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
Mayday
Elvis Perkins Lyrics
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Or that your maintenance men, they caught our last embrace
Well, you were on the verge of tears when I first knew I would know you
And now your ancient black tears, they stain your robe
Calypso will come with me on that morning April day
To the city of my childhood in a cage
On the broad back of the earth we will drive twelve hours straight
On May Day, May Day, listen for the sound
Of the ambulances singing rounds drowning out the blue
Well the Captain of America he sings through his toothpaste
And the bubbles of his words will float away
As he gargles out a hymn in the funny fish voice way
And all the sorrow seems to go away
On May Day, May Day, listen for the sound
Of the Geiger counters counting down
To one and blast off baby to the inter-space of stars
Out to the star encrusted boulevard
On May Day, May Day, can you hear the sound
Of the megaphones calling out instructions
And I need your quiet empire where forgetful Persians roam
And with two hands full of silver I'll go home
Return me to my kingdom where my children wait for me
To build them flying saucers
On May Day, May Day, they are going down
Send the fleet of black-and-whites wailing downtown
May Day, May Day, May Day
The lyrics to Elvis Perkins’s song May Day! are rich in metaphor, imagery and emotion. From the opening lines, “Well, I don't care, your cameras caught me crying as I left your gates / Or that your maintenance men, they caught our last embrace,” we are struck by the sense of entrapment and sadness, as the singer feels exposed by the cameras and mourns the loss of a relationship. The line “Well, you were on the verge of tears when I first knew I would know you” suggests that the relationship was doomed from the start, with both parties sensing its inevitable end.
The song then moves into a dreamlike sequence, where the singer is joined by Calypso and they embark on a journey to the “city of my childhood in a cage.” The line “On the broad back of the earth we will drive twelve hours straight / And we'll take turns feeling crazy and okay” suggests a journey through outer space, pushing the limits of time and reality. The chorus of “May Day, May Day, listen for the sound / Of the ambulances singing rounds drowning out the blue” creates a sense of urgency and impending danger, with the repetition of “May Day” reinforcing this.
The second verse continues with fantastical and surreal elements, as the Captain of America sings through his toothpaste and the Geiger counters count down to blast off into space. The line “And I need your quiet empire where forgetful Persians roam / And with two hands full of silver I'll go home” suggests a desire for a peaceful, forgotten place where one can be free and return to what is truly important. The closing lines of the song, “On May Day, May Day, they are going down / Send the fleet of black-and-whites wailing downtown / May Day, May Day, May Day” leave us with a sense of chaos and destruction, possibly caused by the journey the singer has just taken.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I don't care, your cameras caught me crying as I left your gates
I don't care that your cameras caught me crying when I left your gates
Or that your maintenance men, they caught our last embrace
It doesn't matter that your maintenance men caught us saying goodbye
Well, you were on the verge of tears when I first knew I would know you
You were about to cry when we first met and I knew we would get to know each other
And now your ancient black tears, they stain your robe
Your old, black tears on your clothes are a sign of your sadness
Calypso will come with me on that morning April day
Calypso will come with me on the morning of an April day
To the city of my childhood in a cage
We'll go to the city where I grew up but feel trapped in some way
On the broad back of the earth we will drive twelve hours straight
We'll drive for twelve hours without stopping on the earth
And we'll take turns feeling crazy and okay
We'll take turns being crazy and feeling okay
On May Day, May Day, listen for the sound
Pay attention to the sound on May Day
Of the ambulances singing rounds drowning out the blue
The ambulances will make loud noise and drown out the sadness
Well the Captain of America he sings through his toothpaste
The leader of America sings while brushing his teeth
And the bubbles of his words will float away
His words don't mean anything and disappear
As he gargles out a hymn in the funny fish voice way
He sings a hymn in a strange, fishy way while gargling
And all the sorrow seems to go away
All the sadness disappears
On May Day, May Day, listen for the sound
Listen for the sound on May Day
Of the Geiger counters counting down
The Geiger counters will be counting down
To one and blast off baby to the inter-space of stars
The countdown will lead to going into space among the stars
Out to the star encrusted boulevard
We'll travel on a street surrounded by stars
On May Day, May Day, can you hear the sound
Can you hear the sound on May Day
Of the megaphones calling out instructions
Megaphones will be calling out instructions
And I need your quiet empire where forgetful Persians roam
I need a quiet place where people roam around but forget easily
And with two hands full of silver I'll go home
I'll go home with two hands full of money
Return me to my kingdom where my children wait for me
Take me back to my children who are waiting for me in my home
To build them flying saucers
I want to build flying saucers for my children
On May Day, May Day, they are going down
Things are going down on May Day
Send the fleet of black-and-whites wailing downtown
Send police cars to downtown with their sirens wailing
May Day, May Day, May Day
May Day is a day of distress or emergency
Lyrics © INGROOVES MUSIC PUBLISHING LLC C/O SOVEREIGN MUSIC
Written by: ELVIS BROOKE PERKINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind