Gary Jules attended The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California. Some of his early projects/bands were The Ivory Knights, Our Town Pansies, Woodenfish and The Origin.
Jules started off his solo recording career with the debut Greetings from the Side. Originally released by A & M, this album slipped through the cracks due to neglect on the label's part, and Jules was dropped. In 2001, together with friend Michael Andrews, Gary Jules recorded Trading Snakeoil For Wolftickets. It was from this album that the remake of Tears for Fears' Mad World was subsequently used by Michael Andrews for Donnie Darko.
In December 2003, two years after Donnie Darko was released, Mad World finally reached the charts and became the Christmas Number One in the UK. In early 2004, the song surfaced in the US and Canada.
His most recent album, simply titled Gary Jules was released in 2006. The song Falling Awake from this album was recently used in the season 3 episode Six Days: Part Two of Grey's Anatomy.
Jules' Andrews' arrangement of "Mad World", was recently used in a trailer for the Gears of War for the XBOX 360, it was also used in a few episodes of CSI, Without a Trace, in some episodes of Dead Like Me, in an episode of Jericho, and an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Official Site: http://www.garyjules.com/
Keep
Gary Jules Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you know you're not asleep
Pictures come crawling through the cracks in your eyes
A mind is hard to keep
She said its
Natural
For you to be afraid
Natural
To despise what you have made
Made
She could feel her city melting
She goes out of the gate
And into the street
Shes so surprised to find
The world outside alive
And the earth beneath her feet
She said its
Natural
To build before you learn
She said its
Natural
To want see a city burn
A city burn
Yeah
And we could build a wall around us
And we could crawl across the floor
Lately I've been thinking to myself
We can't stay here anymore
Green lights for the living
Green lights for the dead
Green lights for the lady
Trapped inside my head
Who said its
Natural
To die before you change
She said its
Natural
To tear before the re-arrange
Re-arrange
And we could build a wall around us
And we could crawl across the floor
Lately I've been thinking to myself
We don't need it anymore
Whoa its a little bit funny
Whoa its a little too hard
Whoa she's a little bit worried
Whoa it's a little too far
Far
And the dream comes to the surface
And you know you're not asleep
Pictures come crawling through the cracks in your eyes
A mind is hard to keep
Gary Jules's song "Keep" is a hauntingly beautiful piece that speaks to the complexity of the human mind and the cracks that can form when we are not careful. The song is introspective and thought-provoking, with the artist exploring themes of fear, self-doubt and the natural human instinct to overcome adversity.
The opening lines, "And the dream comes to the surface, and you know you're not asleep, pictures come crawling through the cracks in your eyes, a mind is hard to keep," set the tone for the rest of the song. The dream mentioned here is symbolic of the subconscious and the idea that our deepest fears and desires can come to the surface when we least expect it. The cracks in our eyes represent the cracks in our mind - we cannot keep everything together all the time, and sometimes our deepest fears can leak out in ways we cannot control.
The next verse features a woman who feels like her city is melting around her, and she is surprised to see that the world outside is still alive. This is a metaphor for feeling lost and out of control, but also finding hope in unexpected places. She believes it is natural to want to burn everything down and start over, to rebuild before we truly understand what we are building.
The chorus speaks to the idea of building a wall around ourselves, but also the idea of crawling on the floor - we can try to protect ourselves from the world, but sometimes we need to be vulnerable and let the world in. The green lights represent life and death, and the woman trapped inside the artist's head represents a desire for change and self-discovery.
Overall, "Keep" is a powerful song that encourages introspection and self-reflection. The artist encourages us to embrace our fears and vulnerabilities, to tear down walls and let the world in.
Line by Line Meaning
And the dream comes to the surface
The subconscious thoughts and desires rise to the forefront of your mind.
And you know you're not asleep
You understand that these thoughts are real and not part of a dream.
Pictures come crawling through the cracks in your eyes
Memories and images seep into your consciousness.
A mind is hard to keep
Controlling your own thoughts and emotions can be difficult.
She said its
Natural
For you to be afraid
Fear is a common and normal human emotion.
She said its
Natural
To despise what you have made
Made
It's common to be critical of your own work and creations.
She could feel her city melting
Feeling overwhelmed and unstable in one's home or surroundings.
She goes out of the gate
And into the street
Venturing out of one's comfort zone.
Shes so surprised to find
The world outside alive
There is life and activity happening outside of one's personal experience.
And the earth beneath her feet
The grounding force of reality.
She said its
Natural
To build before you learn
It's common to start creating or building something before fully understanding all of the necessary steps.
She said its
Natural
To want see a city burn
A city burn
There can be a desire to see destruction or chaos, particularly in one's own creations.
And we could build a wall around us
And we could crawl across the floor
Lately I've been thinking to myself
We can't stay here anymore
The need to escape or change one's situation.
Green lights for the living
Green lights for the dead
Green lights for the lady
Trapped inside my head
Acknowledging the different aspects of life and death, including internal struggles.
Who said its
Natural
To die before you change
The belief that change must occur before it's too late.
She said its
Natural
To tear before the re-arrange
Re-arrange
Breaking down or destroying something before rebuilding it can be a natural part of the creative process.
Whoa its a little bit funny
Whoa its a little too hard
Whoa she's a little bit worried
Whoa it's a little too far
Far
Expressing feelings of discomfort or unease with a situation or decision.
And the dream comes to the surface
And you know you're not asleep
Pictures come crawling through the cracks in your eyes
A mind is hard to keep
Reiterating the difficulty in controlling one's thoughts and emotions, particularly in times of uncertainty or stress.
Contributed by Cameron G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mackenzie Ratcliffe
Simply epic
Isaiah schmidt
Its hard to find this song. I wouldn't know about it if I didn't own the cd in physical reality here.