Freelance Whales is an indie rock band hailing from Queens, New York, forme… Read Full Bio ↴Freelance Whales is an indie rock band hailing from Queens, New York, formed in 2008 and consisting of frontman Judah Dadone (lead vocals, banjo, acoustic and electric guitar, synthesizer, bass), and bandmates Nicole Mourelatos a.k.a. Doris Cellar (bass, harmonium, glockenspiel, synthesizer, vocals), Chuck Criss (banjo, bass, synthesizer, glockenspiel, harmonium, acoustic and electric guitar, vocals), Jacob Hyman (drums, percussion, vocals) and Kevin Read (acoustic and electric guitar, glockenspiel, mandolin, synthesizer, vocals).
So far the band have released two albums - "Weathervanes" in 2009, and "Diluvia" in 2012.
In April 2013, the band announced that Doris Cellar would no longer be playing with the band.

Follow Through
Freelance Whales Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I will learn to console
The dying cylon
Whose hope
Has binary slow turned
Into grief into
Hearts we hid up our sleeves
I didn't have to leave
I can see

I was hopeless and naive
Now I see now I see

Making good on our plan
As I stuck to my presets
No offense
It's just I never made amends
With myself
I'll always see through this lens
The wires bind the stems
I will not
Shoot my valence through the air
I am not
One of them

Two words
I never thought they'd be the ones I'd choose
And I'll always follow through
Few turns

I never thought they'd be the ones of news
It's closer than I ever knew

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Freelance Whales' song Follow Through may seem obscure, but upon closer inspection, they convey a message of regret, redemption, and determination. The first stanza describes a scene where the singer consoles a dying Cylon whose hope has turned into grief, metaphorically suggesting a machine that has reached the end of its life. The phrase 'binary slow turned into grief' also suggests a gradual decay of hope and happiness, reminiscent of the transition from 0s to 1s in binary code. However, the lyricist suggests that the Cylon's grief is not entirely unfounded, as the 'hearts we hid up our sleeves' have caused them to be hopeless and naive in the past. The phrase 'now I see' implies a newfound wisdom, a realization that the singer could have done much more to help the Cylon, and that it was callous to ignore their plight.

The second stanza, however, takes a slightly more hopeful approach. The singer acknowledges that they did not always make the best decisions in life and that they have been 'stuck to their presets.' It suggests that their decisions were not entirely of their own volition, but influenced by external factors. Nonetheless, the singer resolves to see through the lens of their past, to acknowledge their mistakes, and not let them dictate their future. The phrase 'the wires bind the stems' metaphorically suggests that past experiences and memories restrict future growth, but the singer refuses to 'shoot their valence through the air,' meaning they won't let go of the lessons they've learned.

Line by Line Meaning

I will learn to console
I will try to comfort and give emotional support

The dying cylon
The robot/android that is no longer functioning

Whose hope
Whose expectation or desire

Has binary slow turned
Has gradually changed from optimism to sadness

Into grief into
Causing feelings of deep sorrow

Hearts we hid up our sleeves
Emotions that we concealed or kept secret

I didn't have to leave
I could have stayed and faced the situation

I can see
I now understand better

I was hopeless and naive
I was very inexperienced and unrealistic

Now I see now I see
Now everything is clear to me

Making good on our plan
Acting on the idea we agreed on

As I stuck to my presets
Following my habitual patterns of behavior

No offense
Don't take this personally, but...

It's just I never made amends
I never apologized or corrected my mistakes

With myself
To reconcile with my own conscience

I'll always see through this lens
I'll always have this perspective or point of view

The wires bind the stems
The cables connect the branches of the device

I will not
I will refuse to do something

Shoot my valence through the air
Exposing my feelings to everyone

I am not
On the contrary, I'm different from them

One of them
One of the common or ordinary people

Two words
A small phrase or expression used to describe something

I never thought they'd be the ones I'd choose
I didn't expect to use these specific words

And I'll always follow through
And I will always act accordingly

Few turns
A sequence of events that led to

I never thought they'd be the ones of news
I didn't anticipate that these would be the ones that gained attention

It's closer than I ever knew
It's much more significant or meaningful than I realized

Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: CHARLES CRISS, JACOB STUART HYMAN, JUDAH DADONE, KEVIN JOSEPH READ, NICOLE MOURELATOS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Most interesting comments from YouTube:

@mnuor13

10y↑12

I will learn to console
The dying cylon
Whose hope
Has binary slow turned
Into grief into
Hearts we hid up our sleeves
I didn't have to leave
I can see
I was hopeless and naive
Now I see now I see

Making good on our plan
As I stuck to my presets
No offense
It's just I never made amends
With myself
I'll always see through this lens
The wires bind the stems
I will not
Shoot my valence through the air
I am not
One of them

Two words
I never thought they'd be the ones I'd choose
And I'll always follow through
Few turns
I never thought they'd be the ones of news
It's closer than I ever knew

@falloutboy0403

[Verse 1]
I will learn to console
The dying Cylon
Whose hope has binary slow
Turned into grief into
Hearts we hid up our sleeves
I didn't have to leave
I can see, I was
Hopeless and naïve
Now I see, now I see

[Instrumental Chorus]

[Verse 2]
Making good on our plan
As I stuck to my presets
No offense, it's just I
Never made amends
With myself, I'll
Always see through this lens
The wires bind the stems
I will not shoot my
Valence through the air
I am not one of them

[Chorus]
Two words...
Two words...
Two words...
Two words...
Two words...
Two words...
Two words...

[Outro]
Two words: I never thought they'd
Be the ones I'd choose
And I'll always follow through
Few turns: I never thought they'd
Be the ones of news
It's closer than I ever knew
Two words: I never thought they'd
Be the ones I'd choose
And I'll always follow through
Few turns: I never thought they'd
Be the ones of news
It's closer than I ever knew
Two words: I never thought they'd
Be the ones I'd choose
And I'll always follow through
Few turns: I never thought they'd
Be the ones of news
It's closer than I ever knew
Two words: I never thought they'd (Two words)
Be the ones I'd choose
And I'll always follow through (I'll always follow)
Few turns: I never thought they'd (Few turns)
Be the ones of news
It's closer than I ever knew (I'll closer than I knew)

@jcuervo541

8y↑11

*****Lyrics *******
I will learn to console
The dying cylon
Whose hope
Has binary slow turned
Into grief into
Hearts we hid up our sleeves
I didn't have to leave
I can see
I was hopeless and naive
Now I see now I see

Making good on our plan
As I stuck to my presets
No offense
It's just I never made amends
With myself
I'll always see through this lens
The wires bind the stems
I will not
Shoot my valence through the air
I am not
One of them

Two words
I never thought they'd be the ones I'd choose
And I'll always follow through
Few turns
I never thought they'd be the ones of news
It's closer than I ever knew

@arnoldanimado9292

8y↑1

+TahseinTheGooner
I'll recommend you these songs:

Another Green World - Snow

The Shins - So Now What

Flyying Colours - Bugs

Young Galaxy - Come And See

Musique Le Pop - Turn To Sand

Grand Resort Resort - Endless

DIIV - Doused

Foals - A Knife In The Ocean

:D

@rosemaryaberdeen6228

Follow Through
Freelance Whales
I will learn to console
The dying cylon
Whose hope
Has binary slow turned
Into grief into
Hearts we hid up our sleeves
I didn't have to leave
I can see
I was hopeless and naive
Now I see now I see
Making good on our plan
As I stuck to my presets
No offense
It's just I never made amends
With myself
I'll always see through this lens
The wires bind the stems
I will not
Shoot my valence through the air
I am not
One of them
Two words
I never thought they'd be the ones I'd choose
And I'll always follow through
Few turns
I never thought they'd be the ones of news
It's closer than I ever knew

@unenbatchinbat6716

I will learn to console
The dying cylon
Whose hope
Has binary slow turned
Into grief into
Hearts we hid up our sleeves
I didn't have to leave
I can see
I was hopeless and naive
Now I see now I see
Making good on our plan
As I stuck to my presets
No offense
It's just I never made amends
With myself
I'll always see through this lens
The wires bind the stems
I will not
Shoot my valence through the air
I am not
One of them
Two words
I never thought they'd be the ones I'd choose
And I'll always follow through
Few turns
I never thought they'd be the ones of news
It's closer than I ever knew

All comments from YouTube:

@cineronin

9y↑62

two night stand

@hannahsmith5386

11y↑14

heard this in a music store and fell in love so I quickly wrote the lyrics down on my phone and looked it up when I got home, already love them so much! anyone have any other favourites of their songs for me to look up? :)

@ripardofilho3337

Broken Horse is the best

@falloutboy0403

Hannah, actually lol

@nickv1212

11y↑5

Idk, I want them to get the recognition they deserve. Isn't that the least we fans could do for them?

@srfrr

11y↑2

Havent been this happy about a song sinc e Takk came out

@sexyfingers2301

8y↑18

Two Night Stand<3

@beetlesquash5521

4y↑1

yepp

@emmanuelhandahu6101

2y↑1

Thought I was the only one who’s here from two night stand 😮‍💨

@axeljeanlouis960

38w

Same here

@mogiepickles

11y↑1

This song is so magical. For reals. Im in love

@t13c6

11y↑1

i love freelance whales!!! the beat sounds like something passion pit would do. totally different genres but this song reminds me of them.

@samj.9206

11y↑6

i recently fell in love with this band too from the recommendation of my cousin. The ones that are best in my opinion are Aeolus, generator ^ second floor, follow through, locked out, land features, hannah, the great estates, kiljoules, starring, spitting image. My more preferred songs are listed towards the front. i hope you like!

@ripardofilho3337

No Broken Horse?

@ritvickchakranarayan9613

2y↑1

Came here directly from the movie two night stand

@wts7242

7y↑2

awesome! 2 night stand

@mnuor13

10y↑12

@axeljeanlouis960

38w

Heard it from "two night stand" great cool romantic movie

@dazzmin

11y

I love these guys and I wish more people knew who they were!

@TheNamex7

11y

Beatiful and peaceful song.

@movinbutnotshakin

11y

Beautiful!!!

@neildian6270

10y

Lovin it

@PiotrTester

Amazing song
Enriching - tests and opinions

@brifoster13

12y

Incredible. <3

@donjohn281

Addicting

@reversekeypro

11y

Honestly I like that we get to keep them all to ourselves lol :P

@kiwifruit138

11y

I love them <3

@hannahsmith5386

11y

thank you so much!

@l4z3r4v3rz

12y

nice track

@movinbutnotshakin

11y

Heard this on album 88 atlanta today

@elijahwright2941

4y↑2

Two night stand

@ZacharyRitter

11y

fuck yes. i couldn't wait to hear this album finally.

@veinstangled8396

11y

yes! generator ^ first floor, kilojoules, and tbh anything off weathervanes, which in my opinion is better and has a more distinct folk-y sound than diluvia except i love this song bc it's dreamy and pretty!! anyway glad you found freelance whales. aren't they great?

@samj.9206

11y

Your very welcome :) hope i helped.

@falloutboy0403

@jcuervo541

8y↑11

@matthanvillas2092

7y↑1

thanks for this

@jcuervo541

ANYTIME BROTHA!

@jameswallace6262

8y↑1

the vocals at 1:46 are really reminding me of another artist can anyone please help me?

@Zakum

are you thinking Vampire Weekend? cause I really thought this kind of sounds like 'Unbelievers'

@lbraddock44

James Wallace reminds me of Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness

@morganbrown7954

I dunno if you ever figured it out but I think it sounds like band of horses. They sing the funeral. I freaking love them.

@TahseinTheGooner

Can anyone suggest me more songs and bands like this please? And also it'd be really kind if you could let me the genre of this kind of songs! :)

@ikeashes9089

I'm no expert but it sounds pretty dream pop. With more emphasis on pop. Maybe a bit of lofi?

@e.t.9202

+TahseinTheGooner you might dig Beach House's music. I like all of their albums, but 'Bloom' is my favorite. Cheers.

@arnoldanimado9292

8y↑1

@caitlynw8152

8y↑1

+TahseinTheGooner i call it indie

@JonnyBeoulve

What's the meaning of this song?

@macornilasagna321

I'm wondering the same thing but I love it none the less

@ChristianMichaelPoynter

Okay so I'm not 100% on the meaning because these songs are all so ethereal and vague and subtle. Like rubix cubes I come back to over and over throughout my life to work on. But from my understanding the album is about a catastrophic event where a star collapses into a supernova/black hole and it floods a planet. The first three songs are about robots I'm fairly sure. The second and third song (this one) are about sentient robots specifically. In the last song we see a robot create something artistic and is brought to tears by the beauty of it. In this song it sounds like the leader of those robots who has become sentient admit that even though he has a heart and soul now, he can't break away from what he was programmed to do, most likely something to do with the catastrophie that will flood this planet

@robertolopez6291

what

@bpjoyce10

11y

that's... not the way music works

@rosemaryaberdeen6228

@unenbatchinbat6716

I will learn to console
The dying cylon
Whose hope
Has binary slow turned
Into grief into
Hearts we hid up our sleeves
I didn't have to leave
I can see
I was hopeless and naive
Now I see now I see
Making good on our plan
As I stuck to my presets
No offense
It's just I never made amends
With myself
I'll always see through this lens
The wires bind the stems
I will not
Shoot my valence through the air
I am not
One of them
Two words
I never thought they'd be the ones I'd choose
And I'll always follow through
Few turns
I never thought they'd be the ones of news
It's closer than I ever knew