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
Pale Black Eye
Manchester Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
so I don't need you like I used to
Fear and nostalgia say
I don't have it anymore
Whatever you want
Whatever you need
Bleed from me
Bleed from me
I don't have yours or mine
I don't hurt you like I used to
Amy, you must be tired
When you sleep, you sleep alone
And understand the throne
And if he didn't pay
what he had paid I'd undeniably become erased
So whatever you want
Take whatever you need
And bite your veins
Bleed your pain
To me
Goddamn I'm tired of lying
I wish I loved you like I used to
So hold on, you pale black eye
No 'cause when I sleep, I sleep alone
So whatever you want
No, whatever you need
Take from me
Right from me
From me
The song Pale Black Eye by Manchester Orchestra delves into themes of love, regret, nostalgia, and hope. The opening lines of the song are sung by the singer, who is asking his father for help in waves so that he doesn't have to rely on him as much as he used to. The singer is struggling with feelings of fear and nostalgia, feeling like he has lost something that he can't get back.
The chorus of the song is a plea to take whatever you need, which can be interpreted as a plea to take whatever is necessary to find happiness, even if it means taking from someone else. The singer acknowledges the pain that this might cause, but he is willing to endure it to help someone else. Even when faced with the possibility of being erased, the singer is willing to sacrifice for the sake of others.
Line by Line Meaning
Father, I plead in waves so I don't need you like I used to
I'm asking God for help gradually so that I don't rely on you as much as I did in the past
Fear and nostalgia say I don't have it anymore
The fear of not being able to love you properly and past memories suggest that I'm unable to do so now.
Whatever you want Whatever you need Bleed from me Right from me Bleed from me
I'm willing to give you anything you want or need, even if it causes me pain
I don't have yours or mine I don't hurt you like I used to Amy, you must be tired When you sleep, you sleep alone And understand the throne And if he didn't pay what he had paid I'd undeniably become erased So whatever you want
I don't possess you or myself and I don't hurt you as I did before. You must be exhausted because you sleep alone and bear the responsibility. If he didn't face consequences for his actions, I would be forgotten. So take whatever you need from me.
Take whatever you need And bite your veins Bleed your pain To me
Take anything you need and share your pain with me.
Goddamn I'm tired of lying I wish I loved you like I used to So hold on, you pale black eye No 'cause when I sleep, I sleep alone
I'm exhausted from being dishonest with myself. I wish I still loved you the way I used to. So hang on, my empty and dark thoughts, because when I sleep, I do it alone.
So whatever you want No, whatever you need Take from me Right from me From me
So take what you require from me, no matter what it is or how much it costs me.
Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
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