The Bloomington, IN, group Early Day Miners is a self-described "musical co… Read Full Bio ↴The Bloomington, IN, group Early Day Miners is a self-described "musical cooperative." The group's core members are Daniel Burton, Rory Leitch (both formerly of Ativin), and Joseph Brumley, but the trio enlists a revolving cast of friends for recordings and live performances. Early Day Miners spin American rural music into richly cinematic, experimental textures that contain a prominent streak of melancholy (and some slowcore tendencies). The combo's first release was the seven-song, 49-minute Placer Found, which emerged in 2000 on Western Vinyl. The 2002 LP Let Us Garlands Bring, on Secretly Canadian Records, boasted richer and more fleshed-out landscapes to underpin the vocals of key member Burton. Early Day Miners continued on with 2003's Jefferson at Rest and 2005's All Harm Ends Here out on Secretly Canadian. The next year, the six-song Offshore, which was originally conceived to be a part of Let Us Garlands Bring and featured the production work of Tortoise's John McEntire, was released.

Official website: http://www.earlydayminers.com/

Perish Room
Early Day Miners Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Everyone's got a story
Too sordid to tell.
Drifting down esplanades,
Summer monsoon swells.

He believes in the afterlife,
Angels ring in his head.
An eldest frame and a Lenin suit,

Angels fly in his head.

We were gone in the afternoon,
He left a note on the door.
Yellow fever burial ground,
Salvation, your reward.

Make the stone encourage him,
He speaks not what is right.

Without hope or family,
A solemn way to die

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Early Day Miners' song Perish Room evoke feelings of sadness and despair. The opening line, "Everyone's got a story too sordid to tell," sets the tone for a song that delves into the darker side of life. The imagery of "summer monsoon swells" and "yellow fever burial ground" further emphasizes the somber mood.

The second section of the song focuses on a character who "believes in the afterlife" and hears "angels ring in his head." The use of religious imagery contrasts with the bleakness of the earlier verses, but it doesn't provide much comfort. The mention of "an eldest frame and a Lenin suit" adds a touch of surrealism to the lyrics, making it unclear whether this character is experiencing a spiritual awakening or a complete mental breakdown.

The final section of the song returns to the theme of death, with the lines "Without hope or family, a solemn way to die." The use of the word "solemn" is particularly poignant, suggesting that this character's death will not be mourned and that his life was marked more by tragedy than by joy.

Overall, Perish Room is a haunting and thought-provoking song that explores complex themes of mortality, spirituality, and existential despair.

Line by Line Meaning

Everyone's got a story
Every individual possesses a unique experience

Too sordid to tell.
Some stories are too shameful or disgraceful to reveal.

Drifting down esplanades,
Casually wandering through wide, open streets.

Summer monsoon swells.
Heavy downpours during the hot, humid season of the year.

He believes in the afterlife,
He trusts in the existence of a realm beyond death.

Angels ring in his head.
In his imagination, he hears heavenly beings.

An eldest frame and a Lenin suit,
An aged structure with Lenin's clothing on display.

Angels fly in his head.
In his imagination, he sees cherubic creatures.

We were gone in the afternoon,
We left when the day was still young.

He left a note on the door.
He wrote a message on the entrance.