Earl Greyhound formed in 2002 with the collaboration of songwriters Matt Wh… Read Full Bio ↴Earl Greyhound formed in 2002 with the collaboration of songwriters Matt Whyte and Kamara Thomas. Living and working in New York City, the pair began performing regularly as a duo. All along, they were crafting the sound and songs that would form the foundation for a colossal rock band influenced by the strident English three- and four-pieces of the 70’s, the dark pop and heavy grooves of the 90’s, and the transcendental, noisy acid sounds of modern rock.

The band’s first full-length album, Soft Targets, was recorded in Los Angeles and Brooklyn in 2005. However, they were loathe to release the album without a permanent drummer—tellingly, a constant snag since EG’s inception. Taking a leap of faith, Matt and Kamara vowed to play a gig every week until their dream drummer found them. One fateful evening, a gig at Brooklyn’s Southpaw brought them a friend in guitar player Kirk Douglass (of The Roots). Douglass became a fan and brought his friend and Gold Crowns bandmate Ricc Sheridan to gigs for the next few weeks. Ricc says, “I awoke from a dream one night, and knew that this was my band.” A rockneck-inducing jam confirmed that the band had found its holiest trinity. They hit the ground running with Big Ricc Sheridan on drums, and the world has been rocking their faces ever since!

Released in October 2006, Soft Targets earned loads of fans and critical acclaim from publications including The New Yorker, SPIN, Rolling Stone, Brooklyn Vegan and Pitchfork. Even more so, the band’s live show quickly drew heaps of attention and gained a steady reputation among critics and fans alike as a veritable rock-n-roll wrecking ball. Earl Greyhound toured relentlessly for the next two years all over the US, Canada and Japan, and autumn 2007 was spent playing theatres as openers for the band’s good friend Shooter Jennings as well as Soundgarden and Audioslave’s Chris Cornell.

Holy Immortality
Earl Greyhound Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You say, you say that you're leaving
I guess you never minded
Being open to misinterpretation
Time, time, time
Time you should be going
And all I wanna know is
How you're gonna do it

These days
The prize of immortality
Holy Immortality
It ain't worth a rusty razor blade

We don't know how to sacrifice our kings no more
We don't crucify our kings no more
So our kings, they take it on themselves
They take it all upon themselves
And they sacrifice themselves
So all I wanna know is how you're gonna do it
How you're gonna do it

Holy, holy, holy

Holy Immortality
These days ain't, ain't worth a rusty razor blade

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Earl Greyhound's song "Holy Immortality" talk about the value of life and the notion of immortality. The song starts with the singer acknowledging that someone is leaving, but it seems like they don't really care about how their actions could be misinterpreted. As time passes, the singer urges the person to leave, but at the same time, they wonder how they will achieve any form of immortality. There's a sense of sarcasm in the way the singer talks about the 'prize of immortality' that's become far less valuable than a 'rusty razor blade.'

The song throws light on how the human race has stopped sacrificing its kings and how they have started taking matters into their own hands. The 'Holy Immortality' that's being referred to here may signify the desire for people to be remembered long after they are gone. In the past, when kings were sacrificed, they were remembered and revered for generations. But in contemporary times, people are not willing to sacrifice anyone and are opting to take on the burden themselves. The song seems to suggest that while immortality may be a desirable trait, it's not worth it if it's not genuine.

Line by Line Meaning

You say, you say that you're leaving
You're stating that you're leaving

I guess you never minded
You probably didn't care about the misunderstanding that can occur

Being open to misinterpretation
Staying open to misinterpretation

Time, time, time
Indication of the time that passed

Time you should be going
It's about time to leave

And all I wanna know is
Just asking

How you're gonna do it
What's your plan

These days
Currently, nowadays

The prize of immortality
The idea of living forever

Holy Immortality
The sacredness of living forever

It ain't worth a rusty razor blade
Not valuable like a piece of junk