The band was formed almost five years ago by Mike Eli who grew up just outside of Houston and James Young who hails from Irving, TX. After playing together as a duo they were later joined by drummer Chris Thompson of Colleyville, TX and bassist Jon Jones of Omaha, NE who all met while students at the University of North Texas at Denton, about 50 miles north of Dallas/Forth Worth. After graduating the group decided to stay in Denton and to this day make their home in the town.
Late in 2003 producer Frank Liddell (Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Chris Knight) attended a show at the Gypsy Tea Room where EYB was playing on the bill with Miranda Lambert. He was blown away by the show and wound up signing them to Carnival Recording Company soon after. In April 2005, the Eli Young Band released Level, marking their debut on Carnival.
Level has drawn comparisons to The Jayhawks in the plaintive "When It Rains". The band members, all in their early 20s, have proven to be adept at blending their musical influences into a cohesive sound on this effort. You can hear the heartland rock of John Mellencamp in the autobiographical "Small Town Kid" and the crying-in-your-beer band on the road saga "Highways and Broken Hearts." There's the grinding blues of the Black Crowes in "Bring It on Home," and the romantic lament of "That's the Way" and "Everything Is You."
That's The Way
Eli Young Band Lyrics
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I sit here in my bed, with you in my head, haunting my mind
I think of all we had, all the good and bad and all of the times
We'd sit down and talk, sometimes till three or four o'clock in the morning
I live in misery, haunted by your memory, and the love that I felt
Guess that was not enough, you fell out of love, something you couldn't help
Chorus:
Fates got a plan for us, even when our lives get rough
You make up, break up, you fall, you get back up
Can't you see; that's the way it's gotta be
We run around these streets, looking for company, someone to hold
At the end of the night, we give up our fights, and go home alone
We give up on love, and we say we've had enough of the game
Fates got a plan for us, even when our lives get rough
You make up, break up, you fall, you get back up
Can't you see; that's the way it's gotta be
We walk around in circles, were all just jumping hurdles, just trying to get by
We take life in stride, and swallow our pride, all to survive
Can't you see; that's the way it's gotta be
Fates got a plan for us, even when our lives get rough
You make up, break up, you fall, you get back up
Can't you see; that's the way it's gotta be
The Eli Young Band's "That's The Way" is a poignant song about love, loss and the inevitability of fate. The song talks about the memories that haunt us after a relationship has ended, the game of love that has left us broken-hearted, and the acceptance that we have to make peace with things as they are.
The opening lines set the tone for the rest of the song, as the singer sits in bed, haunted by the memories of a lost love. The song talks about how two people can't always make it work, no matter how much they love each other. Sometimes, fate has other plans, and all we can do is accept what has happened and move on.
The chorus of the song amplifies this theme - that we can't control what life throws our way, but we can control how we react to it. It talks about the ups and downs of relationships and how we have to get back up, dust ourselves off and keep going, no matter how hard it seems. In the end, the song is an ode to the human spirit, and how resilience and acceptance can help us through even the toughest of times.
Line by Line Meaning
I sit here in my bed, with you in my head, haunting my mind
I am in bed, but you're on my mind constantly and it's causing me distress.
I think of all we had, all the good and bad and all of the times
I reflect on our past together, the enjoyable moments as well as the difficult ones.
We'd sit down and talk, sometimes till three or four o'clock in the morning
We used to have deep conversations so late that it would almost be morning.
I live in misery, haunted by your memory, and the love that I felt
I am unhappy and constantly reminded of the love I had for you in the past.
Guess that was not enough, you fell out of love, something you couldn't help
Unfortunately, you stopped loving me, and that was a situation you had no control over.
I guess now I see; that's the way it's gotta be
I have come to accept that things ended between us and that it's just how life is.
Fates got a plan for us, even when our lives get rough
No matter how hard life gets, there is a destiny for us that we'll eventually fulfill.
You make up, break up, you fall, you get back up
Things don't always go as planned, but we keep trying and persevering through the ups and downs.
Can't you see; that's the way it's gotta be
It's simply the way things have to be, no matter how difficult it may seem.
We run around these streets, looking for company, someone to hold
We search for companionship, wishing for someone to be with us and hold us.
At the end of the night, we give up our fights, and go home alone
By the end of the night, we give up trying to find love and go home alone, giving up the fight.
We give up on love, and we say we've had enough of the game
We lose faith in finding love and feel we have had enough of trying to win the game of love.
We walk around in circles, were all just jumping hurdles, just trying to get by
We feel like we're stuck going around and around, constantly facing obstacles that we must hurdle to survive.
We take life in stride, and swallow our pride, all to survive
We accept whatever life throws our way and sometimes have to suppress our ego to make it through.
Can't you see; that's the way it's gotta be
We have no choice but to live like this, as difficult as it may be at times.
Fates got a plan for us, even when our lives get rough
We may struggle at times, but fate has a plan for us all that we'll eventually learn and follow.
You make up, break up, you fall, you get back up
No matter how hard we fall, we keep getting back up and continuing with our lives.
Can't you see; that's the way it's gotta be
Just like before, it's just the way life works - we need to learn to accept and move on.
Lyrics © NTAC INC
Written by: BRAD WATANABE, CALEB KEOLANUI, JOHN KENNEDY, LESLIE LUDIAZO, LUCAS HORN, ZION THOMPSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind