The band began as an acoustic freak-folk solo project Hop Along, Queen Ansleis in 2004, during Frances Quinlan's senior year in high school. The album Freshman Year was released in the summer of 2005. Three years later, in 2008, drummer Mark Quinlan (Frances Quinlan's brother) joined the project, followed by bassist Tyler Long in 2009. In light of the new formation, the name was shortened, possibly to better reflect the change from solo project to full band. Thus far, Hop Along has released one EP, Wretches, in 2009, and one full-length LP, entitled Get Disowned, which was released on May 5, 2012 to a highly positive critical response from independent music press. During the this time, Joe Reinhart (Algernon Cadwallader) was added on second guitar. In October 2014, Hop Along signed to indie rock label Saddle Creek Records, releasing Painted Shut in 2015.
Hop Along's third album Bark Your Head Off, Dog was released in 2018, incorporating strings and more varied instrumentation, as well as a brighter, more expansive sound.
Get Disowned
Hop Along Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My heart looked bent please
Don′t tell my parents
My friend says you don't wanna
Know who you are
When it comes down to it
I got an
A bear with a frying pan
His wife is his best friend
Nobody else ever sees him
Except in September
For one weekend
That′s how it's done done
In the Pocono mountains
In the sixties
Fathers in station wagons
Cut the corners hard
Past broken firs
Burned stark and the only
Shapes moving were the ghostly forms of cattle
Walking in the dark
Moving
One whole family used to
Sleep upon this floor from the
Kitchen to the door
Elvis never gave
Elvis never gave an encore
Greater than my love
Gone out the door
The love that I've ignored
Elvis, Elvis never gave an encore
Meteor Meteor
Make me young
Make me young
Meteor Meteor
Make me young
Make me Meteor
Meteor Meteor
Make me young
Hop Along's song "Get Disowned" has a series of cryptic, almost surrealist lyrics that are open to interpretation, but one possible reading is that the singer is talking about their sense of confusion about the world and their place in it. The first few lines suggest that the singer is going somewhere they might get in trouble, but they are not entirely sure why, as their heart "looked bent." They might be keeping this trip secret from their parents, but their "friend" warns them that they might not like what they find out about themselves if they go through with it.
The song then jumps to a seemingly unrelated story about an uncle who has isolated himself from the world, except for one weekend a year in September when he emerges from hiding. The next verse describes a somewhat ominous scene of fathers driving erratically through a dark forest, past burnt trees and ghostly cattle. The final verse is arguably the most enigmatic one, with mentions of a family sleeping on a kitchen floor and Elvis not giving an encore. The chorus repeats the phrase "Meteor Meteor, make me young," which could be a plea for some kind of transformative experience or a desire to escape from the restrictions of age and mortality.
Line by Line Meaning
What brought me in here in the morning
I wonder why I came here this morning
My heart looked bent please
I was anxious and unsure of myself
Don't tell my parents
I don't want my parents to find out
My friend says you don't wanna
My friend tells me that I shouldn't
Know who you are
Figure out who you really are
When it comes down to it
When push comes to shove
I got an
I have an
Uncle, knocked out
Uncle who's unconscious
A bear with a frying pan
He fought off a bear with a frying pan
His wife is his best friend
His wife is his closest confidant
Nobody else ever sees him
He keeps to himself
Except in September
But he comes out in September
For one weekend
For only one weekend
That's how it's done done
That's how things are done
In the Pocono mountains
In the mountains in Pennsylvania
In the sixties
In the 1960s
Fathers in station wagons
Dads in their family wagons
Cut the corners hard
Took the turns too fast
Past broken firs
Past the damaged trees
Burned stark and the only
Charred and the only
Shapes moving were the ghostly forms of cattle
Things moving were just the shadows of cows
Walking in the dark
Walking around at night
Moving
Moving around
One whole family used to
An entire family once
Sleep upon this floor from the
Slept on the floor from
Kitchen to the door
The whole way from the kitchen to the door
Elvis never gave
Elvis never performed
Elvis never gave an encore
Elvis never gave a second performance
Greater than my love
My love is greater than anything else
Gone out the door
Left and gone away
Elvis, Elvis never gave an encore
Repeated for emphasis, Elvis never gave a second performance
Meteor Meteor
A falling star, a meteor
Make me young
Make me feel young again
Meteor Meteor
Another falling star, a meteor
Make me young
Make me feel young again
Make me Meteor
Let me be a star, too
Meteor Meteor
One more falling star, a meteor
Make me young
I want to feel young again
Writer(s): Christine Frances Quinlan
Contributed by Kylie N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.