Kozelek was born and raised in Massillon, Ohio. Upon relocating to Atlanta, Georgia, he met drummer Anthony Koutsos. After the pair moved once again to San Francisco, California, Red House Painters formed in 1989 with the addition of guitarist Gorden Mack and bassist Jerry Vessel. From 1992 to 1996, Red House Painters released a series of acclaimed albums, showcasing Kozelek's intense, highly autobiographical songs.
However, Kozelek's parting with the record label 4AD, followed by a major label merger which left Red House Painters' 1998 album Old Ramon on the shelf, proved highly frustrating and stifled the group's momentum. Kozelek opted to occupy himself with a series of idiosyncratic solo recordings as Red House Painters dissolved.
In 2000, he released the solo EP Rock 'n' Roll Singer, which featured three original songs as well as covers of John Denver's "Around and Around" and three AC/DC songs ("Rock 'n' Roll Singer," "Bad Boy Boogie," and "You Ain't Got a Hold on Me"). Two of the AC/DC cover versions on Rock 'n' Roll Singer were radical re-arrangements of the originals which removed the Bon Scott-penned lyrics from their hard rock context and placed them into gentle, acoustic "folk ballad" settings.
Kozelek expanded on this idea in 2001, releasing a full-length album comprised solely of AC/DC covers titled What's Next to the Moon.These new arrangements sounded so unlike the originals that a KCRW radio executive insisted that the title track was a Leonard Cohen song.
This was not the first time Kozelek had drastically re-arranged others' material to his own ends. With Red House Painters, he had previously done similar reconstructions with Simon & Garfunkel's "I Am a Rock," The Cars' "All Mixed Up," Yes's "Long Distance Runaround," Paul McCartney's "Silly Love Songs," and Francis Scott Key's "The Star-Spangled Banner."
In the years between his band projects, Kozelek's music made a number of appearances on compilations and tribute albums. He contributed the song "New Partner" to the Will Oldham (a.k.a. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy) tribute album, I Am Cold Rock. I Am Dull Grass Around this time, Kozelek commandeered a tribute album to John Denver, entitled Take Me Home: A Tribute to John Denver, featuring Will Oldham, The Innocence Mission, and Low to name a few. The compilation also featured Kozelek covering "Around and Around" as a duet with Rachel Goswell.
A limited edition live recording, White Christmas Live, was released by the Sub Pop label in late 2001. In addition to his solo material, it featured several Red House Painters songs done in a stripped-down, acoustic guitar-and-vocals style, and one a cappella rendition. An early version of his current project Sun Kil Moon's "Lily and Parrots" is tacked on to the end as an uncredited bonus track. It also features one previously unreleased song, "Admiral Fell Promises."
Sun Kil Moon debuted with Ghosts of the Great Highway in 2003, and also features former RHP members Jerry Vessel and Anthony Koutsos as well as new collaborators Geoff Stanfield (formerly of Black Lab) and Tim Mooney of American Music Club. Their follow-up effort appeared in 2005 on Kozelek's newly formed label, Caldo Verde Records. Titled Tiny Cities, the album is made up entirely of covers of songs by Modest Mouse. Once again, Kozelek's cover versions varied greatly from the originals.
In 2006, Kozelek was invited by Toronto indie rock label Paper Bag Records to exclusively contribute to their See You on the Moon! Songs for Kids of All Ages compilation with his original song "Leo and Luna." Then in November 2006, Kozelek released a live album titled Little Drummer Boy Live. On the album's two discs, he plays songs from his solo career, covers, and material from the catalogs of both Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon.
Kozelek returned in 2008 with the release of Sun Kil Moon's third album April. The album features 11 brand new recordings, including guest vocal contributions by Ben Gibbard, Will Oldham, and Eric Pollard.
The release of the new album also brought the re-issue of Nights of Passed Over, a 256-page, hard-cover book of all the lyrics to Kozelek's solo songs, Red House Painters' songs, and Sun Kil Moon's songs. It also features setlists, handwritten lyrics, and a preface by Kozelek himself. The original edition of this book was released in 2002 in Portugal, and featured all the lyrics up to that point, printed in both English and Portuguese. The updated edition spans to his current Sun Kil Moon days, and the book also includes a 12-track bonus CD, titled Nights LP, featuring live and rare versions of songs dated 1996 to 2007. The edition is sold exclusively on his label's website link and is limited to 2,500 copies.
On December 9, 2008, Kozelek and Caldo Verde Records issued The Finally LP, a CD collection of 10 unreleased tracks, including covers of songs by Stephen Sondheim, Will Oldham, Hรผsker Dรผ, and Low among others, as well as two previously unreleased instrumentals. Two newly-recorded live albums, Find Me, Ruben Olivares: Live in Spain and Lost Verses Live, followed in spring 2009.
On April 23, 2010, the release of Sun Kil Moon's fourth album, Admiral Fell Promises, was announced. The album was released on July 13, 2010.
A documentary film entitled Mark Kozelek: On Tour was released via Caldo Verde Records on August 16, 2011. The movie was filmed during portions Mark Kozelek's European/North American tours of 2010 and early 2011.
In 2012, an article at Queensberry-Rules.com by staff writer Mark Ortega detailed Kozelek's fascination with the sport of boxing, which inspired the name of his Sun Kil Moon project as well as a few songs on a Desertshore album.
โTheir backgrounds are extremely harsh and they work very hard to move up in their careers. I was in attendance at the Manny Pacquiao-Agapito Sanchez fight in San Francisco in 2001. When I heard Sanchez was murdered shortly after, it had a profound effect on me. It hurts when anyone dies young, but when you see the backgrounds of these guys and the path they've taken to try to find some light in their lives, it hurts to see them die young.โ
Admiral Fell Promises
Mark Kozelek Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Let me lock you in my room and keep you
For a while
Could you be the answer to my every prayer?
Could you be the one for who I care?
Come into my arms and let your worries die
Come out from the web of all your tangles lies
Judge me not for what I've done but what I'll do
A million nights have led
To this one that we are spending
And I know it's better here
Than anywhere I've been going
With every morning grew
A void more wide and endless
Come out from the burning fire butterfly
Let me lock you in my room and keep you
For a while
You watch over me and I'll watch over you
And if you go tomorrow choke me 'till I'm blue
A thousand days have passed
In this house she and I were sharing
And I hate myself for it
But I have stopped caring
The Marilyn sky tonight
Is so black and blue and beautiful
The first verse of Mark Kozelek's song Admiral Fell Promises speaks of a passionate desire to hold onto something beautiful; to possess it and keep it for oneself. The burning fire butterfly symbolizes this beauty, something that is fragile and fleeting, but can be captured and admired for a little while longer. The singer asks the butterfly to come out of the fire, a metaphor for the dangers and risks that may befall this delicate creature, and into his room, a safe haven where he can watch over and protect it. The singer acknowledges that the butterfly could be the answer to his every prayer, the one person he truly cares for.
The second verse reveals a bit of vulnerability on the singer's part. He pleads with the butterfly to let go of the web of tangles lies that she has been caught up in, to be honest with him as he will be true to her. The singer then asks to be judged not by his past, but by what he'll do for the butterfly in the future. The singer longs for a true, authentic relationship with the butterfly, one that is not marred by deceit or judgment.
The final verse reflects on the passage of time and the singer's descent into a state of apathy. The world outside is tumultuous, as evidenced by the black and blue Marilyn sky, but the singer is content to stay inside, protected by the beauty of the butterfly. The million nights that have led to this moment are better than anywhere else he's been, but the void inside him still grows, an endless pit that cannot be filled.
Line by Line Meaning
Come out from the burning fire butterfly
Step out of your comfort zone and take a chance on me
Let me lock you in my room and keep you
I want to keep you all to myself and take care of you
For a while
Just for a little bit of time
Could you be the answer to my every prayer?
Are you the one I've been searching for all along?
Could you be the one for who I care?
Do I care for you more than anyone else in the world?
Come into my arms and let your worries die
Let me hold you and take care of everything for you
Come out from the web of all your tangles lies
Leave behind all the lies and deceit that have been holding you back
But be true to me and I'll be true to you
Be honest with me and I will always be honest with you
Judge me not for what I've done but what I'll do
Don't hold my past mistakes against me, but instead believe in the person I am becoming
A million nights have led
I have spent countless nights searching for something more
To this one that we are spending
But this one, with you, feels different and special
And I know it's better here
I finally feel like I have found my place and my person
Than anywhere I've been going
And nothing else compares to the way I feel when I'm with you
With every morning grew
Every day that passed brought more
A void more wide and endless
An emptiness that I couldn't seem to fill
You watch over me and I'll watch over you
Let's take care of each other and be there for one another
And if you go tomorrow choke me 'till I'm blue
If you have to go, I'll be crushed and heartbroken
A thousand days have passed
So much time has gone by and changed so many things
In this house she and I were sharing
The house where we once shared so much together
And I hate myself for it
And I feel guilty for not being able to make it work
But I have stopped caring
But now, it doesn't matter to me anymore
The Marilyn sky tonight
The sky tonight reminds me of Marilyn Monroe and all her beauty
Is so black and blue and beautiful
It's dark, but still breathtakingly beautiful
Contributed by Amelia E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
whitedude877
ร lesund - 0:00
Half Moon Bay - 6:29
Sam Wong Hotel - 13:19
3rd and Seneca - 18:29
You are My Sun - 25:43
Admiral Fell Promises - 30:38
The Leaning Tree - 34:29
Australian Winter - 42:23
Church of the Pines - 47:03
Bay of Skulls - 53:08
That other comment wouldn't work well with my phone so I made it vertical.
Garrett Lemieux
Alesund 0:00, Half Moon Bay 6:29, Sam Wong Hotel 13:19, 3rd and Seneca 18:29, You are My Sun, 25:43, Admiral Feel Promises 30:38, The Leaning Tree 34:29, Australian Winter 42:23, Church of the Pines 47:03, Bay of Skulls 53:08
policeman planet
I never thanked you for this but thank you
Garrett Lemieux
@policeman planet of course!
Shadow Knight
A nice addition to this posting - glad it is pinned at the top.
Salty Old Weeb
This whole album is a fingerstyle masterpiece.
policeman planet
True!
Kevin Qualls
The best album by Sun Kil Moon...in my opinion. I really wish he'd do another like this one.
tttulivuori
sounds like he could come more from the classical side, i.e. the so-called spanish guitar.
Salam Vรฉteram
In terms of composition (taking into account the lack of a full band or further arrangements), this record is very hard to beat, at least by any singer-songwriter of Mark's generation. A masterpiece to be timeless after 50 or 100-plus years, and still one of my personal favourites of the century so far.
policeman planet
Honestly? I have to agree with you. Hell I think Mark once said "bury me with this album, it's my finest work"