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.
The Good Life
Five Times August Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm waiting for you
Waiting for you to get up
I sit up, I don't know what to do
But I've got a lovely view from here
Lazy days the lovely ways of you
I'm telling the truth
And I can't decide, and it's blowing my mind if I
Had the time of my life last night
'Cause I'm so tired of love hesitating
It's got me hanging around
And we're so close together
But won't get any better
'Till your open eyes say your mine
'Cause I've seen the light come in through the white blinds
As you pull the covers in over your eyes
You can't to get back to the moonlight
And you feel the breeze come in through the window
I'm gonna lean on over quiet and whisper
"Staying in bed is the good life"
So I'll move a little closer, try to make the most of this
And I'll be damned if I don't leave without a kiss
You're the creation of my frustration
And the result of my temptation
So wake up baby, let's start the day right now
Wake up baby let's start the day right now
'Cause I'm so tired of love hesitating
It's got me hanging around
And we're so close together
But won't get any better
'Till your open eyes say your mine
'Cause I've seen the light come in through the white blinds
As you pull the covers in over your eyes
You can't to get back to the moonlight
And you feel the breeze come in through the window
I'm gonna lean on over quiet and whisper
"Staying in bed is the good life"
As I feel you roll beside me
Those little sweet nothings are giving me something worth while
'Cause I've seen the light come in through the white blinds
As you pull the covers in over your eyes
You can't to get back to the moonlight
And you feel the breeze come in through the window
I'm gonna lean on over quiet and whisper
"Staying in bed is the good life"
The song "The Good Life" by Five Times August is about the singer's desire to be with the person he loves and spend a lazy day in bed together. He expresses his longing to be with this person and his frustration with love that hesitates. He waits for them to wake up so they can start the day together, and he wants to make the most of their time together. He speaks about the lovely view he has while waiting for them to wake up, which could be interpreted as a metaphor for how he views his relationship with this person.
The singer continues to express his frustration with the situation, explaining that they are so close together but won't get any better until their open eyes say they are his. He describes the beauty of the light coming in through the white blinds and the breeze coming in through the window. He leans over and whispers that staying in bed is the good life. This phrase could be an instruction to his partner to take the time to enjoy lazy days together or a sentiment that being with this person is the good life.
The song is a sweet and romantic expression of the singer's love for someone and his desire to be with them. It highlights the joys of a lazy day in bed with someone you love and the frustration of waiting for that love to be reciprocated.
Line by Line Meaning
Early morning into afternoon
I'm waiting for you from early morning until afternoon.
Waiting for you to get up
I'm waiting for you to wake up and start the day with me.
I sit up, I don't know what to do
I'm sitting here, unsure of what to do without you by my side.
But I've got a lovely view from here
Despite being alone, I still have a lovely view of the world around me.
Lazy days the lovely ways of you
I love spending lazy days with you and everything about you is lovely.
I'm telling the truth
I truly mean everything I say and feel for you.
'Cause I'm well into you
I'm deeply in love with you.
And I can't decide, and it's blowing my mind if I
I can't decide how I feel and it's causing me to be confused and unsure.
Had the time of my life last night
I had a wonderful time with you last night and it made me even more sure of my feelings.
'Cause I'm so tired of love hesitating
I'm tired of love holding us back and causing us to hesitate.
It's got me hanging around
Love has me constantly waiting around for the right moment.
And we're so close together
We're physically close, but emotionally we're still far apart.
But won't get any better
Our relationship won't improve until we both fully commit to each other.
Till your open eyes say your mine
Our relationship won't progress until you fully express your love and commitment to me.
'Cause I've seen the light come in through the white blinds
I've seen the beauty of the world and how wonderful it can be with you by my side.
As you pull the covers in over your eyes
You're still trying to hide from the world and avoid facing your true feelings.
You can't to get back to the moonlight
You're struggling to let go of the darkness and embrace the light of our relationship.
And you feel the breeze come in through the window
You're beginning to feel the new possibilities that our relationship can bring.
I'm gonna lean on over quiet and whisper
I'm going to approach you gently and quietly to help you see the beauty of our relationship.
"Staying in bed is the good life"
The simple pleasures of being together in bed is what makes life wonderful with you.
So I'll move a little closer, try to make the most of this
I'll move closer to you and make the most of the time we have together.
And I'll be damned if I don't leave without a kiss
I won't leave without a physical expression of our love and affection.
You're the creation of my frustration
You're the cause of both my happiness and frustration, because of my deep love for you.
And the result of my temptation
You're the result of my strong attraction and desire for love.
So wake up baby, let's start the day right now
Let's start our day together and make the most of every moment we have.
As I feel you roll beside me
I feel your presence beside me and it brings me comfort and joy.
Those little sweet nothings are giving me something worth while
Even the small words and gestures between us are enough to make me feel fulfilled.
Contributed by Nora V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
cieltriste
OH wow, it's been a couple years now. I still remember when I first heard of you guys and added Five times August on Myspace. Hhahaa, it blows my mind how much progress you guys are making every day
Arelle13
This song has such a nice, mellow feel :) I can't wait to see him again next month. I like him best in concert! Last time he came to Harding University, he really stole the whole concert--I'm so glad he's coming back! :D (This time I'll remember my camera so I can take a picture with him!)
Tiffany Le
love it!
Dean Macka
Great stuff mate 👍
Chayanee Rienjongdee
love the song :)
Caroline Shell
i love the song!
Dizzy
the song is soooooo thoughtful <3 i loooooove it
haylea beilstein
this is so amazing
Ambience
saw him in olympia washington today. Amazing singer. Sounds exaclty like he does in his videos as he does in real life. i hope he gets really famous.
Kerstin Tempel
I love five times august.