In November 2004 Five Times August’s song “Better With You” was featured in MTV’s hit show Laguna Beach. The series’ music supervisor had found the song at random via online web portal CDBaby.com. By the end of the year that exposure had snowballed into an underground following for the one-man band, catapulting Myspace listens and iTunes sales. By Spring ’06 Five Times August was a national touring artist, performing solo acoustic shows across the country (to date FTA has performed in 43 of the 50 states). More song placements soon followed, with features on networks ranging from The CW and MTV to ABC, FOX and Lifetime, among many others. In 2007 Five Times August became the first unsigned act in history to accomplish national distribution through Wal-Mart stores.
It doesn’t stop there. Most recently you may have heard Five Times August in a national GMC commercial promoting their big summer savings event. Also, if you own any of HBO’s 2009 DVD releases, you’ll most likely be hearing the song “Do It Again” in a quick ad before the menu pops up.
“Life As A Song” is a twelve-track collection of Five Times August’s most popular songs in recent years. Based on fan favorites and the most licensed songs, Skistimas went back into the studio with Grammy Award winner Andy Zulla (Kelly Clarkson, Jessica Simpson, Rod Stewart) to polish and shine each song for more commercial success, re-recording many of the tune’s instrumentation and vocals from the ground up. “It’s an album of growth and change,” Skistimas says about the quazi “best of” album. “At the start of the album you’ll find me where I was as a songwriter, more innocent and raw. By the end you’ll see I’m not the same songwriter anymore, there’s a deeper outlook on life in the newer songs.”
The album includes new mainstream versions of underground college cult-hits like “Up To Me” and “Better With You” (the latter has sold 58,000 digital singles to date). Alongside those fan favorites, the album also includes a few new songs, one being the stand out piano ballad “Break,” which shadows influence from Nilsson’s classic hit “Without You.” Brad explains “the beauty of this album is that even though a lot of my fans may know the songs already, it’s going to be a brand new listening experience for them. They are going to hear these songs as if for the first time.” Skistimas’ mind rests knowing songs like “Wherever” and “The Lighting” finally sound like he had always envisioned.
Brad is furthering the expansion of Five Times August with a new concrete touring band. After spending the last three years touring solo, Skistimas is changing gears on the road, transitioning his intimate set list into a full on concert experience. Five Times August will be on several national tours surrounding the release of “Life As A Song,” in stores October 13th, 2009.
Take Me Away
Five Times August Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What's holding me, what's got me down.
It has to be the best of things, I wont be one to disagree, but it's way to loud.
So take me, away.
Take me, away.
Falling down, it's all around, it's the only thing
Scattering, there has to be a little more simplicity, to make this one.
So take me, away.
So take me, away.
It's brought me down, away from all I know.
Soft singing
So take me, away.
Take me, today.
Take me, away.
Take me, away.
It's brought me down, it's turned me around.
It's brought me down, away from all I know
The lyrics of "Take Me Away" by Five Times August express a sense of feeling trapped and overwhelmed by the pressures of life. The singer is struggling with feelings of being held down and suffocated by something in their life that is preventing them from reaching their full potential. The first stanza paints a picture of the singer desperately seeking some sort of release from the burden that they are carrying. They want to see what is underneath and what is holding them back. They acknowledge that whatever is weighing them down might not necessarily be a bad thing, but it is simply too loud and overpowering for them to handle.
The chorus repeatedly asks for someone to take the singer away. It is clear that they are searching for some sort of escape from what they are experiencing. The second stanza describes the world around them as falling down and chaotic. The only thing that they have been able to find is something ambiguous that they refer to as "it." There is a desire for more simplicity and clarity in the singer's life in order to make sense of things.
Line by Line Meaning
It's killing me, I've got to see what's underneath,
The unknown is causing me emotional pain and I yearn to uncover its secrets.
What's holding me, what's got me down.
I feel held back and suppressed which is causing me to feel down.
It has to be the best of things, I wont be one to disagree, but it's way too loud.
Although I acknowledge that it is meant to be enjoyable, the overwhelming volume is detracting from its greatness.
Falling down, it's all around, it's the only thing
Everything seems to be destructing and this feels like the only constant reality.
That I have found, beneath the sun.
This is the only thing that has been uncovered in my search for answers.
Scattering, there has to be a little more simplicity, to make this one.
In order to appreciate the thing that is falling apart, it needs to be made simpler and easier to understand.
It's brought me down, away from all I know.
The situation has made me feel disconnected and isolated from what once was familiar and comforting.
Take me, away.
Please provide me with an escape from this distressing situation.
So take me, today.
Please take me away as soon as possible as I cannot deal with this any longer.
Take me, away.
I am pleading for someone to offer me a way out of this unpleasant circumstance.
Take me, away.
My desire to leave this situation is incredibly strong and I am asking for assistance in making that happen.
It's brought me down, it's turned me around.
The situation has caused me to feel lost and confused, making it difficult to move forward.
Contributed by Joseph D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
RedHawk Lady_6
My thoughts exactly… sickening & sad. The People have been betrayed… and he’s so dysfunctional I can’t even hate him. I just want someone to ask him:
‘Mr. President, WHO is really running things?… WHO writes your speeches? WHO is setting the policy?’
I’m guessing his handlers will be recalling him soon… he’s like a sinking ship & even the press seems to have gotten permission to start jumping off to try to salvage some (false) credibility.
It’s obvious even FOX is just ‘controlled opposition’ because they try to tell us what we want to hear, but still aren’t asking the REAL questions ☝️☝️☝️
Nor do they dare mention the global groups of elites their owners belong too ie The TriLateral Commission or tge Council on Foreign Relations…
Collaborators 🤡💩
FiveTimesAugust
Thank you for watching/sharing/supporting.
Download/Stream "Joe" https://songwhip.com/fivetimesaugust/joe
You can support Five Times August with artist tips/donation via PayPal.Me/BradleySkistimas or Venmo @fivetimesaugust
Graham Zvi
Sir the bathroom is this way. No Joe thats the toilet, you wash your hands in the sink. Good boy welcome to your new home.
Marshall13
Fucking amazing song here great work!
Lowell Dellalba
as
TG
Dude. Please sell your music. I'd buy
Marcos Tapiz
Keep writing these songs. You are documenting history and giving an outlet to those of us who are fighting this tyranny.
fsmetal
I knew he would be bad. I knew he would be awful. He is even worse than I could possibly have imagined
TheTomSanders
🤣🤣🤣
Russell Perry
Funny how reality is typically worse than we can fathom. Still , we got fresh air and the ability to change what we can.
Jordan P
We all hated to even be more right than we thought we were