Their first release in 1985 was a seven-inch single named "Crazy Game", with the B-side "Everybody's Waiting (for Someone to Come Home)". That same year, the Indigo Girls released a six-track Extended play album named "Indigo Girls", and in 1987 released their first full-length album, Strange Fire, recorded at John Keane Studio in Athens, Georgia, and including "Crazy Game". With this release, they secured the services of Russell Carter, who remains their manager to the present; they had first approached him when the EP album was released, but he told them their songs were "immature" and they were not likely to get a record deal.
They were signed to Epic Records in 1989 and won the Grammy for best contemporary folk album later that year (for their self titled release) Some of their hit songs include "Galileo," "Closer to Fine," and "Shame on You."
Aside from being musicians, Ray and Saliers are activists, constantly supporting causes like gun control, women's rights, Native American rights, environmental protection, the abolition of the death penalty, and as lesbians themselves, LGBT rights. They constantly devote their time and money to such causes, often playing benefit concerts.
Ray and Saliers both have side projects. Ray owns and founded Daemon Records, an independent label based in Decatur. She also has a career as a solo artist, and has released two albums thus far. Saliers is the part owner of Watershed, a restaurant and wine bar in Decatur.
Together, the Indigo Girls are constantly touring. Their new album, Poseidon and the Bitter Bug, was released March 24, 2009.
Winthrop
Indigo Girls Lyrics
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A few miles from the airport
On a plastic chair
On a deck where my friends live
I watch the taking off airplanes
I watch the ocean waves crashing
With all of this movement something's got to give
Passed down through the family
The fishermen gather to complain about the catch
They talk about time
They talk about tides
The pull of the moon and the coffee deep night black
And I listen to them
And I listen to you
And for everyone there is something never coming back
But for all that we've been through
For all that we've promised
Your wayward direction seems insensible
Words fall off like breathless fish
All flopping and scattered
And hearts picked over deemed dispensible
Down at the hi-tide
We're there for our last meal
The broken loaves are still enough for all
And we talk about time
And we talk about tides
Under the moon with the deep night coffee black
I hear the dim roar of the last flight out
And for someone there is someone never coming back
We talk about time
We talk about tides
Under the moon and the deep night coffee black
I hear the dim roar of the last flight out
And for someone there is someone never coming back
The Indigo Girls’ song Winthrop is a reflective piece that touches on life's transience and the inevitability of change. The song is about the small coastal town of Winthrop, where the singer and her friends have returned to visit from the airport. The singer sits on a plastic chair on a deck watching the ocean waves crashing and planes taking off, watching everything in motion, realizing that something has to give.
The song shifts to a scene of fishermen complaining about their catch, discussing time, and tides. The pull of the moon, deep night coffee black, and how things change, and nothing is ever coming back. In the final verse, the singer is still at the hi-tide, and they are having their last meal there. They talk about time and tides under the moon, and the deep night coffee black, but the dim roar of the last flight out is heard, and for someone, there is someone never coming back. The song leaves the listener with a haunting sense of finality.
Line by Line Meaning
When we get back to winthrop
Returning to Winthrop, a place a few miles from the airport, I take a seat on a plastic chair on the deck of my friend's place.
On a plastic chair
Sitting on a plastic chair on my friend's deck in Winthrop.
On a deck where my friends live
Taking a seat on my friend's deck where they reside.
I watch the taking off airplanes
Observing the planes taking off from the nearby airport.
I watch the ocean waves crashing
Watching the ocean waves crash nearby.
With all of this movement something's got to give
With so much activity around me, something is bound to change.
Down at the hi-tide
Down at the high tide by the shore.
Passed down through the family
The tradition of fishing passed down across the generations.
The fishermen gather to complain about the catch
The fishermen gather to lament the poor catch.
They talk about time
The fishermen discuss time.
They talk about tides
The fishermen discuss the tides and their impact on their fishing.
The pull of the moon and the coffee deep night black
The fishermen discuss the pull of the moon and the deep black of the night sky.
And I listen to them
I listen closely to the fishermen's discussion.
And I listen to you
I listen to you as well.
And for everyone there is something never coming back
For each person, something in their life is lost and can never be regained.
But for all that we've been through
Despite our shared experiences and promises,
For all that we've promised
And the commitments we have made to one another,
Your wayward direction seems insensible
Your erratic path forward seems unreasonable and difficult to comprehend.
Words fall off like breathless fish
The words we say are ineffective, like fish out of water struggling to breathe.
All flopping and scattered
I struggle to communicate with you, and my words scatter and flounder.
And hearts picked over deemed dispensable
My feelings have been overlooked and disregarded, made to feel disposable.
We're there for our last meal
We share our final meal together.
The broken loaves are still enough for all
Although our sustenance is meager, it is enough for all of us.
I hear the dim roar of the last flight out
I can hear the faint roar of the final departing flight.
And for someone there is someone never coming back
Someone will not be returning from their journey, leaving behind those who will miss them dearly.
Under the moon with the deep night coffee black
Under the beautiful night sky with the dark coffee.
We talk about time
We discuss the passage of time.
We talk about tides
We talk about the tides and their unrelenting pull.
And for someone there is someone never coming back
Someone will be unable to return from their travels, leaving behind loved ones.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: EMILY ANN SALIERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind