The Gathering Field line-up ultimately became Bill Deasy vocals and acoustic guitar), Dave Brown (lead guitar), Eric Riebling (bass) and Ray DeFade (drums). (After DeFade left the group he was replaced with Joe Zelek.) Their first independent release, entitled "The Gathering Field", was met with great reception around the region and they started playing to packed clubs. However, the band's popularity really skyrocketed when one of the region's most powerful rock radio stations, WDVE, began playing a song called, "Lost in America" and it remained in rotation for over 7 months. Based on the success of the independent release which bore the same name, the group garnered a major label deal with Atlantic Records, who re-released the CD.
Soon after they signed to Atlantic Records and "Lost in America" was re-released, there was turmoil at the label. The album charted on the Billboard Top 100 album chart, Radio and Records and various other industry publications but ultimately the CD and group got lost in the shuffle, largely due to Matchbox 20. When Matchbox 20 signed, the Gathering Field was forgotten, and the struggling band attempted to be released from their contract. When they finally succeeded, they released two more CDs; "Reliance" and "So Close to Home," the latter consisting of songs the band had played live for several years but never recorded. During that time Deasy also released a semi-acoustic solo album called "Spring Lies Waiting", produced by Brown. The band ultimately called it quits in 2002 and went their separate ways but their legacy includes a still loyal fan base across the United States and in several countries abroad, most notably (but not limited to) the Netherlands and Germany, where they received a stellar review in that country's edition of Rolling Stone. Lead singer-songwriter Bill Deasy now records as a solo artist and continues to be a prolific songwriter. His songs have also been recorded by several major label artists and used in a national television campaign for Good Morning America in which he also appeared.
Alcatraz
Gathering Field Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Our day off to Hanover
Beat up car with young girl driving
Slow down and pull over
In the rear view mirror
Like co-conspirators we did smile
I did not know that I was running
Down on the landscape
Of my Alcatraz escape
From the sadness 'twas born in my soul
Three years passed, still I was suffering
Spent that March in Charlottesville
Saw the ghost of Thomas Jefferson
Sitting on my window sill
With his thin powdered hair
And his concubine there he did smile
I did not know that I was running
I saw the twilight gleaming
Down on the landscape
Of my Alcatraz escape
From the sadness 'twas born in my soul
I went down through the labyrinth
Of my falsified regret
Deep in flight from the light in my soul
Oh what a complicated tapestry I sewed
All that energy I wasted on my fear
All those years spent stumbling down that lonesome road
It's not very clear
How far or how near I have come
I did not know that I was running
I see the sunlight streaming
Down on the landscape....
The lyrics to Gathering Field's song Alcatraz depict the journey of the singer, who seemingly finds freedom and liberation from his inner turmoil through different experiences. The song begins with the singer hitchhiking with his friend Steven and meeting a young girl driving a beat-up car. In the rearview mirror, the two friends exchange smiles, like co-conspirators, and the singer sees sunlight streaming down on the landscape, signifying a moment of hope and possibility.
However, as the song continues, it becomes clear that the singer is haunted by sadness and regret. He spends a March in Charlottesville, where he sees the ghost of Thomas Jefferson, a historical figure he associates with freedom and independence. The singer's feelings of confinement and suppression are expressed through the image of Alcatraz, a notorious prison in San Francisco that stands as a symbol of oppression and isolation.
The singer then reflects on the complicated tapestry he has sewn, with wasted energy and years spent stumbling down a lonesome road. Despite this, the singer still sees the sunlight and feels its hope and possibility. The song, therefore, becomes a story of the singer's journey towards freedom, liberation, and self-realization, which is marked with moments of despair, hope, and possibility.
Line by Line Meaning
Steven and I hitch-hiking
Steven and the singer are hitchhiking
Our day off to Hanover
They are taking a day off to go to Hanover
Beat up car with young girl driving
A young girl is driving a beat up car
Slow down and pull over
The car slows down and pulls over
In the rear view mirror
The artist sees something in the car's rear view mirror
Like co-conspirators we did smile
The singer and Steven smile at each other like they are co-conspirators
I did not know that I was running
The singer did not realize that he was running from something
I saw the sunlight streaming
The artist saw the sunlight streaming on the landscape
Down on the landscape
The sunlight is shining down on the landscape
Of my Alcatraz escape
The artist is referencing his escape from something like he escaped from Alcatraz
From the sadness 'twas born in my soul
The singer's escape was born from his deep sadness
Three years passed, still I was suffering
Three years have passed, but the artist is still suffering
Spent that March in Charlottesville
The singer spent a specific March in Charlottesville
Saw the ghost of Thomas Jefferson
The singer saw the ghost of Thomas Jefferson
Sitting on my window sill
The ghost was sitting on the singer's window sill
With his thin powdered hair
Thomas Jefferson had thin, powdered hair
And his concubine there he did smile
Thomas Jefferson was smiling with his concubine
I saw the twilight gleaming
The singer saw the twilight gleaming on the landscape
Of my Alcatraz escape
The singer again references his escape from something like he escaped from Alcatraz
I went down through the labyrinth
The artist went down through a difficult and confusing path
Of my falsified regret
The artist has regrets that he has falsified or misrepresented
Deep in flight from the light in my soul
The artist is running from the light in his soul
Oh what a complicated tapestry I sewed
The singer created a complex tapestry or pattern in his life
All that energy I wasted on my fear
The artist has wasted a lot of energy on his fears
All those years spent stumbling down that lonesome road
The singer has spent many years stumbling down a lonely path
It's not very clear
The situation is not very clear
How far or how near I have come
The singer is unsure how far or how near he has come
I see the sunlight streaming
The artist sees the sunlight streaming on the landscape
Down on the landscape....
The artist is once again referencing the sunlight streaming down onto the landscape
Contributed by Sarah K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.