Manchester Orchestra has released several extended plays and six studio albums: I'm Like A Virgin Losing A Child (2006), Mean Everything to Nothing (2009), Simple Math (2011), Cope (2014) (as well as its accompanying acoustic version, Hope), A Black Mile To The Surface (2017), and The Million Masks of God (2021). They are signed to independent record label Favorite Gentlemen Recordings, which is distributed through Sony Music Entertainment, and Loma Vista Recordings.
Manchester Orchestra originated in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia. They are named after the English city Manchester, a place rich in musical history (The Smiths, The Stone Roses, Joy Division, Oasis, New Order, Happy Mondays). Feeling increasingly alienated at his "small-town-Georgia, Christian high school", Hull became so frustrated that he spent his senior year studying at home. Early in their career, the band recorded an album entitled Nobody Sings Anymore. However, it was never released due to the shift in the band's musical direction and personal changes undergone following its recording. The band stated that "the band that made the record was different to the band now." Some of the tracks written for the album were released instead on the EP You Brainstorm, I Brainstorm, but Brilliance Needs a Good Editor.
Following You Brainstorm, I Brainstorm, but Brilliance Needs a Good Editor, Manchester Orchestra recorded and released their debut album I'm Like a Virgin Losing a Child. This album gained the attention of the music industry, and eventually led to their signing with Canvasback. The album was released nationwide July 27, 2007. Guitarist Robert McDowell did not appear on this album. The song Wolves At Night was featured in the video game NHL 08.
In October of 2008 the band recorded their second EP, Let My Pride Be What's Left Behind, with producer Dan Hannon and engineer Brad Fisher. It was released October 7, 2008.
In early September 2008, the band announced on their Myspace blog that they had begun recording their second album entitled Mean Everything to Nothing with producer Joe Chicarrelli (The Shins, My Morning Jacket). On February 4, 2009, the band posted a link to a free download of the single I've Got Friends and performed an acoustic version at The Fly’s In The Courtyard Sessions. The album was released April 21, 2009.
On January 26, 2010, the band released a digital split EP with Kevin Devine entitled I Could Be The Only One. Following the release of the Manchester Orchestra/Kevin Devine split EP, it was announced that Kevin Devine would record a full-length album along with the members of Manchester Orchestra later that year, with half the album written by Devine and half by Andy Hull. On April 10, 2010, it was announced the new project's name was Bad Books, and that the album would be released under that moniker, and not "Manchester Orchestra + Kevin Devine" as previously speculated. The self-titled full-length Bad Books album was digitally released on October 19, 2010, and on CD on November 9, 2010.
On March 2010, in an interview with the Dallas Observer, Hull mentioned that the band had begun work on a follow up to 2009's Mean Everything to Nothing tentatively entitled Let Go of Your Sorrowful Groaning. He also said that the band have around 34 songs they are demoing and that in writing this album he was imagining a "spiritual miscarriage". Later that year in an interview with Rip It Up magazine, the band announced that they were in the middle of recording their third full-length album. Although without a title, they explained that the album was completely different to anything they had released in the past. The album was being recorded with Dan Hannon and balanced between Blackbird Studios (Nashville, TN) and their own Favorite Gentlemen Studios (Atlanta, GA).
On October 23, 2010, during an appearance at Radio 104.5 in Philadelphia, following a Bad Books show in support of their recently released self-titled debut album, Manchester Orchestra debuted an acoustic version of the title track of their new album, Simple Math. Originally scheduled for release in March 2011, the band announced in January of 2011 that their third full-length studio album, Simple Math, would be released on May 10, 2011, as well as announcing the album's tracklist and revealing that the album was set to be a concept album.
For more info, check out their official site: http://www.themanchesterorchestra.com/ca/home
Deer
Manchester Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd go out in public if nobody ever asked
I sit home and drink alone and hope that bottle speaks
Like you
Like us
Like me
Half a year again now, it's a whole
And I sit home and plead the throne
To speak
To speak
To me
To me
To me
Hasn't said a single thing
Probably too busy with your work
Or am I just excusing you for leaving me alone?
There's nothing in these wooden drawers
To bring you back
To keep me bored
I don't know what to do with me no more
Dear everyone
I ever really knew
I acted like an asshole
So I could keep my edge on you
Ended up abusing
Even those I thought immune
I killed the kingdom with one move and now
It's time, to move
Dear everybody that has paid to see my band
Still confusing
I'll never understand
I acted like an asshole so my albums would never burn
I'm hungry now and the scraps are dirty dirt
And I'm hungry now the scraps of dirty dirt.
The lyrics of Manchester Orchestra's song "Deer" may seem simple on the surface, but they are full of meaning and emotion. The opening lines lament the passing of time and the return of an unresolved situation. The songwriter is clearly struggling to move on from something, and the sense of isolation is palpable. The desire to hear from someone who has been absent for six months is evident, and the mention of the bottle speaking is a poignant plea for some kind of guidance or insight.
As the song continues, the songwriter seems to be addressing not just the absent individual but everyone they have ever known. There is a sense of regret and self-recrimination in the lines "I acted like an asshole/So I could keep my edge on you." This admission of guilt is a powerful one, and it underscores the desperation in the earlier verses. The songwriter is seeking reconciliation and forgiveness, but also acknowledging that they have caused harm.
The final lines of the song are perhaps the most poignant. The hunger for success and recognition has led to a kind of artistic starvation, and the scraps of "dirty dirt" are all that remain. The sense of disillusionment and weariness in these verses is palpable, and it adds depth and complexity to a song that could easily be dismissed as a simple lament.
Line by Line Meaning
Half a year and here you are again.
You have returned after six months.
I'd go out in public if nobody ever asked
I want to leave the house, but I don't want to deal with people asking me about you.
I sit home and drink alone and hope that bottle speaks
I stay home and drink by myself, wishing that the bottle will ease my pain.
Like you
I want the bottle to speak to me like you used to.
Like us
I want the bottle to speak to me like we used to speak to each other.
Like me
I want the bottle to speak to me like I used to speak to myself.
Half a year again now, it's a whole
Six months have passed and it feels like a lifetime.
February stationary from you on the wall
I have your letter from February hanging on the wall.
And I sit home and plead the throne
I stay home and pray for guidance.
To speak
I want the letter to speak to me and give me some comfort.
To me
I want the letter to specifically speak to me.
Hasn't said a single thing
The letter is not giving me any answers.
Probably too busy with your work
I make excuses for why you haven't reached out to me.
Or am I just excusing you for leaving me alone?
I question whether I am making excuses for your absence because I don't want to face the truth.
There's nothing in these wooden drawers
I search for something to hold onto, but I find nothing in my possessions.
To bring you back
I search for something that will make you come back to me.
To keep me bored
I find nothing that can occupy me or make me forget about you.
I don't know what to do with me no more
I have lost myself since you left and I don't know how to move on.
Dear everyone
I wish to address everyone I have ever known.
I ever really knew
I want to speak to those who have a connection with me.
I acted like an asshole
I behaved poorly around others.
So I could keep my edge on you
I acted this way to maintain control over others.
Ended up abusing
My behavior turned into abuse towards others.
Even those I thought immune
I harmed even those who I thought were strong enough to withstand me.
I killed the kingdom with one move and now
I destroyed my own world with my actions.
It's time, to move
It is time for me to change and become a better person.
Dear everybody that has paid to see my band
I address those who have seen me perform.
Still confusing
I am still struggling to figure things out.
I'll never understand
I don't think I will ever comprehend why I acted this way.
I acted like an asshole so my albums would never burn
I behaved poorly to get attention and to make sure my music would be popular.
I'm hungry now and the scraps are dirty dirt
I am now trying to find success, but it appears to be out of reach.
And I'm hungry now the scraps of dirty dirt.
I am desperate for success, even if it means accepting less than what I truly want.
Lyrics © RAOUL BRETON EDITIONS, Downtown Music Publishing, Hipgnosis Songs Group
Written by: PUBLIC DOMAIN, ETHAN JOHNS, TOM JONES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind