Michigan-based Northern Rock collective the Great Lakes Myth Society declar… Read Full Bio ↴Michigan-based Northern Rock collective the Great Lakes Myth Society declared itself a proper entity on January 1st 2003. The groups' previous incarnation as the "Original Brothers and Sisters of Love" yielded two critically-lauded albums (1999s The Legende of Jeb Minor and 2001's H.O.M.E.S.) for the Brooklyn, New York indie label The Telegraph Company (Kelley Stoltz, Stew, Finishing School) and successful appearances at New York City's Knitting Factory, CMJ, SXSW and Bostons NEMO Festival, but by 2002 the amicable departure of violinist and native New Zealander Elisabeth Auchinvole and the record company's untimely financial collapse had left the band with two gaping holes in its side and a mammoth completed record with no home. Rather than fold up their maps and head inward, Timothy Monger (accordion, guitar & vocals), James Monger (guitar & vocals), Gregory McIntosh (guitar & vocals), Scott McClintock (bass & vocals) and Fido Kennington (drums & vocals) adorned themselves in the most affordable black suits available, changed their name to reflect the region from which they drew their power and began to shop what would eventually become their formidable debut. It wasn't long before the newly minted "Great Lakes Myth Society" began sharing stages both locally and regionally with artists as diverse as Andrew Bird, Danielson, The Gourds, Saturday Looks Good to Me, The Hidden Cameras and The High Strung, eventually breaking through into the often impenetrable Detroit music scene with key shows at the Magic Stick, Lager House, Comerica TasteFest and finally a headlining slot at the first annual "Motor City Music Conference". Their eponymous debut, an alternately brooding and nostalgic blend of muscular English folk-rock, pine-kissed Northern Americana and Midwest Carny grit was released in April 2005 on the Boston-based label Stop, Pop & Roll (Paula Kelley, Ad Frank, Cathal Coughlan). Within weeks it had broken into the CMJ Top 200 and the band hit the road, bringing their consistently engaging and occasionally brutal live show to New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan's Upper Peninsula, even putting in an appearance on NPR's "All Things Considered". The GLMS signed with Southeast Michigan-based publishing house, record label, web developer and video/television production company Quack!Media in 2006 with plans to release their second album, "Compass Rose Bouquet", in the Summer of 2007. An eponymous single followed in early 2008 featuring "Brablec Farms" and "She's Come Home To Steal Her Rainbows".

Summer Bonfire
Great Lakes Myth Society Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sweet mother come down and say your prayers
For the fields are rank with summer, as if God just left them there
And who is that caught in your death row stare
All your Midwest sons and daughters 'neath the world's electric'

Hey boys, down by the bonfire glow
Oh yeah, rain on you selfish lovers
Hey girls, drunk on the weekends

Nubile skin meets car seat leather, radio forecasts stormy weather

In the mornings down at the five & dime
Watching golden pennies pancake on a sun burnt railroad line
Dewdrops cover the world in brine
And the salty bangs of August taste like long red bottles off'

Hey boys, down by the bonfire glow
Oh yeah, rain on you selfish lovers
Hey girls, drunk on the weekends

All the lads they come when their sisters call
When the linseed oil and laughter turns to lust and alcohol
Moonlight reaps what the midday sews
All the yearlings leave their mothers when the summer bonfires glow

Hey boys, down by the bonfire glow
Oh yeah, rain on you selfish lovers

Hey girls, drunk on the weekends
Lightning strikes the broken-hearted find a field and let's get started

Overall Meaning

Great Lakes Myth Society’s “Summer Bonfire” is a nostalgic and beautifully written ode to the charm and innocence of Midwest summers. The song opens with the plea of the singer's mother to offer prayers for the summery fields that seem to have been abandoned by God. The hauntingly beautiful lyric suggests that the fields are ripe and full of life, but the emptiness and quietness around them suggest an unease. In the next line, the singer asks his mother about a person who is caught in her stare, which turns out to be the Midwest sons and daughters. The lyrics about the Midwest sons and daughters refer to them being under the world's electric, meaning they are part of the changing world.

In the chorus, the singer beckons the boys and girls down by the bonfire glow. The lyrics evoke the scent of rain on selfish lovers and the heady mix of nubile skin meeting car seat leather that is both exciting and dangerous. The summer is full of promise as the radio forecasts a stormy weather that adds to the drama of the lyrical imagery. The mornings at the five & dime with golden pennies pancaking on a sun-burnt railroad line evoke memories of a simpler time when nature and humanity were in harmony. The salty tang of August suggests that summer is a time for long, indulgent days, and nights that are full of promise and joy.

Line by Line Meaning

Sweet mother come down and say your prayers
The singer requests his mother to ask for God's blessings on the crops that have grown excessively during the summer months.

For the fields are rank with summer, as if God just left them there
The fields are rich with the growth of the summer season, almost as if they have been left by God himself.

And who is that caught in your death row stare
The singer notices someone being looked at with an intense gaze that resembles a stare from someone on death row.

All your Midwest sons and daughters 'neath the world's electric'
The people being stared at are the sons and daughters of the Midwest, living in a world that is full of electrical equipment and so-called progress.

Hey boys, down by the bonfire glow
The boys are gathering around a bonfire, enjoying its warmth and light.

Oh yeah, rain on you selfish lovers
The rain falling on the people in love represents the Speaker's wish that their relationship be tested by trials and tribulations.

Hey girls, drunk on the weekends
The girls enjoy drinking alcohol and partying on weekends.

Nubile skin meets car seat leather, radio forecasts stormy weather
The Speaker describes young girls sitting in cars with intimate contact with the leather of the seats, while the radio predicts that a storm is coming.

In the mornings down at the five & dime
The artist visits a store in the mornings.

Watching golden pennies pancake on a sun burnt railroad line
The artist observes how sun makes the railway line look gold and hot, while pennies are flattened by the train wheels.

Dewdrops cover the world in brine
The dewdrops or moisture in the air give the world a salty quality.

And the salty bangs of August taste like long red bottles off
The salty air of the August month has a fresh, invigorating taste like that of a long swig of beer.

All the lads they come when their sisters call
When the women call, their brothers arrive.

When the linseed oil and laughter turns to lust and alcohol
The atmosphere changes from something light-hearted and fun to something more passionate as alcohol takes hold.

Moonlight reaps what the midday sews
The events that are initiated during the day come to fruition by moonlight.

All the yearlings leave their mothers when the summer bonfires glow
Young men gather around summer bonfires and leave their 'mother figures' behind.

Lightning strikes the broken-hearted find a field and let's get started
The artist says to those who have recently ended a relationship to go outside and let nature's symbols of lightning and fire heal their heartbreak.

Contributed by Leah J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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