Often hard to pin-down and wrongly bundled along their 90's contemporaries,… Read Full Bio ↴Often hard to pin-down and wrongly bundled along their 90's contemporaries, Drugstore have always quietly stood away from the pack, led by Brazilian songwriter and bassist Isabel Monteiro.
Had anyone actually thought about it, Drugstore should have been branded Alt-indie-country - as Isabel’s smoky vocals and pitch-dark lyrical subject matter, coupled with the band’s minimalist, melancholic guitar and string arrangements, stick them firmly in the lovelorn, caustic company of Low, Dusty in Memphis and Leonard Cohen.

Throughout the band's eventful career (although Isabel prefers to describe it as an adventure rather than a professional enterprise), the band have landed 2x top 50 album charts and a top 20 single.
Drugstore's music nimbly hops over the ages, from 1920s Berlin cabaret through the French chanson tradition, via The Velvet Undergrounds woozy melodic charm and Tom Waits’bar-room badinage, across PJ Harveys earnest intellect and The Bad Seeds’rumbling, angry melancholia, with an intoxicating mix of heartfelt and carefree disarming vérité.

The band was formed in 1993 when Isabel Monteiro and american drummer Mike Chylinski got together via a flat-share in East London. Soon after their self-financed debut single ‘Alive’ was released, and having only performed a handful of gigs, the band signed a major deal with maverick label GoDiscs.
The single immediately draw an unprecedented amount of attention, earning the band their first of many 'single of the week' in Melody Maker, Music Week, Q and others.
Another 2 critically acclaimed albums followed: White Magic for Lovers’, in 1998, which features the top 20 sinle ‘El President’, a duet with Thom Yorke – and ‘Songs for the JetSet’, released in 2001.

In the summer of 2001, while the band were in the middle of promoting the 'Songs for the Jetset' album, to the surprise of band members and dismay of the Record Company, Isabel suddenly decided to 'walk away from it all' and the band went into hibernation.

8 years later, in 2011, Isabel Monteiro reappeared with the semi-acoustic intimate album ‘Anatomy’, released by RocketGirl and partly financed by the fans.

In 2013 the band teams-up with London based label Cherry Red Records, for the release of a 'Best of' compilation, released on September 2013, which includes tracks spanning the band’s 20 year career and 4 albums.

The band now plays special gigs, and Monteiro is currently writing material for a new album.

Navegando
Drugstore Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I've been running around
And I'm tired
I can feel the ground
Caving in
I can't see a thing
But I would not trust myself
With anything
It's a question of pride

And how to behave
Losing your skin
Or to be saved
Cursing your fate
The say that man can kill
The one he hates
Save me I
Am so tired of running around
Save me I
Oh I need help (Navegando
Sem parar)
Oh I need help (Navegando
Contra O Mar)
And I've tried to be tough
And live in town
But finding so hard
Just to get around
Before you can stop
A light comes flooding in
And tumbling down
But it's a rational tide
For goodness sakes
It's what you can buy
And how much it takes
Like learning to fly
But I would not bind my faith
To anything
Save me I
Am so tired of running around
Save me I
Oh I need help (Navegando
Sem parar)
Oh I need help (Navegando
Contra O Mar)
Oh I need help (Navegando)
Oh I need
(Sem parar)
Oh I need help (Navegando)
Oh I need
(Contra O Mar)

I've been running around
And I'm tired...

Overall Meaning

In the song "Navegando" by Drugstore, the lyrics talk about the feeling of exhaustion and uncertainty in life. The singer describes feeling like they have been running around constantly and that the ground is caving in on them. They express a desire for help and salvation but also acknowledge the difficulty of trusting others and giving up control. The chorus repeats the phrase "save me" as a plea for assistance and relief from the struggles of life.

The lyrics delve deeper into the internal struggle of pride and vulnerability. The singer questions how to behave in tough situations and whether it's better to lose oneself or try to be saved. They reflect on the ability of man to harm the ones they hate but also the importance of asking for help when needed. The lyrics paint a picture of someone who feels lost and tired, searching for a way to navigate through life's obstacles and find peace.

Overall, the song "Navegando" expresses a universal theme of the human experience - the struggle for survival and the need for help along the way.

Line by Line Meaning

I've been running around
I've been moving from place to place without rest

And I'm tired
I'm exhausted from all the running around

I can feel the ground
I sense the instability of my surroundings

Caving in
Collapsing or giving way under the weight of my troubles

I can't see a thing
I'm lost or blind to the path ahead

But I would not trust myself
I lack confidence in my own judgement

With anything
Unwilling to take responsibility for any decision

It's a question of pride
Pride is a factor in decision-making

And how to behave
Choosing between right and wrong or simply surviving

Losing your skin
Putting oneself in danger

Or to be saved
Seeking refuge or assistance

Cursing your fate
Becoming angry with one's circumstances

The say that man can kill
People are capable of extreme violence towards each other

The one he hates
Hatred is a strong motivator for violence

Save me I
Requesting help or salvation

Am so tired of running around
Experiencing exhaustion from constant movement

Oh I need help (Navegando Sem parar)
As I navigate through life without stopping, I need assistance to continue

Oh I need help (Navegando Contra O Mar)
As I navigate through life against the tide, I need assistance to reach my destination

And I've tried to be tough
Attempts to show strength in the face of adversity

And live in town
Living in an urban area with all of its challenges

But finding so hard
It's difficult to manage the challenges of urban living

Just to get around
Traveling through the city is a challenge

Before you can stop
Before you have a chance to catch your breath

A light comes flooding in
A moment of clarity or illumination

And tumbling down
A realization that knocks you off balance

But it's a rational tide
A logical approach to problem-solving

For goodness sakes
For the sake of being a good person

It's what you can buy
The purchasing power to acquire necessary resources

And how much it takes
The amount of effort required to obtain resources

Like learning to fly
The painstaking process of acquiring skills or abilities

But I would not bind my faith
Reluctant to put too much trust in any one thing

Oh I need help (Navegando) Oh I need (Sem parar)
A repeated plea for assistance as I navigate through life without stopping

Oh I need help (Navegando) Oh I need (Contra O Mar)
A repeated plea for assistance as I navigate through life against the tide

And I've tried to be tough And live in town But finding so hard Just to get around Before you can stop A light comes flooding in And tumbling down
Despite attempts to be resilient in the face of urban challenges, navigating through the city is still difficult and a moment of clarity can be overwhelming

I've been running around And I'm tired...
Continuing to experience exhaustion from ceaseless movement

Contributed by Mia R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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