Fugazi is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., i… Read Full Bio ↴Fugazi is an American post-hardcore band that formed in Washington, D.C., in 1986. The band consists of guitarists and vocalists Ian MacKaye and Guy Picciotto, bassist Joe Lally, and drummer Brendan Canty. They are noted for their style-transcending music, DIY ethical stance, manner of business practice and contempt for the music industry.

Since its inception, Fugazi has been self-managed and have released almost all their material through Dischord Records, an independent label founded by MacKaye and partner Jeff Nelson in 1980. The band maintained a policy of affordable access to their work through low record and ticket prices and all-ages concerts.

Says AMG All Music Guide, "Along with their stridently underground ethics — which were more out of pragmatism and modesty than anything else — they gained an extremely loyal and numerous global following. To many, Fugazi meant as much to them as Bob Dylan did to their parents."

They played their first show in the fall of 1987 and since then released 7 albums and toured the world extensively covering all 50 United States, Europe, Australia, South America, Japan and many points in between.

In addition to their recorded output Fugazi released a documentary film/video called "Instrument" in collaboration with independent filmmaker, Jem Cohen. The feature length video offers a documentary overview of the the band's career with footage shot in a variety of formats over the last 10 years combining concert, tour and studio material backed with a musical soundtrack by the band unique to the movie.

Fugazi's last musical releases were The Argument, a 10 song LP, and Furniture, a 3 song single, released in the Fall of 2001. These sessions marked the first studio appearance of long time roadie and second drummer Jerry Busher who played additional drums and percussion on a number of the tracks on both releases. The recordings were once again made in collaboration with long time Fugazi engineer Don Zientara at Inner Ear studios.

Prior to forming Fugazi, the members of the band played in various other bands with releases available on Dischord.

Fugazi are currently on hiatus as of 2002, with Mackaye in The Evens, Picciotto having produced various bands including Blonde Redhead and The Blood Brothers, and Lally playing with John Frusciante and Josh Klinghoffer on both Ataxia releases and working on a solo album.

Give Me the Cure
Fugazi Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I never thought too hard on dying before
I never sucked on the dying
I never licked the side of dying before
And now I'm feeling the dying

You've got your hands over your ears
You've got your mouth running on
You've got your eyes looking for something

That will never be found, like a reason
And I don't need a reason

I never thought too hard on dying before
I never thought on the dying
I never held the hand of dying before
And now I'm feeling the dying
But you've got to

Give me the shot
Give me the pill

Give me the cure
Now what you've done to my world

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Fugazi's song "Give Me the Cure" are raw and emotive, exploring themes such as mortality, despair, and a yearning for an end to suffering. The opening lines of the song reveal the singer's experiences with death, contrasting with their apathy towards it in the past. They have never thought too hard about dying or what it feels like, but now they are experiencing it and the pain is palpable.

The chorus of the song lays bare the singer's desperation for relief from this suffering. They plead with someone to "give me the shot, give me the pill, give me the cure," expressing an urgent need to end their pain. The third verse takes a turn, with the singer addressing someone directly whose actions have affected their world in a negative way. They are left searching for a reason, but acknowledge that they don't necessarily need one to justify these feelings.

The overall message of the song is that while death may be a challenging topic to discuss, it's one that's worth exploring. By acknowledging our own mortality and the reality that we will all face death at some point, we may be moved to live more fully in the present moment, making the most of this finite existence we have.

Line by Line Meaning

I never thought too hard on dying before
I didn't ponder about death much in the past

I never sucked on the dying
I didn't have too much exposure to death

I never licked the side of dying before
I didn't understand the nuances of death

And now I'm feeling the dying
Now I'm experiencing the weight of death

You've got your hands over your ears
You are ignoring the reality

You've got your mouth running on
You keep talking but not taking action

You've got your eyes looking for something
You are searching for a reason or justification

That will never be found, like a reason
Death cannot be explained logically

And I don't need a reason
I don't need a logical explanation for my feelings

I never held the hand of dying before
I never comforted someone who is dying

But you've got to
You have to do something