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
The Only One
Manchester Orchestra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I don't know what to do
And I am the only son of a pastor I know
Who does the things I do
But if it was you
I don't think that it would matter
And if it was true
Then I just wouldn't matter
I was amazed at the color and shapes you do
A paper part for two
I am the only son of a bastard I know
That knows the bastard too
Because it was you
I called it a different story
But if I was you
I'd make this a simpler story
I bet you did what you did
When you did it
To do it again
By the time you were done with it
I bet you did what you did
When you did
Just to tell every friend that you have
That the Lord did it
I finally knew that I simply couldn't matter
You finally knew that you simply couldn't matter
I guess it's true you never knew
The passive power of the truth
Would let me lose
If I could write another phrase
We might be better off this way
But there's no use
The lyrics to Manchester Orchestra's song The Only One tell a story of a son of a pastor who feels like he's losing his mind, and the things he does are not aligned with what his father would have wanted. He feels isolated in his thoughts, and wonders if anyone else could ever relate. He is amazed at the unique artistic abilities of someone he knows, and that person happens to be the son of someone who is also a "bastard," just like him. He realizes that if he were that person, things might be simpler, but the reality is that he is who he is.
The second verse continues the theme of isolation and being different. The singer speculates that the person he is talking about did something to prove a point or to impress others, rather than for a genuine reason. He recognizes that this person wanted to tell all their friends about it, as though it were something that the Lord had done. The final section of the song reveals that neither person fully understood the power of truth, and that they would be better off with a different phrase, but it's too late.
In summary, The Only One is a song about feeling alone and misunderstood, and how difficult it can be to live your own truth in a world that may not always accept it.
Line by Line Meaning
I am the only one that thinks I'm going crazy
I feel like I'm losing my mind and nobody else can understand how I feel.
And I don't know what to do
I'm struggling to find a solution to my problems.
And I am the only son of a pastor I know
My father is a religious leader and I'm his only child.
Who does the things I do
Despite my father's profession, I have made mistakes in my life.
But if it was you
If you were in my situation,
I don't think that it would matter
you wouldn't understand the gravity of my situation.
And if it was true
If my problems were acknowledged and understood
Then I just wouldn't matter
then I would become insignificant.
I was amazed at the color and shapes you do
I was impressed with your creativity and artwork.
A paper part for two
We were meant to be together, like two pieces of paper.
I am the only son of a bastard I know
My biological father is unknown, making me the son of an unknown man.
That knows the bastard too
The man who served as a father figure to me also knows the identity of my real father.
Because it was you
Because you were the one who helped uncover the truth
I called it a different story
I tried to deny the truth and tell a different version of events.
But if I was you
If I were in your shoes,
I'd make this a simpler story
I would have made the story more straightforward from the beginning.
I bet you did what you did
I suspect you did what you did
When you did it
at the time you did it
To do it again
with the intention of doing it again.
By the time you were done with it
when you had finished what you were doing
I bet you did what you did
I suspect you did what you did
When you did
at that moment in time
Just to tell every friend that you have
in order to brag to your friends
That the Lord did it
about how religious or pious you are.
I finally knew that I simply couldn't matter
I realized that I wasn't important.
You finally knew that you simply couldn't matter
You also realized your own insignificance.
I guess it's true you never knew
You didn't realize,
The passive power of the truth
how the truth can impact our lives even without actively doing anything.
Would let me lose
I would become a loser or failure
If I could write another phrase
If I could rewrite history
We might be better off this way
Things might have turned out differently and better for us.
But there's no use
But it's pointless to dwell on that now.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JONATHAN MARK WRIGHT, LOUISE HULL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Paty10001000
"I am the only son of a bastard I know, who knows the bastard too" I honestly think that's one of the coolest lines in music
@GnarDawgeh
I don't quite get how to interpret that line?
@qewbgoo
@@GnarDawgeh think of it like "I am the only son of a bastard, I know, who knows the bastard too" lmk if that clears it up, if not i can try explaining my interpretation, not sure if its what others think
@ericfoster8411
This is the album I will probably forever answer with when someone asks what my favorite record is. This has held that slot for 13 years now.
@stevetkocz
Knowing this song exists makes life worth living
@SophieInDigital
Ahh, everything this band does is gold.
@LongHardRushRussian
I love their gritty indie videos. It's wonderful. I wish more bands did videos like these.
@ericfoster8411
This record is perfection.
@Quincy2guns
Love how they did a video for every song on the album
@dalekay9ine
Except the jimmy song right?