated phrase "back to the ground we came from / hey back to the ground we fall" is a reminder of the impermanence and transience of life, and the inevitability of returning to their starting point.
The chorus, "So get ready boy because here I go / I've been waiting my whole life just to let it roll / And I bank to the right and away I fly" conveys a sense of excitement and eagerness to take action, to finally make a move towards something new. The use of the word "bank" suggests a turning point, a change in direction.
The verses describe the natural world around them, with references to milkweed and the wind. The phrase "caught the rain with your all alone" is more mysterious, but may suggest a sense of isolation or loneliness.
Overall, the song seems to be about the desire for change and for something different, a sense of restlessness and anticipation for the future.
Line by Line Meaning
Kind fall we've had enough
We've had enough of this gentle autumn.
Don't really wanna hold much longer
I don't want to wait much longer.
Silver sun I feel your love
I feel the warmth of the sun on my skin.
Very soon we will ride
We will soon take off and fly.
So get ready boy because here I go
Be prepared for takeoff, I'm about to go.
I've been waiting my whole life just to let it roll
I've been waiting my entire life to let go and fly.
And I bank to the right and away I fly
I turn to the right and begin my flight.
Back to the ground we came from
We're returning to the earth where we started.
Hey back to the ground we fall
We're falling back to the ground.
Caught the rain with your all alone
You're out there in the rain by yourself.
The milkweed and the green below us
We see the greenery and plants below us.
It's early yet but wind is strong
It's still early, but the wind is getting strong.
And there's a world on it's way
There's a new world waiting for us to explore.
I been waiting my whole life just to let it go
I've been waiting so long to let go and fly.
Hey back to the ground we came from
We're heading back to where we started on the ground.
Hey back to the ground we fall
We're falling back to the ground where we started.
Contributed by Alexis J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Yvonne Turner
LOVE IT
grey peters
♥ this song!!!
MR toaD
This song brings back old memories with my dad.
matthew sullivan
Im surprised this does'nt have more views. But I love this song.
Isaac Kerr
This is damn fine, favourite off the album
Sergen -Dodo- Temuçin
I love this rhytm.
Jordan King
Well that's good because these guys have been around for a while lol
grey peters
4TH!!!!!!! but yeah dispatch is awesome and this is my new favorite song
Lania KaiDado
Awwww My Brothers So compassionate and Intense together.
J.E. Ayers-Brooks
#dispatchessentials