As the snow was melting from the treacherous Blizzard of '79, the Garcia family relocated to Houston. The pivotal point in his musical career came just a few years later while grocery shopping with his father. Torn between hopeless devotion to the losing Chicago Bears and a fast-rising affinity for rock n' roll, Francis chose to purchase the March 1984 issue of Guitar World, graced with a cover story on Angus Young, over an issue of Inside Sports featuring his boyhood hero, Walter Payton. Within months, Francis convinced his father to buy him an Ibanez Destroyer - the black Phil Collen model with the triple humbuckers. It was quite kick-ass.
Shortly thereafter, Francis formed his first band. Comprised of his older brother on guitar and a classmate on drums, the band adopted the moniker, Stonehenge - a nod to their fascination with Dungeons and Dragons. They were off to a rocky start. After performing the weekly Teen Swim at the neighborhood pool, they suffered a major setback when the community newspaper referred to the band as "The Stoneheads." Infuriated and feeling as if their intellect was in question, they managed to put it behind them and move on, until breaking up after Francis' 9th grade talent show.
Francis graduated from 'Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me' to 'Can I Say' in the late 80s. Not unlike the "powerful and emotive" premise of The Indian Medicine Man (sans ethnic stereotype), he wrote, performed and recorded 5 lovesick, noisy pop punk songs under the name Yuck as part of an audio production class project in 1991. While it was a one man-shuffle at the time, the songs soon became the groundwork for an actual band who became the surrogate parents of the name. Before too long, Yuck went in on a rehearsal space with their friends from Equal Vision Records, Refuse to Fall. After a subsequent move to Austin, shows with Fugazi, Down By Law, Seaweed and (a pre-Warner Brothers) Green Day materialized. The members of Yuck eventually went on to other significant Austin punk/indie rock bands, such as Paul Newman and Gomez. Francis went on to join Fourth Grade Nothing.
4GN shared the stage with Jimmy Eat World, Christie Front Drive, Propagandhi, Avail, and longtime friends Gameface before disbanding during the fallout of a flawed major-label courtship in 1997. While beginning to moonlight as a music composer for independent film, Francis joined ex-members of Mineral and Sincola in the newly formed Pop Unknown. He began to divide his time between scoring the feature film 'Plastic Utopia', playing guitar/keyboards in Pop Unknown, singing/playing guitar in the angular post-hardcore band Bicycle Pilot, and directing the short film 'Rice With Ketchup' (a documentary/comedy concerning Filipino-American ethnicity and generational conflict). But after graduating from The University of Texas and experiencing a geographic change of heart, he bid farewell to Austin and moved to New York City.
Artistic distractions and snowstorms aside (Blizzard of 2000 included), Francis continues to forge onward in Brooklyn, New York under the name Drive Til Morning - a reference to a journal entry made on a post-high school graduation road trip. The culmination of more than a decade's worth of musical influences, DTM juxtaposes twangy Americana pop with electronic and orchestral flourishes - all informed by a punk rock upbringing. And although Francis' songs are much quieter these days, the sentiment remains the same...
Engine Roars Me To Sleep
Drive Til Morning Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
i'm heading back north.
let the engines roar.
and sing me to sleep.
we stayed up all night.
and we laughed just like kids.
let the clouds be my cradle tonight.
half alive.
since ninety-five.
flying miles high and shut eyed.
but swinging from the stars.
let's tear down the skyline tonight.
my hand on your shoulder.
your heart in my hands.
roar me a soft lullaby
The lyrics of Drive Til Morning's song "Engine Roars Me To Sleep" express a sense of longing for home, as the singer heads back north from Texas. The sound of the engines provides a comforting background noise, lulling the singer to sleep as they reflect on their time in Texas. The lyrics also describe the joy and freedom of being young, laughing and staying up all night like kids.
The reference to the first flurry of snow falling on this day since 1995 seems to suggest that the singer is from a place where snow is rare, increasing their sense of nostalgia and homesickness. The line "flying miles high and shut eyed" conveys a sense of vulnerability and trust, as the singer puts their life in the hands of the pilots and the sound of the engines. The line "swinging from the stars" suggests that the singer is dreaming big and is willing to take risks to achieve their goals.
The final lines "my hand on your shoulder, your heart in my hands, roar me a soft lullaby" suggest an intimate and tender moment between two people who care for each other deeply. The engine's roar becomes a soft lullaby, providing comfort and security as the singer falls asleep.
Line by Line Meaning
goodnight texas.
Farewell to Texas.
i'm heading back north.
I'm going back from Texas to north.
let the engines roar.
Let the sound of the engine be my companion.
and sing me to sleep.
Let the engine sound rock me to sleep.
we stayed up all night.
We spent the whole night awake.
and we laughed just like kids.
We laughed like children.
let the clouds be my cradle tonight.
Let the clouds serve as my bed tonight.
half alive.
I'm only half-conscious.
when the first flurry of snow fell on this day.
A snowfall started today.
since ninety-five.
It's been happening since 1995.
flying miles high and shut eyed.
Flying high in the sky, with my eyes closed.
but swinging from the stars.
But feeling like I'm swinging from the stars.
let's tear down the skyline tonight.
Let's enjoy the night and the cityscape.
my hand on your shoulder.
My hand is resting on your shoulder.
your heart in my hands.
I am holding your heart in my hands.
roar me a soft lullaby
Let the sound of the engine roar me a gentle lullaby.
Contributed by Cameron T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.