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.
Mayday
Dispatch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your eyes were the color of some kind of gray
I hear what you're sayin'
But don't let me go
I got all these people
They rush to tell
They rush to say
Mayday, mayday, mayday (x2)
Troubles are brought back by you
Funny how we, we go down
We go anywhere but to the ground (x2)
So I heard that you are doin' fine
You've flown off and places been on your mind
I can't understand but I don't need to know
I'll speak to you through this radio
They rush to tell
They rush to say
"There's a man and he's overboard"
Mayday, mayday, mayday (x5)
Troubles are brought back by you
Funny how we, we go down
We go anywhere but to the ground (x2)
MUSICAL INTERLUDE
"There's a man, and he's overboard" (x4)
The song Mayday by Dispatch tells the story of two people who have gone their separate ways. The first verse describes the singer's encounter with the person he has parted ways with, whose eyes are the color of "some kind of gray". The second verse reveals that the person has been traveling and experiencing new things, but the singer doesn't need to know the details of their life. Instead, he will speak to them through a radio, which gives the impression that there is distance and separation between them.
However, the chorus of the song is where the real message of the song lies. The repeated use of the distress signal "mayday" indicates that the singer feels lost and alone, like a man overboard in the middle of the ocean. The troubles that the person has brought with them have caused the singer to feel like he is sinking, and he can't seem to find solid ground.
The overall message of the song seems to be about the difficulties of moving on from a relationship and the feelings of isolation that can come with it. The use of the mayday distress signal gives the impression that the singer is in desperate need of help and support, but he ultimately finds himself alone.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw you yesterday
I saw you yesterday, and you don't look too good.
Your eyes were the color of some kind of gray
Your eyes showed a sign of sadness, depression or anxiety.
I hear what you're sayin'
I'm listening to you and I understand what you're saying.
But don't let me go
Don't let me go, don't leave me alone, I need you here.
I got all these people
I have a lot of people around me, but none of them understand me the way you do.
They rush to tell
People around me are always in a hurry to spread gossip and hearsay.
They rush to say
People around me are always in a hurry to spread gossip and hearsay.
"There's a man, and he's overboard"
They are calling for help, someone is in danger.
Mayday, mayday, mayday (x2)
Urgent distress signal, requesting immediate assistance.
Troubles are brought back by you
You're the cause of all my troubles, you bring back all my negative feelings.
Funny how we, we go down
It's strange how we always seem to end up in a bad place together.
We go anywhere but to the ground (x2)
We try to escape from reality, but we can never escape from our problems.
So I heard that you are doin' fine
I've heard that you're doing well, but I'm not sure if I can believe that.
You've flown off and places been on your mind
You've gone away and have been thinking a lot about different places.
I can't understand but I don't need to know
I don't understand what's going on in your life, but I don't need to know the details to care for you.
I'll speak to you through this radio
I'll keep in touch with you through this radio, even if I can't be with you in person.
Mayday, mayday, mayday (x5)
Urgent distress signal, requesting immediate assistance.
"There's a man, and he's overboard" (x4)
They are calling for help, someone is in danger, and they need immediate assistance.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Bradley Joseph Corrigan, Chad Stokes Urmston, Peter Francis Heimbold
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@markshipley7571
Mayday was my first experience with this awesome music. Grace Potter station on Pandora. Just luck to find one of the greatest bands.
@autonomy5649
Why are there so few views and comments? This is fantastic!
@ramblinhamlin6519
You would probably find them on the Silent Steeples album comments.
@chilidoghamsalad9952
this is probably my favorite song yep
@78RSI
Напишу привет из России.И тут тут есть поклонники Dispatch/State Radio. With love.