With Schwarzenbach on guitar and vocals, Bauermeister on bass, and Pfahler on drums, the band gained recognition in the late eighties and early nineties for their melodic yet driven sound built on the foundation for Schwarzenbach's poignant, bleeding-heart lyrics and signature rasp.
The band's first full-length release Unfun was put out by Shredder in 1990. On this, the band stuck close to the sound coming out of their contemporaries in the nascent pop punk scene in their sound, with the exception of Bauermeister's prominent bass lines and Schwarzenbach's lyrics, at times walking the line of the melodramatic.
Unfun was followed by Bivouac on Tupelo/Communion in 1992. Bivouac proved thicker and darker - both thematically and melodically - yet served to elevate the band above a crowd of previously similar acts. This more ambitious release also artfully used pieces of found-audio, in what was becoming one of the band's signatures, weaving it in and out of the ten minute title track, "Bivouac."
Their third release, 24 Hour Revenge Therapy, produced by the ubiquitous Steve Albini, unveiled a sparse pop-punk with more carefully crafted lyrics. This album also holds what has become arguably their best known song, "Boxcar."
Jawbreaker had seemed poised for critical and commercial success by the time of their fourth, and last album, Dear You. Despite a vigorous marketing push, Jawbreaker's album sales were anemic in the wake of a post-Green Day market, and was one of the causes leading to the end of the band's career in 1996.
The group recently reacquired the rights to Dear You and have successfully put the long out-of-print album back into circulation on Pfahler's label, Blackball Records.
The band's cult status as the definitive nineties proto-pop-punk band has grown since its breakup, and songs like "Kiss the Bottle" and "Jet Black" are referenced as influences by bands such as Sparta, Lucero, and Rocky Votolato. In 2003, a Jawbreaker tribute album, Bad Scene, Everyone's Fault was released on Dying Wish Records, and featured covers by 18 bands including Fall Out Boy, Nerf Herder, Sparta, and Face To Face.
Singer Blake Schwarzenbach went on to form the New York City-based band Jets to Brazil, who have also since broken up, and is now an adjunct English professor at Hunter College (CUNY). In the fall of 2008, he debuted his new band, Thorns of Life, formed with Aaron Cometbus of Crimpshrine and Pinhead Gunpowder on drums and ex-Gr'ups bassist Daniela Sea.
Drummer Adam Pfahler is currently drumming in San Francisco-based Whysall Lane, whose LP was released in 2006 on his own Blackball Records.
Bassist Chris Bauermeister has been playing in post-hardcore band Horace Pinker and pop-punk band Shorebirds, which was formed with Matt Canino, formerly of Latterman; Shorebirds split in the summer of 2008.
In 2021, Blake Schwarzenbach teamed up with Joyce Manor on a release.
In spite of the similar name, the band Jawbreaker Reunion is unrelated.
Boxcar
Jawbreaker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You don't know what I'm all about. Like killing cops and reading Kerouac. My
Enemies are all too familiar. They're the ones who used to call me friend. I'm
Coloring outside your guidelines, I was passing out when you were passing out
Your rules. One, two, three, four. Who's punk? What's the score? Got a friend.
Her name is Boxcar. Cigarettes and beer in El Sob. Her hair was blue, now it's
Green. I like her mind. She hates the scene. You're on your own. You're all
Alone.
The lyrics of Jawbreaker's song Boxcar are deeply rooted in the punk subculture, as the singer is pictured as an outsider, a rebel who doesn't conform to the norm. The opening lines are a direct challenge to someone who claims to be punk, as the singer asserts that he is not and has never been part of the scene. The lyrics go on to describe the singer's interests, which are quite esoteric, as he likes "killing cops" and "reading Kerouac," referencing punk's fascination with the Beat Generation.
The chorus of the song poses a rhetorical question, "Who's punk? What's the score?", implying that there is no definitive answer to what constitutes punk, as the subculture is constantly evolving and defies easy categorization. In contrast to the singer, the other person is portrayed as someone who follows rules and guidelines, while the singer is "coloring outside your guidelines." The last verse introduces Boxcar, a female character who appears to share the singer's outsider status and non-conformist attitude. The closing lines "You're on your own. You're all alone" further emphasize the notion of punk as a solitary path that few dare to follow.
Overall, Jawbreaker's Boxcar is a powerful anthem for those who feel like they don't fit in with society's expectations and aspire to live by their own rules. The song's raw energy and rebellious lyrics have made it a classic of the punk rock genre that continues to resonate with audiences worldwide.
Line by Line Meaning
You're not punk and I'm telling everyone.
I don't consider you to be a punk, and I'm announcing it to others.
Save your breath, I never was one.
Don't bother trying to convince me otherwise, as I've never considered myself a punk either.
You don't know what I'm all about. Like killing cops and reading Kerouac.
You don't understand my interests, such as my appreciation for beat literature and my disdain for authority, including law enforcement.
My enemies are all too familiar. They're the ones who used to call me friend.
Those who I now consider my enemies are people I used to be close to and considered friends.
I'm coloring outside your guidelines, I was passing out when you were passing out your rules.
I'm not interested in following your prescribed way of living and was enjoying myself while you were trying to dictate those rules.
One, two, three, four. Who's punk? What's the score? Got a friend. Her name is Boxcar.
Asking the question of who truly embodies punk culture, and introducing a friend named Boxcar who serves as a counterpoint to those who try to define what it means to be punk.
Cigarettes and beer in El Sob. Her hair was blue, now it's green. I like her mind. She hates the scene.
Describing the lifestyle and looks of Boxcar, as well as her similar mindset of disliking the punk scene despite being a self-proclaimed punk.
You're on your own. You're all alone.
At the end of the day, you're responsible for your own identity and shouldn't rely on others to define it for you.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@johnnyvval4719
You're not punk, and I'm telling everyone
Save your breath, I never was one
You don't know what I'm all about
Like killing cops and reading Kerouac
My enemies are all too familiar
They're the ones who used to call me friend
I'm coloring outside your guidelines
I was passing out when you were passing out your rules
One, two, three, four
Who's punk, what's the score?
Got a friend, her name is Boxcar
Cigarettes and beer in El Sob
Her hair was blue, now it's green
I like her mind, she hates the scene
My enemies are all too familiar
They're the ones who used to call me friend
I'm coloring outside your guidelines
I was passing out when you were passing out your rules
One, two, three, four
Who's punk, what's the score?
You're on your own, you're all alone
You're all alone, you're on your own
@l12f3r
Going 27 today, with 11 of these years listening to Jawbreaker. Since the very first day, I knew this song would pull me through for years. Thanks for that, you guys.
@WormdrivE66
Now you're 33, how's life been treating you?
@l12f3r
@@WormdrivE66 Better than ever. Even with the thorns of life and COVID restrictions, there's a sun outside to keep us alive.
@farmface
@@l12f3r wholesome. glad to hear it
@jacksonforrester3496
@@l12f3r the thorns of life… nice reference
@MrCquixote
how is 34?
@theartofwar1750
The best 2 minutes in music history.
@Lightning_Mike
She's a rebel, she's a- Oops, wrong song
@masonleviathan1918
+Demolition Mike .........oh shit
@brentinman6975
holy shit, I never heard that resemblance before