Perkins's melancholy songs reflect the personal tragedy he has experienced over the years. His father died of AIDS in 1992. His mother was on board a flight that was flown into the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. His debut album, Ash Wednesday, a chronologically sequenced album of songs written before and after his mother's death, was released in February 2007 by XL Recordings with a lead single called "All The Night Without Love". Perkins had help from his elder brother, Oz Perkins, on drums and friend Ethan Gold who produced, arranged, and mixed the album. The album includes backing vocals by Ariana Lenarsky, Shana Levy of indie band Let's Go Sailing, and Becky Stark of Lavender Diamond among others.
His second album, Elvis Perkins in Dearland, will be released on March 10, 2009
Oficial website: www.elvisperkins.net
All The Night Without Love
Elvis Perkins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With our kills painlessly
And we go all the night without love
In the darkened lonely corners
Where we place our drive-through orders
And we go all the night without love
Without love
On the magnetic athletic insole
She lets it go all its life without life
And can you imagine going to
“Got milk? dot com”
Do you go all the night without love
Without love
Well I once caused your cells to shimmer
And you once caused my cells to shimmer
Now we go all the night without love
Without love…
The song “All The Night Without Love” by Elvis Perkins portrays the loneliness, emptiness, and longing for love that people experience in their day-to-day lives. The first verse conveys a sense of directionlessness and numbness, as the singer and their partner “walk the aisles aimlessly” and kill time without feeling any pain. It seems that they have accepted their routine of going through the motions without any deeper connection, even in everyday places like drive-throughs. The repeated phrase “all the night without love” emphasizes the absence of an emotional bond, echoing the common phrase “all night long.”
The second verse paints a picture of the superficiality and commercialization of relationships in modern times. The graphic on the athletic insole reads “touch me,” suggesting that physical touch has become a commercial product rather than a genuine emotional experience. The reference to “Got milk? dot com” further underscores this idea of commodification, as if love and connection can be bought and sold like any other product. The line “She lets it go all its life without life” suggests that people can go through the motions of love without ever truly experiencing it.
The final verse hints at a past relationship where the two partners had a deep and intense connection, but have now fallen into this routine of “going all the night without love.” The use of the phrase “once caused your cells to shimmer” suggests a profound impact on each other’s lives, but now their connection has faded. This song portrays a bleak view of modern love and relationships, highlighting the emptiness and disconnection that many people feel.
Line by Line Meaning
We walked the aisles aimlessly
We were wandering aimlessly through the aisles without any clear purpose
With our kills painlessly
We accomplished what we aimed to do without feeling any physical or emotional pain
And we go all the night without love
We spend the whole night without experiencing any love in our lives
In the darkened lonely corners
We find ourselves in dim and lonesome spaces
Where we place our drive-through orders
The only interaction we have is placing our fast food orders through a drive-thru window
And we go all the night without love
We continue to go through the night without experiencing any love
Without love
We are lacking love in our lives
"Touch me" the graphic reads
The graphic reads the message "Touch me"
On the magnetic athletic insole
The message appears on a magnetic insole designed for athletes
She lets it go all its life without life
She lets it go through life without truly experiencing or appreciating it
And can you imagine going to
Can you imagine the thought of going to
"Got milk? dot com"
Visiting the website for Milk advertisements
Do you go all the night without love
Do you live your life without experiencing love
Without love
We are still lacking love in our lives
Well I once caused your cells to shimmer
There was a time when I made you feel alive and full of excitement
And you once caused my cells to shimmer
Similarly, there was a time when you made me feel alive and full of excitement
Now we go all the night without love
However, now we spend our nights without experiencing any love
Without love...
Once again, we are still lacking love in our lives
Lyrics © INGROOVES MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: ELVIS BROOKE PERKINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Tom Curley
The man is brilliant. A couple of years ago, I saw him at Club Helsinki in Hudson, New York, and except for Radiohead, it was the best concert I went to all year. A strikingly distinctive talent, with very beautiful music. He can rock, too.
Dirt McGirt
such a talented artist!
Geoff Taylor
This is a wonderful song.
Stephen Dillon
Fantastic Lyrics. Nuff Said.
therealsolstice
Elvis Perkins warms my heart
benjerrybob
i saw these guys last night, they were supporting willy mason. They were absolutley amazing on stage, the drummer is brilliant but mental. I met them all after the show, really nice guys.
gentle eyes
understated excellence. thank you so much, mr. perkins.
171TITO
luv this song!
jms805
Who had the idea to make this video look like a CCR jam session? Even if unintentional, looks cool. Saw EP rock live on the 19th at the Troubadour. Quality musicians they are.
Bryon Tapp
what an amazingly talented person, this is what America should be hearing from their radios, instead of the "marketable" and I will not call it musick. It is sad when an artist like this has such beautiful music to share and it goes unheard by the masses.