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
Leave It Alone
Manchester Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We finished this up like an hour ago
So leave me alone
I planted it once, just assumed it would grow
Even though, when I think
Its replicated fear throws me off for years
Three hour drive but we got nowhere close
Read what I wrote
You tuned the sound out to make sure I know
Even though I can't see, I feel it's always haunting me
Kicking out my feet
Ruining everything
So take me alone
Cause if it's not with you, I've got no place to go
Your brags turn to boasts
And into fights lasting hours about your dad's ghost
Although you can't say it yet
It's never been the same
And it looks to stay that way
It feels like you're okay
When I was a fire I turned into ice
Melting off my last feverish highs
And I leapt through the sunshine and into the night
Singing songs of my healthiest fears
So take me or don't
I've built up this kingdom you'd hopefully loathe
If we end up alone
A plague on my head and a curse in my home
In the song Leave It Alone by Manchester Orchestra, it seems that the singer is dealing with a complicated relationship. He is telling the other person to leave him alone because they just finished talking an hour ago. The singer probably feels suffocated and overwhelmed by the other person, who seems to be trying to control the relationship. The line "I planted it once, just assumed it would grow" suggests that the singer expected the relationship to naturally progress and blossom, but it hasn't. The fear of losing the relationship has haunted the singer for years and has prevented them from thinking clearly.
The other person in the relationship seems like they are self-absorbed and only focus on their own agenda. The singer mentions that they tuned out when he was talking, and his words were just background noise. There's also a line that says, "Your brags turn to boasts, and into fights lasting hours about your dad's ghost," which suggests that the other person may be dealing with unresolved issues and using it to make themselves feel better.
Overall, the song appears to be about a relationship that is falling apart due to lack of communication, trust, and honesty. The singer is struggling to come to terms with the fact that the relationship may not be salvageable and may have to end.
Line by Line Meaning
Leave it alone
Let it be, we've already resolved the situation
We finished this up like an hour ago
We completed the task or discussion recently
So leave me alone
Stop bothering me or disturbing me
I planted it once, just assumed it would grow
I made an assumption that something would happen without taking any further action
Even though, when I think
Despite the fact that I consider the circumstances
Its replicated fear throws me off for years
Repeated fear or anxiety causes me to be unsteady for an extended period
So take me or don't
If it's your choice, decide to be with me or not
Three hour drive but we got nowhere close
We traveled for a long time, but we didn't make much progress
Read what I wrote
Pay attention to the words that I have written
You tuned the sound out to make sure I know
You ignored the noise to make sure you heard me
Even though I can't see, I feel it's always haunting me
Although I cannot observe it, I am constantly troubled by it
Kicking out my feet
Purposely or unconsciously obstructing my efforts
Ruining everything
Destroying or damaging everything that I value
Cause if it's not with you, I've got no place to go
If you are not near me, I am lost and have nowhere to go
Your brags turn to boasts
Your bragging changes into obnoxious boasts
And into fights lasting hours about your dad's ghost
Arguments continue for an extended period of time and revolve around your father's ghost
Although you can't say it yet
Even though you are hesitant to admit it
It's never been the same
Things have changed irreversibly
And it looks to stay that way
It appears that the situation will not change anytime soon
It feels like you're okay
It seems as though you are content or fine with the current situation
When I was a fire I turned into ice
When I was passionate and intense, I became cold and distant
Melting off my last feverish highs
Fading out of my latest passionate or extreme states
And I leapt through the sunshine and into the night
I made a swift move from happiness to darkness
Singing songs of my healthiest fears
Expressing my most constructive anxieties
I've built up this kingdom you'd hopefully loathe
I have created and developed this realm that you would likely dislike
If we end up alone
If we are by ourselves in the end
A plague on my head and a curse in my home
I am experiencing misfortune and condemnation in my personal life
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind