The group recorded its first release for the label, Livonia, in Defever's home studio. The album features Oliver's shivery vocals along with tape loops, samples, and guitar blasts, for a noise-damaged, ethereal collection of songs about ghosts, reincarnation, and dreams. By 1992's Home Is in Your Head, the band's lineup and scope expanded. New singers Denise James, Karen Neal, Melissa Elliott, and guitarist Jymn Auge added depth and breadth to the band's original lineup. An epic 23 songs long, Home Is in Your Head ranges from folky ballads to electrifying guitar maelstroms and tape collages. That year also saw the release of The Dirt Eaters EP, named for Defever's other, more rock-oriented group, of which Elliot was also a member. In 1993, His Name Is Alive released two albums: King of Sweet, a limited-edition release that mixed tape effects, samples, demos, and unreleased songs, and Mouth by Mouth, which added more pop structure into the group's inherently experimental and dreamy sound, resulting in its most accessible and diverse album to that date. A new drummer, Trey Many, took over Lang's duties.
As Defever's reputation as an innovative producer spread, he lent his skills to bands like Grenadine, a side project of Tsunami's Jenny Toomey and Unrest's Mark Robinson, other 4AD acts like Liquorice (which featured Toomey, Dan Littleton from Ida, and His Name Is Alive's Many) and Tarnation, and other Detroit-area bands like Godzuki and Outrageous Cherry. Defever also worked on other projects, including the folky ESP Summer (with former Pale Saint Ian Masters) and the electronic Robot World and Control Panel, and founded the Time Stereo art collective with a childhood friend, artist/musician Davin Brainard. Some of Time Stereo's projects included films, coloring books, and cassette-only releases from bands like Princess Dragon Mom, the Crash, Godzuki, New Grape, and Noise Camp.
Defever's diverse interests influenced His Name Is Alive's next release, 1996's Stars on ESP. Very little of the group's original ethereal sound remained, augmented instead with touches of dub, folk, gospel, and early- to mid-'60s pop like the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. At the time of the album's release, Defever claimed that he was so fascinated by the group's "Good Vibrations" that he listened to it for months at a time. The following year's Nice Day EP reached to garage rock and '60s R&B for its inspiration, and featured some of the gospel singers from Stars on ESP, including Lovetta Pippen, whose singing also gave His Name Is Alive's 1998 LP, Fort Lake, an earthy sensuality. Fort Lake also marked the first time the band worked with another producer, recording engineer Steve King. King, another Livonia native, had also worked with Funkadelic and Aretha Franklin, and his touch meshes nicely with the funk, soul, and classic rock allusions His Name Is Alive makes on the album. In preparation for recording Fort Lake -- named after a waterlogged Civil War fort in Michigan -- the group played monthly shows at the Gold Dollar, a tiny Detroit club. At this time, Pippen, bassist Chad Gilchrist, and additional drummer Scott Goldstein debuted as part of the new lineup.
In 1999, His Name Is Alive released a U.S. compilation of tracks from their first five albums called Always Stay Sweet; at the time, those albums were only available as British imports. Like the rest of the band's work, the compilation highlights their mercurial, unique nature. Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth appeared two years later. Released in 2002, the darkly soulful Last Night ended up being the group's final album for 4AD, but His Name Is Alive found other outlets for their music, and were actually busier than ever. Time Stereo released several CDs, such as 2004's ten-disc Cloud Box set, Leaf Club, Brown Rice, and The Detroit River, as well as many MP3-only works, including the Summer Bird and Something_Nothing EPs and a remastered version of King of Sweet. UFO Catcher was released in 2005 on CD by the German label En/Of and on vinyl by Time Stereo, while Ypsilanti Records issued the full-length Summer Bird that spring. Late in 2005, His Name Is Alive released the Raindrops Rainbow EP via iTunes as a teaser for Detrola, their debut for Reincarnate, also the home of fellow former 4AD artist Lisa Germano and Sing-Sing, the project of former Lush member Emma Anderson.
Cornfield
His Name Is Alive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One plant at a time
Down the row field by field
This field will take a long time
There's corn from here to night
This field will take all day
Twelve hours and we'll home
Until then we'll walk the row
The sun is in the heart
And I am sending light and warmth
In the gold, city of gold
In the black, city of sand
The great lakes, the summer, the heat, the corn
The great lakes, the heat, mazola the oil
When the fish are jumpin, in the summer time
I've driven from the country to here
Its so much hotter in the city
Cause they ain't got god in the city
I'm so tired of this
The lyrics of His Name Is Alive's song Cornfield paint a vivid picture of a farmer's workday in the cornfields. The opening lines describe the laborious task of sowing crops, one plant at a time, row by row. The repetition of the phrase "this field will take a long time" reinforces the toil involved in farming, as well as the physical enormity of the cornfield. The singer of the song estimates that it will take twelve hours to get through the entire field, and they will keep walking until they reach the end.
The second stanza switches gears, describing the contrast between two different environments: a "city of gold" and a "city of sand." The Great Lakes, which are known for their summer heat, are the backdrop for the cornfield. Interestingly, the mention of "mazola the oil" highlights the importance of processed foods in American culture, and how even the land of plenty and excess can be linked to the work of farmers. The final lines of the song seem to express the exhaustion of the farmer, who has traveled from the country into the city and feels disconnected from the divine. The song ends with the line "I'm so tired of this," which underscores the grueling work and emotional toll of farming.
Line by Line Meaning
Through the fields row by row
We are walking through the cornfields, taking it one line at a time
One plant at a time
Our focus is on each individual plant
Down the row field by field
We are taking it row by row and field by field
This field will take a long time
This field is large and will take us a while to finish
There's corn from here to night
The corn seems to go on forever
This field will take all day
We will be here for the entire day working on this field
Twelve hours and we'll home
We will be working for twelve hours and can go home afterwards
Until then we'll walk the row
We will continue walking the rows of corn until our work is done
The sun is in the heart
There is a warmth and joy in our hearts while we work
And I am sending light and warmth
We are contributing to the warmth and growth of the corn by our work and presence
In the gold, city of gold
The golden fields of corn contrast with the city of gold
In the black, city of sand
Likewise, the barren black sand of the city contrasts with the fields of corn
The great lakes, the summer, the heat, the corn
The surrounding environment of the lakes, summer heat, and the corn all contribute to the experience
The great lakes, the heat, mazola the oil
Mazola oil is possibly a reference to the corn oil that is made from the harvested corn
When the fish are jumpin, in the summer time
The summer season and its surroundings also bring about a liveliness that we are observing
I've driven from the country to here
The artist has come from the countryside to work in the cornfields
Its so much hotter in the city
The city feels much more oppressive and uncomfortable than the countryside
Cause they ain't got god in the city
There is a feeling that there is a lack of spirituality or meaning in the city
I'm so tired of this
The singer expresses exhaustion from their experience in the city, perhaps suggesting a desire to return to the cornfields
Lyrics © WARREN M. DEFEVER D/B/A PERFORATE MY HEART MUSIC
Written by: HIS NAME IS ALIVE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind