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.
Thin Air
Drugstore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I have to say
It's time to say goodbye
And walk away
Hope everything we've lost
We'll find again
Another time
Or day
Blind as a post
He said that somehow he could understand
Then he read my hand and told me to
To make the most
Of today
Guess the world
Is filled with people
All the time
Everywhere
Guess the world
Is filled with people
And it's hanging on thin air
I hear a sound
So far away
That Crazy Captain never got to sail
But his heart travelled many miles away
Another time
Or day
Guess the world
Is filled with people
All the time
Everywhere
Guess the world
Is filled with people
And it's hanging on thin air
Guess the world
Is filled with people
All the time
Everywhere
Guess the world
Is filled with people
And it's hanging on thin air
Guess that was all
I had to say
It's time to say goodbye
And walk away
Hope everything we've lost
We'll find again
Another time
Or day
The lyrics of Drugstore's song "Thin Air" depict feelings of closure, acceptance and hopelessness. The singer has come to terms with the end of a relationship and says goodbye, acknowledging that what they have lost might never be found again. This is exemplified in lines such as "Hope everything we've lost we'll find again, another time or day." However, there seems to be a hint of optimism in the song, as the singer meets a blind man who tells them to make the most of today, implying that life and happiness can still be found in the present moment.
The song's title, "Thin Air," is a metaphor for the fragility of life and relationships. The world is "hanging on thin air," reminding us that everything can be lost in a moment. This adds an extra layer of melancholy to the song, as the singer realizes that they might have lost something precious forever.
The lyrics also touch upon the fact that the world is full of people, yet sometimes that can make you feel more alone. This is exemplified in the lines "Guess the world is filled with people all the time, everywhere," implying that even amongst a sea of people, one can still feel isolated.
Overall, the lyrics of "Thin Air" are complex and contemplative, depicting both the pain of loss and the hope for a better tomorrow.
Line by Line Meaning
Guess that is all
This is the end of what I have to say
I have to say
I need to speak my truth
It's time to say goodbye
It's time to end this
And walk away
And go our separate ways
Hope everything we've lost
I hope we can reclaim what we've lost
We'll find again
We can have it back once more
Another time
Perhaps in the future
Or day
At another time
I've met a man
I spoke to someone
Blind as a post
Who was physically unable to see
He said that somehow he could understand
But he claimed to understand things anyway
Then he read my hand and told me to
He then made a prediction and instructed me to
To make the most
Live fully
Of today
In the present moment
Guess the world
It seems that the world
Is filled with people
Is occupied by many individuals
All the time
Nonstop
Everywhere
In all places
And it's hanging on thin air
And it's all kept together precariously
I hear a sound
I perceive a noise
So far away
Coming from a distant place
That Crazy Captain never got to sail
The journey was never taken
But his heart travelled many miles away
But his spirit was transported great distances
Guess that was all
That's all I had to say
It's time to say goodbye
It's time to depart
And walk away
And move on with our lives
Contributed by Sebastian G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@dimmyparade2824
Thank you.