In 1980, at age 15, Graffin and a few high school classmates formed Bad Religion in Southern California's San Fernando Valley. After making a name for themselves in the Los Angeles punk scene, releasing three EPs and two full-length albums, they disbanded in 1984. However, the band re-formed in 1987, with the How Could Hell Be Any Worse? line-up with an addition of former Circle Jerks guitarist Greg Hetson, and released their highly acclaimed comeback album, Suffer, in the following year. The album was a comeback for Bad Religion as well as a watershed for the Southern California punk sound popularized by their label Epitaph Records, which is owned by guitarist Brett Gurewitz. The band has recorded and toured frequently ever since the release of "Suffer." Bad Religion is known for its articulate and often politically charged lyrics as well as its musically sophisticated (yet fast-paced) harmony, melody and counterpoint.
Graffin and Gurewitz are the band's two main songwriters, though Graffin wrote the bulk of the material on his own for a three-album period in the late 1990's when Gurewitz left the band. Graffin recorded a solo album in 1997, called American Lesion, which consisted of softer, more pop-oriented songs. After a stint with major label Atlantic Records ended in the early 2000s, Bad Religion re-signed with Epitaph and Gurewitz rejoined to record two more albums, and the band released their fourteenth studio album, "New Maps of Hell" in 2007.
In June of 2005, it was reported that Graffin would continue his solo work with the release of Cold as the Clay[1]. The new album is an amalgamation of new songs by Graffin and 18th and 19th century American folk songs. It was produced by Brett Gurewitz and released on Anti- Records on July 10, 2006.
Graffin double majored in anthropology and geology as an undergraduate at the University of California, Los Angeles. He went on to earn a masters degree in geology from UCLA and received his Ph.D. in evolutionary paleontology from Cornell University. However, according to a video clip originally from the Bad Religion official website and also available from The Cornell Evolution Project homepage, the PhD thesis was officially a Zoology PhD thesis, supervised by William B. Provine at Cornell University. The thesis was entitled "Monism, Atheism and the Naturalist Worldview: Perspectives from Evolutionary Biology". It is described as being essentially an evolutionary biology PhD but having also relevance to history and philosophy of science.
Greg Graffin currently resides in Los Angeles, California and is teaching life science at UCLA.
Omie Wise
Greg Graffin Lyrics
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He asked her to meet him at Adams's spring, said he'd bring her money and other fine things,
So fool-like she met him at Adams's spring, no money he brought her nor other fine things
John Lewis, John Lewis, won't you tell me your mind, do you intend to marry me or leave me behind?
Little Omie, Little Omie, I will tell you my mind, my plan is to drown you and leave you behind,
Have mercy on my baby and spare me my life, I'll go home as a beggar and never be your wife
Would drown,
It was on one Thursday morning the rain came pouring down and they searched for Omie's body but it
Nowhere could be found,
Two boys went a fishin' one fine summer day and they saw little Omie's body go floating away
They called for John Lewis to come to that place so he could see her body and they could see his face,
Though he made no confession they threw him in jail, no friend nor relation would go on his bail
The lyrics to Greg Graffin's song "Omie Wise" tell the story of a young woman named Omie Wise who is murdered by a man named John Lewis. Lewis convinces Wise to meet him at Adams's spring by promising her money and other fine things. However, when they meet, Lewis brings nothing and informs Wise that he plans to drown her and leave her behind. Wise begs for mercy, offering to go home as a beggar and never be his wife, but Lewis ignores her pleas and throws her into deep water to drown. Wise's body is not found until two boys spot it while fishing. Lewis is eventually caught and thrown in jail but confesses nothing, and no one is willing to post his bail.
Line by Line Meaning
Come listen to my story, I'll tell you no lies, how John Lewis did murder a little Omie Wise,
Allow me to narrate to you this true tale of how John Lewis committed the crime of murdering Omie Wise.
He asked her to meet him at Adams's spring, said he'd bring her money and other fine things,
John Lewis enticed Omie Wise to meet him by promising to give her money and gifts.
So fool-like she met him at Adams's spring, no money he brought her nor other fine things
Omie Wise fell for John Lewis' lies, and met him at the spring only to realize that he had lied to her about the money and gifts.
John Lewis, John Lewis, won't you tell me your mind, do you intend to marry me or leave me behind?
Omie Wise confronted John Lewis about his intentions and asked if he planned on marrying her or abandoning her.
Little Omie, Little Omie, I will tell you my mind, my plan is to drown you and leave you behind,
John Lewis revealed his true plan to Omie Wise, which was to drown her and abandon her.
Have mercy on my baby and spare me my life, I'll go home as a beggar and never be your wife
In a desperate plea for mercy, Omie Wise begged John Lewis to spare her life and promised to live as a beggar, never becoming his wife.
He hugged her and he kissed her and turned her around and threw her in deep water where he knew that she would drown,
After embracing and kissing Omie Wise, John Lewis callously turned her around and threw her into deep water, where he knew she would die by drowning.
It was on one Thursday morning the rain came pouring down and they searched for Omie's body but it nowhere could be found,
Despite searching for her body, Omie Wise's remains could not be found due to the heavy rainfall that occurred on that Thursday morning.
Two boys went a fishin' one fine summer day and they saw little Omie's body go floating away
It was only when two boys went fishing on a summer day that they found Omie Wise's body floating in the water.
They called for John Lewis to come to that place so he could see her body and they could see his face,
John Lewis was summoned to the location where Omie Wise's body was found so that he could witness the aftermath of his horrific crime and face the consequences.
Though he made no confession they threw him in jail, no friend nor relation would go on his bail
Even though John Lewis did not confess to his crime, he was arrested and placed in jail, and none of his friends or family members were willing to bail him out.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: COX, JANSCH, MCSHEE, RENBOURN, ERROL THOMPSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind