Phillips spent his formative years in Stockton, CA, where he founded a band called Bloody Holly, but prior to his 20th birthday Phillips headed to Los Angeles to study film, and he quickly found himself beneath the spell cast by local bands as the Rain Parade and Dream Syndicate. Phillips soon joined with Stockton acquaintance Jeff Clark to form Shiva Burlesque. The band dissolved after two critically acclaimed records, and Phillips soon began writing and demo-ing using the Grant Lee Buffalo alias.
Following some solo dates, Phillips invited former bandmates Joey Peters and Paul Kimble to join him, and the trio signed to Warner subsidiary Slash in 1992. Phillips' golden, honey-soaked voice went largely to waste in Shiva Burlesque, but the new band enabled him to step out as a singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. GLB went on to release four very different LPs, consistent in excellence. A cult following, successful tours, and across-the-board critical acclaim (he was voted Rolling Stone's Male Vocalist of the Year following their second LP) didn't translate into sales, however. Frustrated with his label's dead-on-arrival promotion, Phillips asked for his band to be released from their contract, and he was obliged. (It was erroneously reported that GLB had been dropped.) Phillips dissolved his band, anxious to forge a new path.
In October of 1999, he headed to Jon Brion's studio and recorded a handful of new songs, played exclusively by himself. Dubbed Ladies' Love Oracle, it was self-released the following year online and at his numerous appearances at Largo in Hollywood. After landing a deal with Zoe/Rounder, Phillips issued the excellent Mobilize in 2001. The next year, Rounder reissued Ladies' Love Oracle in time for Phillips' joint tour with Kristin Hersh and Joe Doe. In 2004, he released Virginia Creeper, followed by an album of covers (Nineteeneighties) in 2006. Strangelet appeared in 2007 on Rounder Records, followed by Little Moon (2009), and Walking in the Green Corn (2012) .
Discography
Ladies Love Oracle (2000)
Mobilize (2001)
Virginia Creeper (2004)
Nineteeneighties (2006)
Strangelet (2007)
Little Moon (2009)
Walking in the Green Corn (2012)
Wave of Mutilation
Grant-Lee Phillips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
drive my car into the ocean
you'll think i'm dead, but i sail away
on a wave of mutilation
a wave
wave
i've kissed mermaids, rode the el nino
could find my way to mariana
on a wave of mutilation,
wave of mutilation
wave of mutilation
wave
wave of mutilation
wave
The song "Wave of Mutilation" by Grant-Lee Phillips is a haunting and thought-provoking tune that speaks to the urge to escape from the trials and tribulations of life, no matter how painful that escape might be. The opening lines, "cease to resist, giving my goodbye, drive my car into the ocean," indicate a person who has become overwhelmed by their circumstances and is ready to take drastic action to escape them. The following lines, "you'll think I'm dead, but I sail away on a wave of mutilation," suggest that the singer is contemplating suicide as a way to escape their troubles.
The refrain, "a wave of mutilation," repeats throughout the song, emphasizing the destructive and deadly nature of the escape being contemplated. The verse, "I've kissed mermaids, rode the el nino, walked the sand with the crustaceans, could find my way to Marianas on a wave of mutilation," illustrates the singer's longing to escape to a world beyond human pain and suffering, a world where they can be free to exist as they truly are.
Overall, "Wave of Mutilation" is a powerful song that speaks to the human urge to escape our difficulties and pain. Whether through suicide or some other means, the desire to break free from our troubles is a powerful one that can sometimes have deadly consequences.
Line by Line Meaning
cease to resist, giving my goodbye
I have decided to stop fighting and say farewell
drive my car into the ocean
I am taking this final journey by driving my car into the water
you'll think i'm dead, but i sail away
Even though it may seem like I have died, I am actually sailing away
on a wave of mutilation
I am riding on the destructive power of the ocean, leaving behind my past
a wave
This wave is capable of causing destruction and change, and I am embracing it
i've kissed mermaids, rode the el nino
I have experienced fantastical adventures, such as kissing mermaids and riding a powerful ocean current
walked the sand with the crustaceans
I have connected with nature and its creatures by walking alongside crabs and other crustaceans
could find my way to mariana
I have become so attuned to the ocean that I could navigate my way to one of the deepest parts of it, the Mariana Trench
on a wave of mutilation
Once again, I am using the power of the ocean to propel me forward into an uncertain future
wave of mutilation
This is the recurring theme that represents the struggle and pain of letting go and embracing change
wave of mutilation
Reiterating the power of the ocean to both destroy and transform
wave
The closing word emphasizes the finality of the decision and the meaning behind the journey
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Charles Thompson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind