In 2002 the frontman and creative force behind The Beautiful Girls began riding the wave as the band’s Morning Sun EP became the radio hit of the Australian Summer. In 2010, after 12 world tours, eight records and 285,000 album sales, the wave reached a musical high-water mark with the critically acclaimed Spooks – a dub tour de force which peaked at number 6 on the US Billboard Reggae Charts and debuted at number one on the Australian Independent charts. The album won over critics around the world and took McHugh to the US for two national tours in the one year. The first with his band to see the old fans and the second to the church of John Butler with nothing but an acoustic guitar between him and a new cast of thousands. The latter was a watershed moment – and now the tide has receded to reveal a new world of inspiration for one of Australia’s best-loved songwriters.
“Spending a year of my life working on Spooks was an amazing journey and it’s a brilliant record, but The John Butler tour was as influential to me as anything in my musical career so far. It was such a grounding, emotionally-fulfilling experience. I’m used to playing in a band to a few thousand people who are having a party, but playing solo to two or three thousand people, I felt connected. Music, for me, has always been about communication. It was a turning point as far as working out what I was going to do next – and that’s what 2011 is about,” Mat muses.
The result is devolution. Mat McHugh’s first album as a naked, raw solo artist. After a decade of striving to get bigger, better, louder and more colourful, the focus is on being transparent. Simple. Honest. Intimate.
This is a roots record in every sense of the word. No computers. No auto-tune. Nothing but guitar, bass and drums. It’s back to where it all began, albeit through the eyes of a man who has spent three quarters of the last decade sampling beats from around the globe and melting them down in his own brand of earthenware.
Devolution isn’t about fashion. It isn’t about what everyone else is doing. It isn’t about trends. Devolution isn’t about a marketing plan and guest appearances. Devolution is about music at its purest. “I want to contribute to the musical landscape in 2011 by making something more about feelings and emotions than it is about musical cleverness,” McHugh says.
“My favourite records, whether they’re Johnny Cash or Nick Drake sound like they could have been made in 2011 or 1960. There’s nothing added, it’s a simple formula. They’re just a little statement of what the people who created them believed to be inherent truths and that’s all I’m trying."
No One Left to Blame
Mat McHugh Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Would you be busy calling after me
Would i be anywhere you wanna go
Would you say anything to give me hope
I dream that under water i can breathe
I dream to come the day i'll be released
Been drowned about the beating of my heart
I'd sleep, but i could fall apart
It's killing me slow
This weight on my shoulders
Been breaking my bones
Been hoping you know this
You know this mean go
Or would you away from me
Or would you take your time,
Turn and walk away
And leave me stay behind
So tell me do you know
If you would feel the same
With no one left to go
With no one left to blame
And when the lights are busy shining on you name?
Would remember when we were the same
When every thought we share was full of hope
When no one know how far this thing would go
Now days have come and days have gone away
Now i've been wondering how things have changed
That's when i fall apart and cry it on the night
That's wrong, but maybe still that's right
It's killing me slow
This weight on my shoulders
Been breaking my bones
Been hoping you know this
You know this mean go
Or would you away from me
Or would you take your time,
Turn and walk away
And leave me stay behind
So tell me do you know?
If you would feel the same
With no one left to go
With no one left to...
Take those days, those ways, there's no one left to blame
Take those rains, those strains, there's no one left to blame
Take those lies, those times, there's no one left to blame
Retrace, rewind, resign, there's no one left to blame
The song “No One Left to Blame” by Mat McHugh seems to be about a relationship that is falling apart. In the chorus, Mat is unsure whether the person he is singing to would stay with him or leave him when he is at his lowest. He wonders if they would be there for him when he has no one left to turn to. The line "It's killing me slow, this weight on my shoulders" is a powerful metaphor for the burden he is carrying in his heart. He is struggling with the weight of the expectations of the relationship and it is taking a toll on him. He wants to know if this person who he is singing to would feel the same way if they were in his shoes.
In the second verse, Mat reminisces about how things used to be when they were together. He remembers sharing everything with the person he is singing to and how full of hope they both were about the future. But now, it seems that things have changed, and they have drifted apart. Mat is left wondering where things went wrong and whether they could have done things differently.
Overall, the song seems to be a reflection on the fragility of relationships and how easy it is for things to fall apart. It is an introspective piece where Mat is trying to make sense of his emotions and find closure with the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
And when the stars are busy falling at your feet
If everything is going well for you
Would you be busy calling after me
Would you still care about me?
Would i be anywhere you wanna go
If you had the choice to go anywhere, would you choose to be with me?
Would you say anything to give me hope
Would you try to make me feel hopeful even if things seem difficult?
I dream that under water i can breathe
I hope for the impossible
I dream to come the day i'll be released
I hope to be free from whatever is holding me back
Been drowned about the beating of my heart
My heart is overwhelmed and I can't take it anymore
I'd sleep, but i could fall apart
I'm so exhausted that I could break down if I tried to sleep
It's killing me slow
The weight of my problems is slowly destroying me
This weight on my shoulders
My problems are too heavy for me to bear
Been breaking my bones
My problems are physically and emotionally draining
Been hoping you know this
I hope you understand how hard things are for me
You know this mean go
This could be the end of our relationship
Or would you away from me
Would you leave me?
Or would you take your time,
Would you think things through?
Turn and walk away
Leave me behind
And leave me stay behind
Let me suffer alone
So tell me do you know
Do you understand?
If you would feel the same
Would you still love me even if things got hard?
With no one left to go
If we had nobody else to turn to
Or would you away from me
Would you still leave me?
Take those days, those ways, there's no one left to blame
Stop dwelling on the past
Take those rains, those strains, there's no one left to blame
Stop being weighed down by your problems
Take those lies, those times, there's no one left to blame
Stop feeling guilty about the past
Retrace, rewind, resign, there's no one left to blame
There's no use in looking back, just accept what's happened
Writer(s): Matthew Mchugh
Contributed by Leo O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.