Long Live All of Us allowed the band from Murfreesboro, Tennessee, to take their influences farther than ever before, adding piano, haunting pedal steel, R&B-influenced horns and more to their own style of romanticized rock & roll. The songs are well-intentioned narratives that emphasize the great attributes of mankind — mercy, redemption, forgiveness and second chances.
Over a period of one month, the band transformed a house in rural Rockvale, Tennessee, into a recording studio and self-produced Long Live All of Us with friend and engineer Mikey Allred. The setting, joked Kneiser, would have fit perfectly into a Glossary song. The house was sandwiched between a church and a condemned meth lab, which was still wrapped in police tape.
Previous records — like 2010’s Feral Fire on Lucero’s Liberty & Lament label — were all recorded in 10 days or less, and were made to have a live feel. For the first time ever, the band had the luxury of time on its side.
“That’s the rock & roll dream…to live in a house and write and record together all day,” says Kneiser. “It allowed us a chance to experiment, and if you really wanted to do something you could take the time to make it happen. It was really one of the greatest creative experiences that I’ve ever had.”
The result is a hodgepodge of American music, similar to the Rolling Stones’ Exile on Main Street or the Clash’s London Calling — records that spanned many different musical genres. For example, Long Live All of Us switches from a Gospel-influenced song to a hopping, R&B-styled groove, and then to a crawling, country-tinged ballad and on to a soulful, up-tempo rock song. Jim Spake (Al Green, Alex Chilton, John Hiatt, Lucero … so many more) and Nahshon Benford, (Snowglobe, Lucero) both from Memphis, added horns on several tracks, including jaunty, Stax-like rhythmic horns on “A Shoulder to Cry On” and a lyrical baritone sax solo on “Under the Barking Moon.”
“In the end,” Kneiser says, “when everything around us is constantly reminding us of what we’re doing wrong, we just wanted to remind us of what we’re doing right.”
“The best thing that we have going as human beings is each other,” he says. – Jeremy Rush
Glossary is:
Bingham Barnes (bass)
Todd Beene (pedal steel, guitar, vocals)
Eric Giles (drums)
Joey Kneiser (vocals and guitar)
Kelly Kneiser (vocals, percussion)
Only Time Will Tell
Glossary Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or tell us nothing
Or maybe we already know
So many days to fill
Trying to feel something
More than a slow ebb and flow
If you hear the news coming
Now mothers and fathers teach their children
It doesn't matter if blood's thicker than water
If it's on your hands
So let's raise our glasses
For those once among us
For those who fought away fear
Who stepped into the darkness
Into the shadows
Never to reappear
If you call on me
You know I'll come running
Through the fire across the field
Down by the water where we played as children
When heaven was over the hill
The truth may only hurt if it comes
And tells us
That the heroes were really the ones
Who walked away
The song "Only Time Will Tell" by Glossary explores the uncertainty of life and the way that time can reveal or hide truths. It starts with the line "Only time will tell or tell us nothing, or maybe we already know," acknowledging that while we hope time will bring clarity, it's often unclear whether things will become any clearer. The song then moves into a discussion of the struggle to feel something meaningful in life, to find something more than just the slow ebb and flow of daily existence. The lyrics mention being dragged out into the street if news comes, suggesting that there's a need to face reality head-on, even if it's painful.
The chorus of the song acknowledges the passing of time and the loss of loved ones. Glossary sings about raising glasses to those who have passed away, and those who fought hard to overcome their fears. They honor those who stepped into the darkness and never reappeared, suggesting that there are some things we may never fully understand.
The final verse of the song expresses a willingness to help others, even in difficult circumstances. Glossary sings about running through fire and across fields to reach someone in need, and how they will be there for those who call on them. The song ends with the idea that the truth can hurt, but sometimes the people we see as heroes are the ones who walk away, leaving us with unanswered questions.
Overall, "Only Time Will Tell" is a complex song that touches on themes of uncertainty, loss, and the passage of time. It's a reflection on the inconsistencies of life, and how sometimes the things we hope will bring clarity can instead leave us with more questions.
Line by Line Meaning
Only time will tell
The future holds the answers that we seek
Or tell us nothing
Alternatively, the future may provide no insight
Or maybe we already know
Perhaps we have the answers within us already
So many days to fill
Our lives are long, and there's much time to pass
Trying to feel something
We search for meaning in our existence
More than a slow ebb and flow
We crave more than just the mundane rhythm of life
So drag me out into the street
If there's trouble brewing, let me face it head-on
If you hear the news coming
When you catch wind of change or danger
Now mothers and fathers teach their children
We pass on our knowledge to the next generation
It doesn't matter if blood's thicker than water
Family ties may not be as important as we think
If it's on your hands
If you have caused harm, you must face the consequences
So let's raise our glasses
Let's honor those who have gone before us
For those once among us
Those who have passed away
For those who fought away fear
For those who bravely faced their fears
Who stepped into the darkness
Those who ventured into the unknown
Into the shadows
Where danger and mystery lurk
Never to appear
Who may have perished or disappeared
If you call on me
If you need my help
You know I'll come running
I will not hesitate to come to your aid
Through the fire across the field
I will go to great lengths to help
Down by the water where we played as children
A nostalgic memory of a simpler time
When heaven was over the hill
When we were young and innocent, everything seemed possible
The truth may only hurt if it comes
Sometimes we don't want to know the truth
And tells us
Yet the truth must be faced
That the heroes were really the ones
The ones who sacrifice and endure
Who walked away
Not the heroes we might expect
Contributed by London L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@tencentpistol1
its a bearded Beene!!!
@Jmnabinger91
snakes on a plane
@purem0lly
"Only time will tell, will tell us nothing, or maybe we already know?"