Graham featured in the True Believers with Alejandro Escovedo before going solo and releasing a number of highly-acclaimed albums in the late 1990s and 2000s. His more recent studio albums include Full and The Great Battle and they highlight Graham's personal and heartfelt writing style, distinctive and gruff (well lived in) vocals and punch guitar style.
To date, Graham has released eight solo albums: Escape from Monster Island (1997, Freedom Records); Summerland (1999, New West Records); Hooray for the Moon (2002, New West Records); The Great Battle (2004, New West Records); Full (2006, Freedom Records); Swept Away (Film Soundtrack) (2008, Freedom Records) It's Not As Bad As It Looks (2010, Freedom Records), and Garage Sale (2012, Freedom Records).
Black Box
Jon Dee Graham Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We're going down
Nothing we could have done
Would have turned it round
Everything we had scattered everywhere
Searching through the wreckage of a love affair
You got something to say?
Not everyone else
You say that I'm to blame
My words are in vain
Don't go fooling yourself
There's a little black box, yeah
Somewhere in the ocean
Holding all the truth about us
There's a little black box
A record of emotion
Everything that ever was
You may deny it
But when I find it
I'm gonna play it aloud to the world
Little black box, yeah
In a little black box, yeah
There's a lot of pressure when you get deep
You left me on my own at six hundred feet
I was looking round for a little help
But everyone was looking out for themselves
You got something to say?
Say it to me
Not everyone else
You say that I'm to blame
My words are in vain
Don't go fooling yourself
There's a little black box, yeah
Somewhere in the ocean
Holding all the truth about us
There's a little black box
A record of emotion
Everything that ever was
You may deny it
But when I find it
I'm gonna play it aloud to the world
Little black box, yeah
In a little black box, yeah
You can't stop a true survivor
You'll discover that on your own
'Cause I'm a true survivor
And I'll be here after you've gone
Long after you've gone
Long after you've gone
There's a little black box, yeah
Somewhere in the ocean
Holding all the truth about us
There's a little black box
A record of emotion
Everything that ever was
You may deny it
But when I find it
I'm gonna play it aloud to the world
Little black box, yeah
In a little black box, yeah
Little black box
Little black box
Little black box
In Jon Dee Graham's song "Black Box," the singer laments the end of a relationship and the aftermath of its collapse. The opening lines express a sense of helplessness, as the singer compares their situation to a plane crashing with no means of saving it. Despite their efforts, everything they had is now scattered and in ruins, forcing them to sort through the wreckage. The chorus, which repeats throughout the song, introduces the metaphor of a black box - a device used in airplanes to record data and retrieve information about events leading up to a crash. Here, the black box represents the truth about the relationship and the emotions involved, with the singer determined to find it and reveal it to the world.
As the song continues, the singer addresses their former partner, insisting that if they have something to say, they should say it directly rather than spreading rumors or blaming one another. The lines "There's a lot of pressure when you get deep / You left me on my own at six hundred feet" suggest that the relationship may have faced difficulties that neither party was equipped to handle. Nevertheless, the singer implies that they are a "true survivor" who will outlast their ex-partner, and that the black box will ultimately provide vindication for their side of the story.
Line by Line Meaning
Sending out a mayday
We are in trouble and calling for help.
We're going down
Our relationship is failing and there's nothing we can do to save it.
Nothing we could have done
We have exhausted all our efforts to fix things but it was not enough.
Would have turned it round
We couldn't have changed the outcome of our relationship.
Everything we had scattered everywhere
Our relationship is in shambles with all our emotions and things scattered all over.
Searching through the wreckage of a love affair
We are trying to look through the pieces of our failed relationship to find answers and closure.
You got something to say?
If you have anything to say to me, say it directly to me and not to others.
Say it to me
Talk to me directly and honestly.
Not everyone else
Don't tell others instead of me.
You say that I'm to blame
You're putting all the blame on me.
My words are in vain
You are not listening to what I am saying.
Don't go fooling yourself
Stop deceiving yourself with your own beliefs.
There's a little black box, yeah
There's a metaphorical black box that holds all the truth about our relationship.
Somewhere in the ocean
It's hidden and not easily found.
Holding all the truth about us
It contains all the answers to what happened to our relationship.
A record of emotion
It's a record of all the emotions we had in our relationship.
Everything that ever was
It's everything that happened between us before and after our relationship ended.
You may deny it
You might not accept that it exists or what it contains.
But when I find it
When I discover the truth about our relationship.
I'm gonna play it aloud to the world
I'm going to tell everyone what really happened between us.
You can't stop a true survivor
I am a strong person who can withstand anything.
You'll discover that on your own
You will find out for yourself that I am a survivor.
'Cause I'm a true survivor
I am resilient and strong, and will overcome whatever comes my way.
And I'll be here after you've gone
I will still be here, standing strong, even after you have left.
Long after you've gone
I will still be here, long after our relationship has ended.
Little black box
The metaphorical container of all our relationship's truth.
Little black box
It contains everything that happened between us.
Little black box
A symbol of the answers we are looking for.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Songtrust Ave
Written by: JON DEE GRAHAM
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind