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.
Past the Falls
Dispatch Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He sits beneath her window sill
She awaits the magic in his hands
He walks her out into the night
And takes her in a different light
Her eyes divert to the water beneath his feet
Oh, the water beneath his feet
Boy wakes up and runs outside
To find that all his fears have died
And all the shells are laying on the sand
She kicks a rock along that road
And stood still while the story was told
Do you believe in me he said, can you believe in me
Oh, you believe in me
Oh, you believe in me
The wind blew and her hair stood still
He sits beneath her window sill
She awaits the magic in his hands
He walks her out into the night
And takes her in a different light
Her eyes divert to the water beneath his feet
Oh, the water beneath his feet
Oh, the water beneath his feet
Oh, you believe in me
Oh, you believe in me
The lyrics of Dispatch's song Past The Falls tell a story of two individuals in a moment of contemplation, admiring the natural beauty around them and reflecting on their relationship. The opening lyrics describe the wind blowing, and a man sitting beneath his lover's window. She is waiting for him, expecting magic in his hands, as he takes her out into the night. The couple stands by the water and the images of the scene are vividly captured in the lyrics. The woman's eyes divert to the water beneath his feet, perhaps symbolizing the depth of her love and the bond between them.
The next verse of the song switches perspective to a boy who wakes up and runs outside, only to find that his fears are gone. The shells are lying on the sand as he walks alongside a woman, who kicks a rock along the road. The story of the song builds to a climax at this point as the man asks the woman if she believes in him. The repetition of the question 'Do you believe in me?' suggests the importance of faith and trust in any relationship. The song ends as the scenes from the beginning of the song are repeated, and the woman still believes in the man despite any hardships or challenges that they may face together.
This song conveys the power of love and the importance of trust and belief in each other. The lyrics also wonderfully capture the beauty and serenity of nature.
Line by Line Meaning
The wind blew and her hair stood still
The wind blew, but she remained still, waiting.
He sits beneath her window sill
He sits below her, looking up at her window in anticipation.
She awaits the magic in his hands
She's excited to see what he has in store for her.
He walks her out into the night
He takes her on an adventure, into the dark.
And takes her in a different light
He shows her something in a new perspective.
Her eyes divert to the water beneath his feet
She looks away to the water at his feet.
Oh, the water beneath his feet
A repetition of an earlier line, emphasizing the importance of the water.
Boy wakes up and runs outside
A young man awakens and rushes outside.
To find that all his fears have died
He realizes that his fears no longer have any hold over him.
And all the shells are laying on the sand
He sees all the shells tossed on the beach, a symbol of beauty.
She kicks a rock along that road
She moves a rock along the street with her foot.
And stood still while the story was told
She listens intensely to the story being shared with her.
Do you believe in me he said, can you believe in me
He asks if she trusts him, if she can put her faith in him.
Oh, you believe in me
A repetition of an earlier line, emphasizing the importance of trust.
Oh, you believe in me
A repetition of an earlier line, emphasizing the importance of trust.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Bradley Joseph Corrigan, Chad Stokes Urmston, Peter Francis Heimbold
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@edgarbonilla2022
Love every song from this awesome band
@marciwata9684
My favorite song by you guys.
God bless!
@madams6198
We still believe in you Brad! Even in 2022!
@drummerbraves
Look how young you guys are in the pics.
@JethroTClampet
That was July 2004. I went to that show.... 100,000 people showed up.
@KosherPorky
@@JethroTClampet Yep. They were all in their late 20s then
@KosherPorky
Braddigan is the best