Forest City Lovers are nature-loving urban dwellers spinning lingering, lyr… Read Full Bio ↴Forest City Lovers are nature-loving urban dwellers spinning lingering, lyrical melodies across the landscape of Canadian folk-pop.

Born a fledgling pseudo-solo project of young songwriter Kat Burns, Forest City Lovers took flight in 2006 with the independent release The Sun and the Wind. The band grew up into a fully-realized collaborative outfit and in 2008 launched their critically acclaimed sophmore album Haunting Moon Sinking (Out of This Spark), a collection that bolsters FCL’s signature tunefulness with talented musicianship, strong guitar lines, and swelling string arrangements.

Phodilus and Tyto, a 7” vinyl released at the end of 2009 paved the way for the full-length follow-up, Carriage, being released July 2010 on Out of This Spark. Carriage picks up where Haunting Moon Sinking left off, carrying forward with arrangements and melodies that go from accutely vulnerable to downright sinister. A collection that drifts sonically across decades, Carriage laces 1970s whimsy and elaborate string arragements (Mika Posen) into contemporary pop gems to keep your feet tapping as you go singing down the sunny street.

While Burns and the other Lovers make their home in Toronto, they tour frequently across Canada, the US, and Europe, drawing inspiration for their songs from these migratory ventures into foreign urban and rural environments. With their new album on the horizon, keep an eye out for this unique band of songsters in your hometown.

Mermaids
Forest City Lovers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Let's go to my place
We'll find shelter there
The big one is coming
We better prepare

This won't take long
Let's just be strong

I ran from the desert
With rocks on my feet
I couldn't run fast enough
I'll admit my defeat

These lost parts of me now
Where have they gone
Where's my garden of Eden
Cause that's where I belong

And you told us we would be the last
Of the millions to die
So please hold us as I take one last breath

This won't take long
So let's just be strong

Overall Meaning

The song "Mermaids" by Forest City Lovers is a haunting and emotional track that explores themes of survival, loss, and hope. The song opens with the singer inviting someone to their place, presumably to seek refuge from a disaster that is about to befall them. The sense of urgency and impending danger is emphasized by the line "The big one is coming, we better prepare."

The second verse switches to the singer's personal experience, as they recall fleeing from a desert with rocks on their feet. Despite their efforts, they were unable to outrun whatever they were running from, and they admit defeat. The lyrics then take on a more abstract quality, as the singer wonders where the lost parts of them have gone and longs for their own personal "garden of Eden."

The final lines of the song are particularly moving, as the singer brings the focus back to the present moment and the impending disaster. They recall being told that they would be among the last to die, and plead for comfort and strength in the face of their impending doom.

Overall, "Mermaids" is a powerful and evocative song that touches on universal themes of survival and loss. Its haunting melody and poignant lyrics make it a standout track in Forest City Lovers' discography.

Line by Line Meaning

Let's go to my place
Let's find comfort and safety at my home

We'll find shelter there
My place will protect us from the impending danger

The big one is coming
An imminent danger or disaster is approaching

We better prepare
We should take steps to ready ourselves for the danger ahead

This won't take long
The danger will pass quickly

Let's just be strong
We need to remain resolute and brave during the danger

I ran from the desert
The singer fled from a barren, lonely place

With rocks on my feet
The artist's flight was a tough, arduous journey

I couldn't run fast enough
The artist couldn't escape the danger as quickly as they wanted

I'll admit my defeat
The artist acknowledges that their attempts to avoid the danger were unsuccessful

These lost parts of me now
The singer expresses their sense of loss and confusion