On his second album, Build Me This, the follow-up to his critically acclaimed The Sun is Always Brighter, produced by industry veteran Shannon Edgar, James expands his musical palette to foreboding doom-laden hard rock. Progressing from folkish harmonies, to country twang, world beats and southern home rock while further exploring themes of spiritual searching and heartbreaking loss. Possessing a whispery and intimate vocal style that works its way into the ear peacefully and directly, Joshua James is pitched midway between seminal influences like Bob Dylan and Neil Young.
“I find solace and beauty in darkness and depression,” admits James, who grew up in his native Lincoln, Nebraska, skateboarding and sneaking listens to music his parents banned, like classic rockers Jim Morrison and The Doors, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd, “But there are contrasts to everything. You have to combine the sweet and salty, the ugly and beautiful. Music is very therapeutic for me. It’s all about making a connection with humanity, with the audience, in ways that I normally wouldn’t be able to.”
Over the past three years, James has been doing just that. His debut was the #1 Folk Album on iTunes, and “FM Radio,” a song about a childhood friend coping with the death of his father, amassed more than 150,000 downloads as part of an iTunes promotion. In addition to performances at Sundance, SXSW and CMJ, James has toured with John Mayer, David Gray and Ani DiFranco, winning legions of fans along the way. His new album, Build Me This, has already attracted major–label interest. “I feel strongly about the things I sing about,” nods Joshua. “I want people to know how I feel, which sounds kind of dumb, because who cares how I feel? If someone feels similarly, though, that’s what I’m looking for. That’s the most important thing. If
you can relate to what I’m going through, then I’ve achieved my goal.”
The album title, Build Me This, refers to his dream of salvation. “It’s my way of asking God to show himself,” declares James. “To prove he exists. Do something. Give me a sign. It’s a call to whatever or whoever is out there. I don’t want him to strike me down or paralyze me, just give me something to believe.”
Aside from the spiritual, Build Me This is also about the difficulties of everyday relationships, the inadvertent hurt we cause to those we love. “Magazine” deals with the pain of separation (“Go take your bags to New York City, call me when your plane arrives/I’ll feed the children, wash the dishes, I’ll keep the house lookin’ nice/Well don’t you worry, everything’s gonna be all right.”), while “In the Middle” laments a shattered romance (“You’ve tried so hard to forget me/You burnt the letters I’d made/Though my memory has been dyin’/I hope the feeling still remains”).
On the stage, though, is where Joshua James’ music comes alive and reveals its true intent, which is about drawing people into his insular universe, a sense of mystic that only the truly great ones can communicate.
“Perhaps the darkness comes out a little more often that I’d like,” he offers “but that’s just where I gravitate to when I’m writing. I don’t usually try to tackle specific subjects; it’s usually about what I’m feeling at the time. Things start to come out, then they form a story and a reason, and that’s how things evolve. I’m influenced by everything… by life, by love, by hate, by music.”
Weeds
Joshua James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Didn't anyone mention hate is all we show?
Love is not a sign we care to know
You cut half your heart, it makes it hard to grow
And soon you will know
That we'll all be damned in the morning
We'll all be damned in the evening too
And your hateful words'll come floating back to you
Didn't anyone teach you?
Didn't anyone teach you power is all you need?
You cheat your brother and drag him through the weeds
A sharp quick incision should be all you need
And soon you will see
That we'll all be damned in the morning
We'll all be damned in the evening too
We'll all be damned when the sun don't shine
And your broken words'll come floating back to you
Your broken words'll come floating back to you
Your broken words'll come floating back to you
The lyrics of Joshua James's song "Weeds" are reflective of the dark side of human nature. He talks about the idea of hate and how it's all we show, despite love being a sign we could take care of. He talks about how cutting half your heart makes it harder to grow and soon, the person will realize that we'll all be damned. The morning, evening, and dark hours will not save us from our hateful words coming floating back to us.
The second verse talks about power being all you need, but it's achieved by cheating your brother and dragging him through the weeds. James talks about how a sharp quick incision is all you need instead of dragging people through pain. He warns the person that the broken words they spoke in the past will come floating back to them.
The lyrics of this song highlight the negative aspects of human behavior and the need to choose better in every aspect of our lives. It speaks to the notion of putting out into the world what you want to receive, and how hate can only lead to destruction. The somber tone of the song matches the deep message behind the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Didn't anyone mention?
Has nobody ever told you?
Didn't anyone mention hate is all we show?
Has nobody ever told you that we only show hate?
Love is not a sign we care to know
We do not care about love or show any signs of it
You cut half your heart, it makes it hard to grow
You have cut out a part of yourself, making it difficult to grow emotionally
And soon you will know
Eventually you will come to realize this
That we'll all be damned in the morning
All of us will be condemned in the morning
We'll all be damned in the evening too
We'll be condemned in the evening as well
We'll all be damned when the sun don't shine
Even when the sun doesn't shine, we'll be condemned
And your hateful words'll come floating back to you
Your hateful words will come back to haunt you
Didn't anyone teach you?
Was nobody there to teach you?
Didn't anyone teach you power is all you need?
Didn't anyone tell you that power is the only thing necessary?
You cheat your brother and drag him through the weeds
You deceive and mistreat your own family
A sharp quick incision should be all you need
A swift and precise separation is all that's required
And soon you will see
You will eventually realize
And your broken words'll come floating back to you
Your false promises and unkept words will come back to haunt you
Your broken words'll come floating back to you
Your unfulfilled promises will come back to haunt you
Your broken words'll come floating back to you
Your deceitful words will come back to haunt you
Writer(s): Joshua Fred James Copyright: Free The Son Publishing, Warner-tamerlane Publishing Corp.
Contributed by Evan B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
rosalindaseyess
this is one of the most beautiful songs i've heard in a really long while <3
antigoni polimeri
wonderful song...amazing voice ;)
cole jay
Song is soo beautiful....very moving.
Kanze
σε παντρεύομαι μόνο και μόνο επειδή ακούς Joshua!
Lauren P
That we'll all be damned in the morning; we'll all be damned in the evening too. We'll all be damned when the sun don't shine, and your hateful words'll come floating back to you.. :(
sherif matt
All these old comments... idk why it's making me sad
Rachel Michaud
wow....
lioph njvfuik
Sa me rappelle ton tweet d'hier ça! :p
Melissa S
Who's here? 11/2017