Moreland first debuted his name as a part of the Black Gold Band from 2006-2010, with a 2006 full-band demo, 2008's Endless Oklahoma Sky, and 2009's solo demo session falling in that time span before he decided to retire the Black Gold Band name. John continues to write and record music, and in 2010 will release Things I Can't Control under his own name. Black Gold Band guitarist Wayne Wedge has returned to perform secondary guitar duties, and producer Stephen Egerton (ALL, Descendents) has been playing drums on the studio sessions. In 2010, Moreland was featured on the multi-musician studio project The Seven Degrees of Stephen Egerton, along with members of Drag the River, Descendents, MxPx, and many others.
Your Spell
John Moreland Lyrics
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And it ain"t you, it"s just that feeling"s more than I can stand
I guess 9 or 10 years of failure will do that to a man
I hope you understand
We were 18 years of anger, bitter as the cold
And baby, we knew emptiness like a panhandle road
We"d pretend that we were dying, trying to survive
Remember the prom kings and queens, praised from afar
And how the lights inside the high school made them look like movie stars
Well you were the queen of my condition
I was the king of the ignored
You talked just like East Texas
Looked like an angel from the lord
I thought we"d bust out of Broken Arrow
Holding hands on our way to hell
You always did have me under your spell
And all those pretty girls who looked like movie stars
They look pretty ordinary, 28 years old
Checking out at Walmart with babies in their arms
In "Your Spell," John Moreland sings about a complicated relationship that he used to have. He reveals that he used to love this person, but that feeling has now faded away. It is not because of the person he used to love, but because of the overwhelming emotion that he cannot tolerate. He believes that nine or ten years of constant disappointment and failure have led him to this moment.
As the song goes on, Moreland describes the past when he and his former lover were together. They had a bitter and angry relationship, and their feelings of emptiness were comparable to a lifeless panhandle road. The only way they could cope was by pretending to be dying and just trying to survive. He reminisces about their high school nights and the prom kings and queens who were praised from afar. He compares the high school dance's lighting to a movie star's light, and they both looked like royalty back then.
Moreland then paints a picture of the person he used to love. He believed that they were perfect for each other, and she had him under her spell. She talked like someone from East Texas and looked like an angel from the lord. He even thought they would escape their small town and end up in hell, holding hands together. The song concludes with Moreland's reflection on how those high school stars have changed. They now look ordinary and are checking out at Walmart with babies in their arms.
Line by Line Meaning
Well you know I used to love you, but now I don’t think I can
I used to love you, but now it seems impossible.
And it ain't you, it's just that feeling's more than I can stand
It's not that it's your fault, it's that the emotions are too much.
I guess 9 or 10 years of failure will do that to a man
After almost a decade of failure, it's hard for a man to hold on.
I hope you understand
I hope you can see the situation from my side.
We were 18 years of anger, bitter as the cold
We were angry and cold for 18 years.
And baby, we knew emptiness like a panhandle road
We knew emptiness as well as we knew a panhandle road.
We'd pretend that we were dying, trying to survive
We acted like we were dying to get through high school.
And make it through those high school nights alive
Our goal was to survive the high school experience.
Remember the prom kings and queens, praised from afar
Remember how we used to idolize the prom kings and queens?
And how the lights inside the high school made them look like movie stars
The school's lighting made them seem like celebrities.
Well you were the queen of my condition
You were the queen of my situation.
I was the king of the ignored
I was the king of the overlooked.
You talked just like East Texas
Your accent was like that of East Texas.
Looked like an angel from the lord
You looked like a divine angel.
I thought we'd bust out of Broken Arrow
I thought we would escape from Broken Arrow.
Holding hands on our way to hell
We would stick together on our path to misery.
You always did have me under your spell
You always had control over me.
And all those pretty girls who looked like movie stars
The girls who looked like movie stars.
They look pretty ordinary, 28 years old
Now they all just look like ordinary people in their late twenties.
Checking out at Walmart with babies in their arms
They are now just regular moms with their children.
Contributed by Allison I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.