Espers is a psychedelic folk band from Philadelphia, PA, United States. The… Read Full Bio ↴Espers is a psychedelic folk band from Philadelphia, PA, United States. They formed in 2002 as a trio of singer-songwriter Greg Weeks, Meg Baird and Brooke Sietinsons but later expanded to a sextet including Otto Hauser, Helena Espvall and Chris Smith. Their music is reminiscent of late-sixties British folk such as that of Fairport Convention, Pentangle and The Incredible String Band as well as many contemporary folk acts such as Six Organs of Admittance, Marissa Nadler and Nick Castro and as such their work is often lumped in with the so-called New Weird America movement or naturalismo as Devendra Banhart preferred to coin it in 2006. Most of the band's members have also featured on recordings by a number of other folk artists, old and new, such as Nick Castro and Vashti Bunyan and as a result have become an important part of the psych-folk revival.

They released their self-titled debut, "Espers", in 2004 to much acclaim and followed that with an album of cover songs, "The Weed Tree", in 2005. This release featured the band's versions of songs by artists as diverse as Nico, The Durutti Column and Blue Oyster Cult. In 2006 the band released their third full-length "Espers II" on Drag City Records.

Their fourth album, "Espers III", was released on October 20, 2009.

Dead King
Espers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Take this scarred body
Anoint his heirs
Take a dollar for the crossing
From coins in his meal

souls slight of coin
Slight of name
Then I'll meet you at the back gate

And greet you just the same

take to my side
And we'll walk on
To where the frost of the dead king
Weigh heavy on the vine

long it's been said
That the worlds

Of a man be his woman
And his lands have retainers

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Dead King by Espers describe a journey to honor and pay tribute to a deceased king. The first line, "Take this scarred body," refers to the body of the king, which is damaged or wounded. The next line, "Anoint his heirs," suggests that the successors of the king are being appointed or consecrated. The line "Take a dollar for the crossing from coins in his meal" may refer to an ancient practice of placing coins in the mouths of the dead to pay for passage to the afterlife.

The following lines, "souls slight of coin, Slight of name," suggest that those who are not wealthy or powerful may also be included in the journey to honor the dead king. The singer of the lyrics then invites the listener to meet at the back gate and join in the tribute, regardless of status. Together, they will walk to a place where the "frost of the dead king weigh[s] heavy on the vine," implying that the king's legacy and influence continue even after death.

Overall, the song conveys a sense of reverence and respect for a deceased ruler, as well as a reminder that all people, regardless of status or wealth, will meet the same fate in the end.

Line by Line Meaning

Take this scarred body
Take this wounded body of mine

Anoint his heirs
Make his successors holy and divine

Take a dollar for the crossing
Take a coin as payment to aid in his crossing to the afterlife

From coins in his meal
From the coins left on his eyes that are now part of his last meal

Souls slight of coin
Souls that are impoverished

Slight of name
Not well-known or recognized

Then I'll meet you at the back gate
I'll meet you at the rear entrance

And greet you just the same
And greet you with equal respect and admiration

Take to my side
Come with me

And we'll walk on
And we'll continue our journey together

To where the frost of the dead king
To where the chilling effect of the deceased king's power

Weigh heavy on the vine
Exerts a strong influence on the kingdom

Long it's been said
It's been said for a long time

That the worlds
That a man's possessions

Of a man be his woman
Are his partner and spouse

And his lands have retainers
And his territories have servants and employees

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: ALEXANDER HAUSER, BROOKE SIETINSONS, CHRISTOPHER SMITH, GREGORY WEEKS, HELENA ESPVALL, MEG BAIRD

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