After Tod left his previous group, Cop Shoot Cop, he quickly regrouped and formed Firewater to explore the styles of music Cop Shoot Cop had only hinted at, including klezmer, cabaret, ska, jazz, and gypsy forms. More than one source described the original Firewater lineup as an "indie rock supergroup", based on members such as Duane Denison of the Jesus Lizard, Yuval Gabay of Soul Coughing, Jennifer Charles of Elysian Fields, and Hahn Rowe. This original lineup proved unable to tour, and Tod recruited new musicians for the band's first tour. While the lineup has changed over the years, with many different musicians appearing on different albums and tours, Tod remains the singer, songwriter, and bassist of Firewater.
Firewater has released six albums, and has seen some success, especially in Europe and on United States college radio stations.
Their previous album, Songs We Should Have Written, is a collection of cover songs. It includes songs written by Robyn Hitchcock, The Rolling Stones ("Paint It Black" reinterpreted as a crawlingly slow raga which "shove(s) a few downers down the song's throat to counter the original version's adrenaline-fueled fire" ), and a "dark and sweet" take of Sonny and Cher's "The Beat Goes On", described as "10 times more ominous and 20 times more pleasurable" than the original. The album also includes a modern rendition of the Johnny Cash anthem "Folsom Prison Blues".
Their latest album, The Golden Hour, has been recorded with various local musicians and friends when Tod A went on sabbatical and travelled through Thailand, India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Turkey and Israel. The record was released May 6 in 2008. The band is currently (October, 2008) touring in support of the album.
Dropping Like Flies
Firewater Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do you like the face you see?
Ain't it hard sometimes to say
That your eyes have atrophied?
Because the heart is a slippery one
And it's tricky to dislodge
Carry on as your day dissolves
In a black & white montage
Bodies falling to the floor
They're dropping like flies
In the crest there's an emptiness
Heartbeats ring in hollow halls
And the patient says
He's feeling fine
But that's just the drugs he's on
And you cry, trying to find a voice
That reminds you of your own
But every word
That passes from your lips
Is counterfeit, illegitimate
The lyrics to "Dropping Like Flies" by Firewater offer a sobering reflection on the human condition. The opening lines speak to the difficulty of self-reflection, asking whether we are truly content with the people we see in the mirror. The metaphor of "atrophied" eyes suggests a sort of blindness, a failure to perceive the world around us in all of its complexity. The heart, too, is portrayed as a slippery, elusive thing, one that is hard to understand and even harder to control. The line "carry on as your day dissolves in a black and white montage" paints a picture of a life slipping away, a series of dull moments that blur together into an indistinct whole.
The song's chorus, "bodies falling to the floor, they're dropping like flies," takes a more literal approach to mortality. The image of lifeless bodies strewn about is stark and unsettling, a reminder of the fragility of our existence. The subsequent lines, "in the crest there's an emptiness, heartbeats ring in hollow halls," evoke a sense of desolation, as if the world is a vast, echoing chamber devoid of meaning or purpose. The final verse continues this theme of despair, with the singer searching for some kind of authentic connection and coming up empty-handed.
Overall, "Dropping Like Flies" is a bleak but powerful song, one that forces us to confront our mortality and the limitations of our understanding. It asks us to consider what kind of life we want to lead, and whether we are truly living up to our potential.
Line by Line Meaning
In the cold hard light of day
In the harsh reality of daylight
Do you like the face you see?
Do you like the person you have become?
Ain't it hard sometimes to say
Isn't it difficult to acknowledge
That your eyes have atrophied?
That you have lost your ability to see clearly?
Because the heart is a slippery one
Because emotions can be elusive and hard to grasp
And it's tricky to dislodge
And it's difficult to let go
Carry on as your day dissolves
Continue with your day as it falls apart
In a black & white montage
Like a scene from an old film, devoid of color and vividness
Bodies falling to the floor
People dying on the ground
They're dropping like flies
They're dying one after another in great numbers
In the crest there's an emptiness
At the peak of success, there's a feeling of hollowness
Heartbeats ring in hollow halls
Heartbeats echo in empty places with no response
And the patient says
And the sick person claims
He's feeling fine
That he's doing well
But that's just the drugs he's on
But that's only because of the medicine he's taking
And you cry, trying to find a voice
And you weep, searching for a way to express yourself
That reminds you of your own
That resonates with your innermost feelings
But every word
However, every statement
That passes from your lips
That comes out of your mouth
Is counterfeit, illegitimate
Is false, dishonest
Lyrics © Freibank Musikverlags und vermarktungs GmbH
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