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.
Painted Yellow Lines
Dispatch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've been trying to get a ride
While my body waits, my body waits
America warm my face
I've been trying to turn the page
Once I was a little boy, staring at my shoes
You came along and found me in the chicken coop
Time takes over, may we do it again
Take me to the beachhead let's go over
All of those rocks at the end of the road and
Take me down to main street with no clothes on
With our bare feet on the painted yellow lines
With our shadows far behind us
Broke into that summer school and fooled around on the infirmary cot
And we can be like all those fairies
Making their rain angels in the eddies
And I have no expectation, just an adolescent heart
Ooh it's dark outside
I've been trying to get a ride
While my body waits, my body waits
America warm my face
I've been trying to turn the page
Once I was a little boy, staring at my shoes
You came along and found me in the chicken coop
But time takes over, I can't say when
Time takes over, may we do it again
Take me to the beachhead let's go over
All of those rocks at the end of the road
Help me down the seawall let's find Marci
See if she got that invitation to the movie
The one where the kids break out of juvie
And then by their own admission
They go and turn themselves all in
Just as they get there to the station
The young one wheels and begs the pavement
For brother speed to make arrangements with the spirits of the night
Take me to the race track let's go bet on
Aw the one that no one expects to win and
Let's bet on the skinny horse
He will surely try the hardest to come in first
I bet you for the winner they put on some kind of fancy dinner
Let's be like those Philadelphia sisters
That have prayed straight for a hundred years
And I have no expectation, just to be here in the present
And behold you for a second before it all goes away
Hah ah ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
Before it all goes away
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
Ohh in those painted yellow lines
With our shadows far behind
Broke into that summer school and fooled around on the infirmary cot
We can be like all those fairies
Making their rain angels in the eddies
And I have no expectation, just an adolescent heart
The song "Painted Yellow Lines" by Dispatch talks about nostalgia and memories of adolescent years. The verses talk about waiting for a ride, being out in the dark, trying to turn the page and leave the past behind. The chorus then mentions the desire to go back to the past, to reminisce about happier and carefree times. The lyrics reminisce about past memories, such as sneaking into a summer school and fooling around on the infirmary cot, singing in the painted yellow lines, and betting on the skinny horse at the racetrack.
As the song progresses, the lyrics talk about the desire to reconnect with the past and old friends, and the singer is willing to take the risk and see what happens. The lyrics of this song are significant because they describe the sense of longing to be young again and relive those carefree moments. The song provides hope that it is possible to go back to the past, even if it's just for a moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Ooh it's dark outside
The singer is commenting on the time of day, which is nighttime.
I've been trying to get a ride
The singer has been attempting to hail a taxi or other vehicle.
While my body waits, my body waits
The singer is standing outside, waiting for a ride to arrive.
America warm my face
The artist is looking forward to experiencing America's warm climate.
I've been trying to turn the page
The artist is attempting to move on from something in their life.
Once I was a little boy, staring at my shoes
The singer is reminiscing about their childhood.
You came along and found me in the chicken coop
Someone special came into the singer's life when they were going through a difficult time.
But time takes over, I can't say when
The passage of time is inevitable.
Time takes over, may we do it again
Despite the inevitability of time passing, the artist wants to relive a past experience.
Take me to the beachhead let's go over
The artist is requesting to go to the beach.
All of those rocks at the end of the road
The singer is referring to a specific location at the beach.
Take me down to main street with no clothes on
The artist desires a carefree, fun experience.
With our bare feet on the painted yellow lines
The singer wants to feel the pavement under their feet.
With our shadows far behind us
The singer is focused on the present moment.
Broke into that summer school and fooled around on the infirmary cot
The singer is reflecting on a mischievous moment from their past.
And we can be like all those fairies
The artist wants to feel free and unconstrained.
Making their rain angels in the eddies
The artist is metaphorically likening themselves to children playing in the rain.
And I have no expectation, just an adolescent heart
The singer is in touch with their childlike sense of wonder.
Help me down the seawall let's find Marci
The singer is asking for assistance on a physical task involving a seawall.
See if she got that invitation to the movie
The artist is enquiring about a mutual friend's potential attendance to a movie.
The one where the kids break out of juvie
The artist is referring to a specific movie.
And then by their own admission
The kids in the movie confess to their crimes.
They go and turn themselves all in
The kids in the movie turn themselves in to the authorities.
Just as they get there to the station
The climax of the movie is happening.
The young one wheels and begs the pavement
One of the kids falls down on the pavement.
For brother speed to make arrangements with the spirits of the night
The singer is using metaphorical language to describe a character's actions in the movie.
Take me to the race track let's go bet on
The singer wants to go to a place where people bet on horse races.
Aw the one that no one expects to win
The artist is referring to an unlikely horse to win the race.
And the skinny horse will surely try the hardest to come in first
The artist believes that the skinny horse will try its hardest to win the race.
I bet you for the winner they put on some kind of fancy dinner
The singer thinks that there will be an extravagant celebration if the horse they bet on wins.
Let's be like those Philadelphia sisters
The singer wants to emulate these sisters.
That have prayed straight for a hundred years
The sisters are known for their devotion to prayer.
And I have no expectation, just to be here in the present
The artist is content with living in the moment.
And behold you for a second before it all goes away
The artist wants to cherish a fleeting moment they share with someone special.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Peter Heimbold, Chad Urmston, Bradley Corrigan
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@DISPATCHOFFICIAL
We know America, Location 12 comes out next week but we couldn't help ourselves. We had to release one more song. Our touring brother Matt Embree said that Painted Yellow Lines, "feels like driving on the freeway between Biloxi and New Orleans at 3AM in the morning."
The song was written in a brick row house in Richmond, Virginia. It's about hitchhiking and jumping freight trains across America, and thinking of the past while searching for a second chance.
In the beginning, we are hitchhiking and the sun is going down - and hope with it. Thumbing it (rubber tramping it) is hard enough in the daylight, let alone the night.
The song then hurtles back to memories of Chad's childhood. He ran away from home when he was nine and made it as far as the chicken coop. His family found him asleep in the shavings. Then the song switches to summer time as a teenager, running barefoot along the yellow lines in the middle of the road at night, followed by later memories of cops, girls and horses.
Recording this song was a unique experience. The production is so seemingly simple, but was quite hard to get right. There were so many layers of color and texture working together to serve the lyrics. The drums were particularly hard to track because we didn't use any fills or hard hitting sections. The restraint in recording all of the parts and just subtly changing up the bass drum pattern became an obsession of ours.
@tawnyliebe9416
DISPATCH keep on digging deep 16 year fan love everything...people need people! Love you Pete come back see you in St. Petersburg Florida straight from central Wisconsin! ✌🏼
@RenoHomeBlog
DISPATCH so awesome. Thank you for talking about it this way, it makes the song so damn personal and filled with meaning. *went as far as the chicken coop.
@moragmacgregor6792
DISPATCH ~ I heard this song playing in the background maybe a dozen times without much reaction...then all of a sudden it grabbed me in a very personal place and I've been obsessed ever since.
That's the way it happens with the very best songs.
@jasonmilton3338
this song crushes me. the lyrics are so deep in my feels its scary. hits me in the ventricles.
@danielleolson854
I love this song so so much!
@tuanjim799
God, this song just fills me with such ineffable, painful/sweet nostalgia. Beautiful. This is the stuff of life.
@ruthsophia8717
I cherish this song. Favorite of all time ❤
@elm_
the lines 'take me to the race track, let’s go bet on the one that no one expects to win. let’s bet on the skinny horse, he will surely try the hardest to come in first' really make me want to cry and idk why
@KosherPorky
You're a poet and you really should know it.