After mk Ultra broke up in 1999, Vanderslice wasted little time building a solo reputation. In 2000, he gained national media attention over his single Bill Gates Must Die after concocting an elaborate hoax in which Microsoft supposedly threatened legal action over supposed trademark violations (the disc had a similar etching to a Windows installation disc).
Subsequent albums, Time Travel is Lonely, Life and Death of an American Fourtracker, Cellar Door, Pixel Revolt and Emerald City have gained critical acclaim for their melodic quality and sophisticated narrative lyrical content. Vanderslice has spent much of the last few years on tour across North America, Europe, and Japan.
Vanderslice also founded a recording studio in 1997 called Tiny Telephone. Located in the Mission District of San Francisco, Tiny Telephone has carved out a niche as the last all-analog recording studio in the Bay Area, and has a policy of setting recording rates under market prices. Bands who have used Vanderslice's studio include Beulah, Death Cab for Cutie, Okkervil River and Spoon.
Vanderslice is a proponent of using analog instruments and recording equipment to produce a richer, more raw sound which he has sometimes called "dirty hi-fi". He has collaborated closely with Scott Solter in the production of his recent albums, with Pixel Revolt being notably shaped by Solter.
Vanderslice was a contributing producer on the Spoon album, Gimme Fiction, and has collaborated and toured with The Mountain Goats. He is strongly influenced by film and is a fan of David Lynch, whose work is referenced in his song "Promising Actress". His declared musical influences are diverse, ranging from Neutral Milk Hotel to Public Enemy. He is an avid photography hobbyist. He has incorporated the poetry of William Blake and Robert Lowell into his music.
Several songs on the album Pixel Revolt referenced the 9/11 attacks and the subsequent global political situation. This is also true of Vanderslice's most recent album, Emerald City.
They Won't Let Me Run
John Vanderslice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A couple miles from here
My family rented me this house
So my family keeps me near
from 1909
My family's run the town
You step out of line, poor sap
one day I fell in love
And of course we fucked around
The morning she threw up
My options were all laid out
I followed through
And now I got two sons
No peace even when you come
‘cause they won't let you run
I got dead drunk
And packed up the pickup truck
Got way out of town, I thought
But sheriff tracked me down
they dragged me home
And the family sat me down
They kept me cuffed up and they roughed me up and said:
“we'll never let you run.”
The lyrics of John Vanderslice's "They Won't Let Me Run" are hauntingly powerful and recount the experience of an individual who is trapped within a family's oppressive control. The song begins with the singer acknowledging their birthplace, which is only a couple of miles away from where they currently reside. The peculiar aspect of this opening verse is that the singer states that their current house is being rented out to them by their own family, which implies that they are wholly dependent on them.
As the song progresses, the singer reveals that their family has been controlling the town they reside in since 1909. If anyone so much as steps out of line, the family council will take action against them. The power dynamics of this dynamic and the history behind it create an ominous and claustrophobic atmosphere.
The central theme of the lyrics lies in the singer's family's controlling nature, which has extended beyond the town and into their personal life. The singer recounts a moment where they fall in love and have sex, but when their partner becomes pregnant, they are forced to leave their lover and marry someone within their family's approval. They end up having two sons but cannot escape their family's oppressive control. The song ends with the singer drunkenly trying to escape the town only to be captured by the sheriff and brought back home. The family sits them down, cuffs them up, and tells them that they will never let them run.
Line by Line Meaning
I was born
The singer was born a couple of miles away from where he currently resides
A couple miles from here
The singer was born at a location that is relatively close to his present dwelling
My family rented me this house
The singer’s family provided him with a house to live in
So my family keeps me near
The singer’s family makes sure that he is in close proximity to them
from 1909
The singer's family has been in control of the town since 1909
My family's run the town
The singer's family has had a hold over the town they live in
You step out of line, poor sap
If anyone steps out of the rules set by the singer’s family, they are in trouble
Family council will sit you down
The singer’s family council will get the person who broke the rules into a meeting
one day I fell in love
The singer fell in love at one point in his life
And of course we fucked around
The singer and his lover engaged in sexual activity
The morning she threw up
The singer’s lover vomited one morning
My options were all laid out
The singer had limited choices on what he could do next after his lover got pregnant
I followed through
The singer decided to be responsible for the unborn child
And now I got two sons
The singer now has two sons
No peace even when you come
The singer does not have any peace even when he visits outside of the town he lives in
‘cause they won't let you run
The singer’s family does not allow him to leave the town and start a new life
I got dead drunk
The singer drank an excessive amount of alcohol
And packed up the pickup truck
The singer packed up his truck with his belongings
Got way out of town, I thought
The singer thought he had made it out of town
But sheriff tracked me down
The sheriff found the singer and brought him back to the town
they dragged me home
The singer was taken back to his family’s home
And the family sat me down
The singer’s family made him attend another meeting
They kept me cuffed up and they roughed me up and said:
The singer's family physically restrained and abused him
“we'll never let you run.”
The singer's family vowed to never allow him to leave the town again
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: John Vanderslice
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
noodleTV
amazing
Catlow Catlow
Very nice. If you haven't heard the Inbreds form east coast Canada, I think you'de like them. Wee bit like this. Diggin it John!
Adam Bliven
Gr8 lyrics
threestarblue
My life