The devolution of Mat McHugh. That’s what we’re talking about. Bands get bi… Read Full Bio ↴The devolution of Mat McHugh. That’s what we’re talking about. Bands get bigger over time. Music gets louder. Everything evolves, there is nothing which doesn’t change over time. Some artists keep trying to find bigger mountains to climb, others make a conscious effort to crawl back into the sea.

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."

Strange Days
Mat McHugh Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

All last night
Well I dreamt I was free.
Free from both truth and love
And they were free from me.
Dressed up like a businessman
Making money off of war.
Messed up as a politician
Taking money from the poor.

No longer weighed down
By respect, nor decency.
No blood, no faith,
Found no place for them to be.
And I wore my crown
Like a liar's sword.
Cursed at the ground
That I've been walking on.

I've been walking on.

All last night
Well I dreamt I was cold.
Started up a fire burning
Us out of control.
A face I barely recognize
Was staring out from the smoke
Then, pointed at my blackened heart
But the broken voice then spoke.
Said, 'plans are only wrecking balls
Then life gets on its way.
There's more to this than I recall
Probably more than I could say.
And if hate shall be your weapon
Lonely death shall be your toll.
And if profit is your motive
Then emptiness your soul.

Emptiness your soul.

All last night
Well I dreamt I was gone.
Nothing left but ashes,
A bitter taste upon your tongue.
Shadows in the market
Where as a child I had once played,
Abandoned in the evening
Like a bloodless serenade.
Every moment crashing
Through my mind, cold like the wind
That whistles down the promenade
Where my love and I had been.
No countenance, no reason
For the things I may have done
Left stripped and standing naked
In the place that I begun.

All come undone

Saw these strange days ...

Overall Meaning

In Mat McHugh’s song Strange Days, the singer shares his experience of a dream he had the previous night. The dream had his mind wandering into thoughts of freedom from love and truth, and the loss of both from his life. In his dream, the singer sees himself dressed as a businessman, making money off of war, and behaving like a dishonest politician, taking money from the poor. He finds himself free from any feelings of respect or decency, and in this sense, he feels free from everything that binds him down. The singer then shares a realization that his conduct has left him with emptiness in his soul.

In the second half of the song, the singer wakes up from another dream that had him feeling cold. He dreams of a fire burning him out of control, and shattering his heart. The broken voice of his dream warns him that if he uses hate as a weapon, he will pay the price of a lonely death, and if his motive is profit, he will still be left with emptiness in his soul. The singer dreams of wandering through empty streets where he sees shadows in the market and feels alone and abandoned. He ends the song by referring to the current times as “strange days,” and finds solace in the fact that he is not alone in feeling the strangeness of these times.

Line by Line Meaning

All last night
The dream covers events of a whole night.

Well I dreamt I was free.
In the dream, Mat McHugh was free, perhaps from responsibilities or worries.

Free from both truth and love
Mat is free from truth and love, maybe because they have been weighing him down in real life.

And they were free from me.
Truth and love started to have no power over Mat in his dream.

Dressed up like a businessman
He started visualizing himself, in his dream, as dressed up like a businessman.

Making money off of war.
He started earning money from the war in his dream.

Messed up as a politician
Mat is also messed up, perhaps due to the effects of the chaos and corruption that surround politicians.

Taking money from the poor.
In his dream, Mat McHugh was taking money from the already impoverished members of society.

No longer weighed down
Mat started feeling a sense of freedom and relief in his dream.

By respect, nor decency.
Respect and decency no longer weighed him down in his dream, perhaps indicating a lack of respect and decency in his waking life.

No blood, no faith,
Both blood and faith had lost their significance in his dream, possibly signifying disillusionment with religion and family.

Found no place for them to be.
The absence of blood and faith in his dream made him feel like he had no place for them in his life.

And I wore my crown
In his dream, Mat McHugh wore a crown, signifying perhaps that he was in charge or that he had the power to tell others what to do.

Like a liar's sword.
His crown in the dream was like a liar's sword, indicating that he may not be acting truthfully or honestly.

Cursed at the ground
In his dream, Mat McHugh is cursing the ground he is walking on, indicating anger or dissatisfaction with his environment or circumstances.

That I've been walking on.
This shows that he has been walking on that ground for a long time, referring to his life's journey.

All last night
Once again, this represents the entirety of the dream which spans across one night.

Well I dreamt I was cold.
Mat had a dream of being cold, which could signify his cold behavior towards others or the coldness expressed towards him by others.

Started up a fire burning
In his dream, Mat McHugh started a fire and subsequently started to burn something, representing perhaps the burning of something within him, like anger or frustration.

Us out of control.
The fire, in his dream, got out of control and the situation could not be managed anymore, possibly indicating a situation in his waking life that has spiraled out of hand.

A face I barely recognize
In his dream, Mat saw a face he could not recognize, indicating a sense of confusion or detachment from his surroundings.

Was staring out from the smoke
The face was visible to him despite, the smoke coming out of the fire in his dream.

Then, pointed at my blackened heart
The face in the dream directed Mat's attention to his blackened heart, which could signify his dark inner self.

But the broken voice then spoke.
Despite being broken, the voice spoke, emphasizing the importance of what was being said.

Said, 'plans are only wrecking balls
The voice called out that plans only cause chaos and confusion.

Then life gets on its way.
In life, things just keep happening, whether the plans come to fruition or not.

There's more to this than I recall
The voice thinks that Mat McHugh has forgotten that there are more vital things in life that one should focus on rather than just following personal desires and plans; there are consequences to one's actions.

Probably more than I could say.
The voice implies that what it is trying to say is beyond its ability to express in words.

And if hate shall be your weapon
The voice in the dream warns Mat McHugh that if hate is the tool he uses to get by, then it will come at a significant cost.

Lonely death shall be your toll.
The price for using hate as a weapon is a lonely and difficult death.

And if profit is your motive
The voice then proceeds to warn that if Mat is motivated only by profit, there will be grave consequences.

Then emptiness your soul.
The consequence of the motive being profit is that the sole will be emptied of all real meaning and happiness.

All last night
Again, Mat McHugh is referring to the entire dream on this night.

Well I dreamt I was gone.
The dream explores the idea of his absence, which could mean that he is losing direction in his waking life.

Nothing left but ashes,
What is left of him is only ashes, signifying the futility of his efforts and the transience of everything.

A bitter taste upon your tongue.
The taste in his mouth, in his dream, is sour, indicating that the dream was not pleasant and the lack of gratification in his actual life.

Shadows in the market
In his dream, Mat saw shadows in the market. This could signify the dark and dangerous forces that dominate marketplaces such as corrupt systems and individuals, favoritism and exploitation.

Where as a child I had once played,
This line indicates how his childhood memories have been tainted with darkness, indicating that his past experiences may have a significant impact on his current perceptions of life.

Abandoned in the evening
Things/people have abandoned him in the evening, signifying the departure of good times or individuals from his life, which could cause isolation or loneliness.

Like a bloodless serenade.
The evening left Mat feeling bloodless, perhaps indicating a lack of passion in his life or the feeling of being incomplete or unsatisfied.

Every moment crashing
Every moment in his dream seems to collide with one another, indicating a sense of confusion or chaos.

Through my mind, cold like the wind
The moment was passing through his mind, freezing him like bone-chilling wind, symbolizing the harsh realities of life in his perception.

That whistles down the promenade
The promenade could symbolize the path that Mat has been walking down, and the chilling wind implies the adversity, difficulties, and challenges that he has encountered along the way.

Where my love and I had been.
This line could indicate memories that have recently been painful due to the departure of his love or an intimate partner he was with along the promenade.

No countenance, no reason
His thoughts are beginning to lose any meaning or substance. He feels like everything he is doing is pointless or aimless.

For the things I may have done
He is criticizing himself for his past actions or inactions that may have led to his current circumstances.

Left stripped and standing naked
He has been left exposed and vulnerable, feeling mentally exposed and bare.

In the place that I begun.
He feels like he's come all the way back to where he started, indicating that there was no overall progress made in his life.

All come undone
Everything is starting to unravel and fall apart, highlighted through his dream, and he has no control over it.

Saw these strange days ...
The recurring idea of these strange days continues to haunt Mat McHugh in his dreams, indicating that something fundamental needs to change in his life.

Writer(s): Matthew Mchugh

Contributed by Madelyn G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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