Originally part of short-lived Chicago group I Rowboat, Johnson and two of his fellow Rowboat members, guitarist Dan Strack and drummer Brian Belval, created Fruit Bats as a side-project. When I Rowboat split up, Fruit Bats became Johnson's main focus. Spurred on by Califone/Perishable Records honchos Tim Rutili and Ben Massarella, the group recorded their first album, Echolocation, released in 2001.
After tours with Gorky's Zygotic Mynci, Modest Mouse and The Shins, Fruit Bats signed with Sub Pop in late summer 2002, recording their second album, 2003's Mouthfuls, which included new bandmate Gillian Lisee.
After relocating to Seattle, the group released their third album, Spelled in Bones, in 2005. Afterward, Eric D. Johnson played with The Shins and Vetiver. In 2008, the Fruit Bats began working together again, with revised membership of Johnson, Christopher Sherman, Ron Lewis, Graeme Gibson, and Sam Wagster. In 2009, they released The Ruminant Band and in 2011 came Tripper.
In November 2013, Eric D. Johnson announced he would be dissolving Fruit Bats. That month they played what was to be their farewell show at a sold out Aladdin Theatre in Portland, OR. The following year Johnson released an album under the name EDJ.
Reforming in 2015, Fruit Bats released their sixth official full-length LP, Absolute Loser, in 2016 via newly formed Los Angeles-based label Easy Sound.
Fruit Bats signed to North Carolina-based independent label Merge Records in 2018. Also in 2018, Johnson formed the folk group Bonny Light Horseman with Josh Kaufman and Anais Mitchell.
In 2019 Fruit Bats’ Merge debut "Gold Past Life" was released.
Fruit Bats’ 2020 album The Pet Parade was produced by Johnson's Bonny Light Horseman bandmate Josh Kaufman.
In 2021, Fruit Bats released a full-album cover of Smashing Pumpkins' 1993 record Siamese Dream.
The Fruit Bats’ double-disc, 20-year career retrospective "Sometimes A Cloud Is Just a Cloud: Slow Growers, Sleeper Hits and Lost Songs" was released in 2022.
The Banishment Song
Fruit Bats Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can't just have anything you like
We're an easy kind, but you've crossed the line
You are banished, banned
We have made the call
and it's a fucked up world beyond these walls
and there ain't no other way
You're never ever ever coming back
Take some bread 'n my pocket knife
That's the last gift you'll receive
This is the last that you'll ever hear from me
You're no longer welcome here
You bent the rules so hard they broke
You paid us no dues, you made us a joke
You're forever shunned
We have forgotten your face 'n name
You say its our fault, but we're not to blame
You've got a lousy fate
You've got to live under the sky
of a broken down bruise colored place
Take a word from me
Never look 'em in the eye
This is the last advice you'll ever get from me
You're no longer welcome here
I'll tell you what I'm gonna do
I'm gonna leave here, too
I'm gonna roll with you
'Cause we're no longer here
We just can't have everything we like
We're an easy kind, about to cross the line
With the sinners and the losers
and the long winded boozers
This is the last that I'll ever ask of you
Y'know we brought this on ourselves
But there ain't no other way
We're never ever, ever coming back
The Banishment Song by Fruit Bats is a song about exclusion, punishment and consequence. The lyrics document a situation where someone has repeatedly and knowingly broken the rules and norms of the community, to the point where they have become unwelcome and banished. The song begins with an address, stating that the person is no longer welcome there and can no longer have anything they like. The situation is described as "crossing the line", and the singer refers to the community as "an easy kind", meaning that they are forgiving and tolerant but that there is a limit to what they will tolerate. The chorus repeats the idea that the person has been "banished" and that there is "no other way" for them to return.
The song has a resigned and mournful tone, with a sense of finality and inevitability. The singer seems to have accepted the situation, but also recognizes that it is a "fucked up world" beyond the walls of the community. In some ways, the singer is sympathetic to the person being banished, offering a gift of bread and a pocket knife and giving some advice for how to survive in the wider world. However, the singer is also firm in their stance, making it clear that the person has brought this on themselves and that they are not to blame. The final verse is a twist, revealing that the singer themselves is also leaving the community, joining the person who has been banished. This suggests that there is a shared sense of alienation and rejection, and that the community has lost something valuable by insisting on their exclusion.
Line by Line Meaning
You're no longer welcome here
We do not want you in our community anymore
You can't just have anything you like
You cannot take or do whatever you want without consequences
We're an easy kind, but you've crossed the line
We are generally forgiving, but you have done something unforgivable
You are banished, banned
You are officially and permanently exiled from our community
We have made the call
We have decided and announced our verdict
and it's a fucked up world beyond these walls
The world outside our community is cruel, corrupt, and dangerous
But you brought this on yourself
You are responsible for your own fate
and there ain't no other way
There is no other option or solution
You're never ever ever coming back
You are not allowed to return, under any circumstance
Take some bread 'n my pocket knife
Here are the only things we can offer you
That's the last gift you'll receive
We will not provide anything else for you
This is the last that you'll ever hear from me
I will not communicate with you anymore
You bent the rules so hard they broke
You violated the rules so severely that they could not be fixed
You paid us no dues, you made us a joke
You did not contribute to our community and you publicly disrespected us
You're forever shunned
You are permanently ignored and rejected by us
We have forgotten your face 'n name
We do not want to remember you or associate with you anymore
You say its our fault, but we're not to blame
You try to shift the blame to us, but you are solely responsible for your actions
You've got a lousy fate
You have a miserable destiny or future
You've got to live under the sky
You have to survive in a harsh and unforgiving environment
of a broken down bruise colored place
Of a damaged and worn-out world with a bleak and somber atmosphere
Take a word from me
Here is a piece of advice
Never look 'em in the eye
Do not confront or challenge people directly or boldly
This is the last advice you'll ever get from me
I have no more guidance or help to offer you
I'll tell you what I'm gonna do
Here is my course of action
I'm gonna leave here, too
I am choosing to depart from this place or situation as well
We just can't have everything we like
Our desires and wishes cannot always be fulfilled
about to cross the line
We are about to do something that may cause us to be punished or rejected
With the sinners and the losers
We will join the outcasts and the failures
and the long winded boozers
And the talkative and drunken people
This is the last that I'll ever ask of you
I will not make any more requests or demands from you
Y'know we brought this on ourselves
We are responsible for the consequences of our actions
But there ain't no other way
We have no other choice or alternative
We're never ever, ever coming back
We will not return, under any circumstance
Contributed by Sydney O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.