Perhaps the most underrated singer/songwriter of the past 12 years, Matthew Ryan arrived on the music scene in 1997 with Mayday. A combination of influences from Tom Waits, Waterboys and Bruce Springsteen can all be heard here, but the sound and songwriting are Matthew Ryan's alone.
After being dropped by Interscope Records Ryan started working on demo material with David Henry. The material was stark and bare, Concussion was recorded and mixed in 8 days with Richard McLaurin. It was released in 2001 on Nashville, Tennessee label WaxySilver and features a duet with Lucinda Williams. Ryan was asked by actor/director Edward Burns to contribute a song to his film Ash Wednesday. "Be Thou My Vision" was used on the closing credits of Edward Burns’ film. Ryan opened tours for Kasey Chambers and Lucinda Williams for much of 2001, along with his own headlining shows.
2002 was a quiet period for Ryan, eventually releasing two collections of Stereo-Pak demo recordings, Dissent from the Living Room and Hopeless to Hopeful. These were made available on CDR through Ryan’s website.
Ryan started recording again on February 2003, Regret Over the Wires was released in late 2003 by Hybrid Recordings. In April, Concussion was released in the UK and Europe through One Little Indian Records. This included a UK tour with label mate Jeff Klein. On September 9, 2003, One Little Indian Records also released Happiness in the UK and Europe only, a collection of songs taken from Ryan’s self-distributed collections Dissent from the Living Room and Hopeless to Hopeful. Ryan made another self-distributed release in December entitled These Are Field Recordings, a two-disc collection of live recordings and early tracks.
Matthew Ryan approached Neilson Hubbard in 2004 about a collaboration, which could result in an interesting self-distributed release for fans. The collaboration was much more successful than expected and Strays Don't Sleep was formed with Neilson Hubbard, Brian Bequette, Billy Mercer and Steve Latanation.
In the Autumn 2005 Strays Don't Sleep's debut self-titled album was released in the UK on One Little Indian Records. The release includes a DVD of short films that were directed and shot by professional filmmakers and friends, including Gorman Bechard, The Barnes Brothers, Martin Glenn, Matt Boyd and Jared Johnson. Matthew Ryan and Neilson Hubbard also directed three of the short films with the help of Nashville film student, Matt Riddlehoover. A 5.1 surround sound mix of the entire record and films, by Paul PDub Walton of Björk and Sneaker Pimps fame, is available on the DVD.
Strays Don't Sleep was released to great reviews from Time Out, Uncut, The Sunday Express and The Times. The success helped secure a US release, which was helped further by a placement in the hit CW (former WB) drama One Tree Hill. "For Blue Skies", a song concerning the sentencing of Matthew Ryan’s brother to 30 years in prison, was made available on the One Tree Hill Soundtracks. Strays Don't Sleep toured the UK with Josh Rouse to support the album. Strays Don't Sleep was officially disbanded mid-2006. Their Music Video DVD Album "Strays Don't Sleep" with each song presented by a different director, won the top Award - The Grand Remi for Best Music Video - at the 2006 WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in April 2006. The group performed in person at the Remi Awards Gala dinner for 500 international filmmakers to a standing ovation. They disbanded shortly after this remarkable performance.
In 2006 Ryan completed recording for another solo album called From a Late Night High Rise. It's a collection of songs inspired by the death of a friend and the sentencing of Ryan’s brother to 30 years in prison. The album feature band members from Strays Don’t Sleep and was self-produced with Neilson Hubbard. From a Late Night High Rise was released on December 5, 2006 through 2minutes59 and iTunes, and Ryan embarked on a US tour with Tim Easton in February 2007. From a Late Night High Rise was met with the strongest wave of critical support Ryan has received to date. It was praised as "A must-hear, have-to-own epic of an album that should be required listening for every songwriter—and music lover—in the world."
Gone for Good
Matthew Ryan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I'll do what I must to kill your memory
'Cause all this talk has given me the shakes
Yeah I know we all live to bury our mistakes
But you're gone and gone for good
We were the Lone Ranger and Tonto
Stillborn to cold strangers in our own home
You know you never really should
When you're gone and gone for good, gone for good
Our igloo will soon be in poisoned silver pools
Where no fever or cool breeze will ever comfort you
Just dead silent still, forever and until
Your landfill swallows every June
And you're gone and gone for good, gone for good, gone for good
The lyrics to Matthew Ryan's song Gone For Good seem to express feelings of anger and betrayal towards a person who has become an enemy. The singer has decided to do everything necessary to forget this person and erase them from their memory. The line “'Cause all this talk has given me the shakes” suggests that the situation between the two parties has caused the singer to be very emotional and it's affecting them physically. However, the idea that "we all live to bury our mistakes" suggests that the singer is acknowledging that they also have made mistakes but they are willing to move on and forget them. Overall, the singer has accepted that this person is gone for good and they are taking measures to forget them.
The second verse of the song continues with the metaphors from the first verse: "We were the Lone Ranger and Tonto / Stillborn to cold strangers in our own home" paints a picture of two people who should be very close but are now strangers to each other. However, the other person seems to be making the situation emotionally charged with comments like "But you took it hard, you took it personal / You know you never really should." The singer accepts that they are “gone for good” implying that they are not coming back ever again, and the situations surrounding their departure will soon become a distant memory.
Line by Line Meaning
It's criminal you'll be my enemy
It's a shame that we'll end up despising each other
And I'll do what I must to kill your memory
I'll try to forget about you, even if it's painful
'Cause all this talk has given me the shakes
Our discussions have left me feeling unsteady, unsure
Yeah I know we all live to bury our mistakes
We all make errors in life, but try to move on as best we can
But you're gone and gone for good
You've left and there's no coming back, we're through
We were the Lone Ranger and Tonto
We were once a dynamic duo, inseparable
Stillborn to cold strangers in our own home
We were misunderstood and neglected despite being where we came from
But you took it hard, you took it personal
You let it affect you deeply, as if it was an attack on your character
You know you never really should
It was unproductive to take it to heart
When you're gone and gone for good, gone for good
Now that you've left me for good, it's time for us to move on
Our igloo will soon be in poisoned silver pools
Our former home will be covered in toxic waste and contamination
Where no fever or cool breeze will ever comfort you
There will be no reprieve, no solace found in that place
Just dead silent still, forever and until
The atmosphere will be absolutely lifeless and sterile
Your landfill swallows every June
Every year, the garbage dump takes over everything that was once there
And you're gone and gone for good, gone for good, gone for good
You're not coming back, we're over for good
Contributed by Colton G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Og Dagda
saw matthew and met him at the fine line one night , minneapolis here too .. was horrible stormy night , very few people showed up.. matthew had people come down to main floor , he came off stage with his guitar , and had everyone circle around him and he went around circle from middle asking people what they wanted to hear then played parts seemingly just for them , amazing artist , better person , listener since 93 , even sent me some unreleased field recordings , troubador extrordinaire
Ty Girdley
He is a legend! Great guy. I'm seeing him tomorrow night. It's gonna be awesome.
Miss Parker
Matt is like that. I've known him for 10 years (jeez, where has the time gone?). He's a friend and a person that just warms you to hear. He's my winter coat.
winkalman
I can’t get over how good this version of the song is.
pamela falzon
I adore this man's music !!
Dronesification
One hell of a songwriter
Phil Horne
Long time fan of this guy , hes a REAL troubadore
Daniel Hasenbos
Beautiful, that's what I've got to say about this. It feels so long and yet is passes in a blink of an eye. Deep, touching and real.
Francesco Mgn
That's music!
Michael Williams
Matthew ryan probally saved my life...