The band met and formed in Greenville, North Carolina, USA while studying art at East Carolina University. Their first band was Art Lord & The Self-Portraits, which was also composed of Adam Beeby and Kymia Nawabi and lasted from 2003 to 2005. In 2006, Cashion, Herring, and Welmers formed Future Islands, along with Erick Murillo, the bassist for The Kickass. Other former members include Samuel N. Ortiz-Payero (drums, 2008) and Denny Bowen (drums, 2009–2013 in studio; 2013–2014 touring)
Future Islands released Little Advances in April 2006, and a self-released split CD with Welmers' solo project Moss of Aura in January 2007. In July 2007, they recorded their debut album, Wave Like Home, with Chester Endersby Gwazda at Backdoor Skateshop in Greenville, North Carolina. After a Halloween party in 2007, Murillo quit the band. In late 2007 and early 2008, the band relocated to Baltimore, Maryland, USA. The "Feathers and Hallways" 7" was recorded in Oakland, California during their first US tour and was their first release as a focused three-piece. Upset! the Rhythm released Wave Like Home on 25 August 2008. The cover art was designed by Kymia Nawabi, a former member of Art Lord & The Self-Portraits. In 2009 the band signed to independent Chicago record company Thrill Jockey.
Their second album, In Evening Air, was recorded in the band's living room in the historic Marble Hill neighborhood in Baltimore and released on 4 May 2010.Their third full-length album, On the Water, was recorded in Elizabeth City, NC's historic, waterfront Andrew S. Sanders House. It was released on 11 October 2011.
These early albums from Future Islands are often associated with other bands affiliated with Wham City, such as Videohippos, Santa Dads, Blood Baby, OCDJ, Adventure, Dan Deacon, Weekends and Double Dagger.
In 2014, they released Singles with hit-track Seasons (Waiting on You). The band and song gained critical acclamation from Pitchfork and NME and performed the song on the Late Show with David Letterman, a performance that went viral. In 2017, they released The Far Field and most recently in 2020 they released As Long As You Are.
Ran
Future Islands Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So perfect and so sweet
But the rest, feels incomplete
Like the rabbit's foot I keep
In the locket, with no key
And I can't take it, I can't take this world without
This world without you
On my own
On these roads
Out of love, so it goes
How it feels when we fall, when we fold
How we lose control, on these roads
How it sings as it goes
Flight of field, driving snow
Knows the cold
Ran round the wailing world
And what's a song without you?
When every song I write is about you
When I can't hold myself without you
And I can't change the day I found you
On these roads
Out of love, so it goes
How it feels when we fall, when we fold
How we lose control, on these roads
How it sings as it goes
Flight of field, driving snow
Knows the cold
Out of love, so it goes
How it feels when we fall, when we fold
How we lose control, on these roads
How it sings as it goes
Flight of field, driving snow
Knows the cold
Ran round the wailing world
The lyrics of Future Islands’ “Ran” seem to touch on themes such as loss, longing, and the difficulty of being apart from someone you love. The first verse speaks of ingesting something, which no one else can see but the singer, and describes it as perfect and sweet. However, despite this, the singer feels incomplete like the rabbit’s foot they keep in a locket without the key. This could be interpreted as the singer having found something special or valuable, but it is something that only they can truly understand or appreciate, and without the presence of the person they love, it still feels like something is missing.
The chorus seems to express the depths of the singer’s love and need for this person. They sing, “I can’t take this world without you, I can’t take it on my own”. The next verse talks about the difficult journey of being “out of love”, and how it feels to fall and lose control on the tumultuous “roads” of life. The line “flight of field, driving snow” is a metaphor for the unpredictability and chaotic nature of life, while “knows the cold” suggests that the singer is aware of the hardships that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Ingest, where it goes, nobody sees but me
I internalize everything and keep it hidden from the world
So perfect and so sweet
The things I keep hidden are beautiful and precious to me
But the rest, feels incomplete
Despite their beauty, the rest of my life feels incomplete without these hidden things
Like the rabbit's foot I keep
These things are like a lucky charm I keep close to me
In the locket, with no key
The things I keep hidden are locked away, and I don't know how to unlock them
And I can't take it, I can't take this world without
I can't bear to live in a world without the hidden things that are so important to me
This world without you
The hidden things are connected to you and I can't imagine a world without you in it
I can't take it, I can't take it on my own
I can't face this world alone without the support of the hidden things and you
On these roads
Life's journey is full of twists and turns
Out of love, so it goes
Love often fades away and ends
How it feels when we fall, when we fold
It hurts deeply when relationships and other things we hold dear come to an end
How we lose control, on these roads
We can't always control the things that happen to us in life
How it sings as it goes
Despite the pain, life goes on and we have to keep moving forward
Flight of field, driving snow
Life is both beautiful and difficult, with moments of grace and harshness
Knows the cold
We cannot escape the harsh realities of life
Ran round the wailing world
Despite the pain, we keep moving forward and living our lives
And what's a song without you?
You are an integral part of my life, and everything I create is connected to you
When every song I write is about you
All my creative output is imbued with thoughts and feelings about you
When I can't hold myself without you
You are my support system and I can't function without you
And I can't change the day I found you
I am forever grateful for the day we met and how you've impacted my life
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: William Cashion, Samuel Herring, John Gerrit Welmers
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@gummo6596
Ingest, where it goes
Nobody sees but me
So perfect and so sweet
But the rest feels incomplete
Oh, like the rabbit's foot I keep
In the locket, with no key
And I can't take it, I can't take
This world without, this world without you
I can't take it, I can't take it on my own
On my own
On these roads
Out of love
So it goes
How it feels when we fall, when we fold
How we lose control
On these roads
How it sings as it goes
Flight of field, driving snow
Knows the cold
Ran round the wailing world
And what's a song without you?
When every song I write is about you
When I can't hold myself without you
And I can't change the day I found you
On these roads
Out of love
So it goes
How it feels when we fall, when we fold
How we lose control
On these roads
How it sings as it goes
Flight of field, driving snow knows the cold
Out of love
So it goes
How it feels when we fall, when we fold
How we lose control
On these roads
How it sings as it goes
Flight of field, driving snow knows the cold
Ran round the wailing world
@oldbrasstoes
UR MUSIC IS A MEDICINE GUYS‼️‼️‼️❗️‼️‼️
This song is exactly what I'm going thru right now.
I literally felt ur same pain thru this song into the pit of my stomach.
Your music has been with me thru the hardest, better part of this decade, and has held closer to my heart than a brother!
Thx u thx u thx u for saying exactly what we are all going through in 2017.
UR MUSIC IS A MEDICINE GUYS‼️‼️‼️❗️‼️‼️
@leepainter1906
Most underrated band in the history of underrated bands
@seagreentangerine2065
Lee Painter That award goes to The Chameleons
@pavlovsunhappydog
And XTC..criminally ignored.
@WonsPhreely
Im with ya Lad! btw what d'you think of this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOCvS-Iect8&list=PLWehun4PmMf-tCdbTVDVsHcDqiWWM_MRM
@luisbenitez1294
I rated to stay underrated more music for me, yes I’m selfish 🤣🤣🤣🤣
@WonsPhreely
🤣 I know the feeling@@luisbenitez1294🤣 how would you rate this one? https://youtu.be/qOCvS-Iect8
@ericlemons3164
This is a very powerful video for a lot of personal reasons. Sam was actually in leg braces for much of his young life. But one time he had to outrun a truck full of bullies and the leg braces broke off. From that point on, he was runnin'. Also played football at Alabama and started a successful shrimp boat fleet. Still loves to run.
@asskirk
thats so cruel, making fun at Vietnam vet
@stevenpaulortiz9076
hmmm....for some reason. ...his story seems oddly familiar to me....I can't quite put my finger on it ....on who the story reminds me of..don't u hate wen that happens? I kno i do...it's probably all in my head.
@karinaponte8666
I like to know everything about him Help!!! making me happy after a lousy day