On The Memory Machine Julia employs the talents of a range of musicians from her musical community and undertakes production duties alongside co-producers Keiran Kelly and Brad Albetta.
Subtle, minimal arrangements show the self-assuredness that Julia has brought to this timely project and though characteristically sweet and melodious, the subjects of her stories often run to the darker side, reflected in the artwork inspired by old horror flick posters. Written and recorded over five months in a variety of locations these songs comprise a journey of their own.
Her songs can comfortably inhabit the surreal, where love is an unreliable latchkey kid (‘Where Does the Love Go?’); an internal dying fire warms the hands of grasping sycophants (‘Lights Inside this Dream’); My Baby harks back to the sweet serenades of the fifties and ‘Catastrophe’ provides a delightful romp through the disasters of clumsy connections. The title track, ‘The Memory Machine’, is a paean to lost love from a simpler era with Julia’s hushed vocal veering into dreamy longing.
Julia Stone’s talents as a musician are evident, providing not only vocal and guitar, but also piano, bass, ukulele and percussion, though it is Julia’s characteristic and unique vocals that shine here. She works as an professional artist since 2006.
The Memory Machine is an intriguing, disturbing, moving and ultimately enchanting solo debut from an accomplished and self-assured artist.
Catastrophe
Julia Stone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Catastrophe awaits us
It seems like every time we talk
Catastrophe awaits us
And I know that we're just two strangers
Looking for the some idea
Looking for the some idea
Catastrophe awaits us
It seems like every time we touch
Devil eyes endanger
And I know that you're just a wager
For me, to put my last pair of shoes on
And we wait for something beautiful
And we wait for something beautiful
It seems like every road we walk
Catastrophe awaits us
Catastrophe awaits us
It seems like every time we talk
You've got it all
You've got me
Don't be scared of all those horror movies
And we wait for something beautiful
And we wait for something beautiful
And we wait for something beautiful
And we wait for something beautiful
In Julia Stone's song "Catastrophe," the lyrics describe a relationship that is doomed to fail, no matter how much the two individuals may try. The chorus repeats twice, with the line "it seems like every road we walk, catastrophe awaits us," emphasizing the idea of the couple being on an inevitable path towards disaster. The use of the word "catastrophe" suggests that the consequences of their actions will not be small, but rather significant and damaging.
The second verse creates a darker tone with the line "devil eyes endanger," suggesting that one of the individuals in the relationship has harmful intentions or could potentially lead the other person astray. The line "and I know that you're just a wager for me, to put my last pair of shoes on" highlights the idea that the relationship is not based on genuine love or connection, but rather on filling a void of loneliness or desperation.
The line "and we wait for something beautiful" is repeated four times, suggesting that even though the relationship is failing, the two individuals still hope for something good to come out of it. It could represent the idea that people are willing to go through pain and heartbreak for the chance of finding love and something beautiful in the end.
Line by Line Meaning
It seems like every road we walk
Catastrophe awaits us
No matter where we go, trouble seems to follow us.
It seems like every time we talk
Catastrophe awaits us
Our conversations always seem to lead to disaster.
And I know that we're just two strangers
Looking for the some idea
Looking for the some idea
We are two people who don't really know each other, but we are searching for the same thing - understanding or purpose.
It seems like every time we touch
Catastrophe awaits us
Even physical contact between us seems to lead to trouble.
It seems like every time we touch
Devil eyes endanger
Our interactions are dangerous and could lead to harm.
And I know that you're just a wager
For me, to put my last pair of shoes on
You are a risky bet for me to take, but it's worth it because I have nothing to lose.
And we wait for something beautiful
And we wait for something beautiful
Despite all the trouble, we still hold out hope for something better in our relationship.
It seems like every road we walk
Catastrophe awaits us
Catastrophe awaits us
The danger never seems to go away, it's always waiting for us.
It seems like every time we talk
You've got it all
You've got me
Don't be scared of all those horror movies
You have complete control over me, so you don't need to fear anything - even the worst-case scenarios you see in horror movies.
And we wait for something beautiful
And we wait for something beautiful
And we wait for something beautiful
And we wait for something beautiful
Our hope for something better keeps us going, even when everything seems to be against us.
Contributed by Leah H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Adriana Salgado
I love her voice, she's amazing
Manoel luthieri
a gente poderia se encontrar e colocar esse amor na estrada mas seus amigos não deixam eu nem passar pela porta da cozinha...ah, eu já estou tonto e para de ficar judiando de mim...uma catastrofe...vou trocar o pneu da bicicleta para ver se alguma coisa rola \o/ deliciosa canção
Diederik Charbon
Julia your the best!! nice work to but out this solo album!!
L Boe
Your voice is beautiful. But the songwriting sucks. None of the lyrics connect or make any sense in the past 5 songs I've listened to. You need to write songs with actual meaning. The most popular singers share themselves in music. How does horror movies even relate to this son? What is the song even about? How does catastrophe await?
Fernweh
Lol you obviously haven't listened to this whole album
L Boe
Alright agree to disagree.
CHow
L Boe
No I meant to say "you're point that." Well you've clearly shown that the song doesn't make sense to you either. You didn't respond to my question so you mustn't know the answer. Yes there is trash music out there but were aren't comparing music we are looking at this song alone. Even a poem's lyrics connect and point back to something like a theme, story, idea or lesson. Poems are written with the intention of being dissected and understood. All I'm saying is the lyrics in this song are scrambled and completely irrelevant to each other. I already said her voice is beautiful. That doesn't mean the lyrics don't suck. Well I'm creative enough to know that this song was written without any creativity.
L Boe
So you're saying you can totally relate to not knowing what's going on or what the song is about? That makes sense. Explain this line to me "I know that you're just a wager for me to put my last pair of shoes on." If you look up wager there is no way that this line makes any sense to you. Yes its shallow to analyze whether or not an artist actually has something to say or if they are just spewing crap that rhymes and makes no sense like Julia is doing. If you listened to the song you would know she said the phrase "we wait for something beautiful" more than 15 times so you're point that popular singers repeat lyrics applies to Angus and Julia's music...... awkward you didn't realize that. Btw commas are for pauses and you used one after "art, songwriting, emotions, and know." None of those commas were necessary and the word however also makes no sense in your last statement.