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."
Railroaded
Matthew Ryan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Throat out last night
Hoping you'd call
Or just stop by
Now, I'm wheezing
Like the Oakland sky
Feeling like
And forgotten dream
Of the old train lines
It's a perpetual stone
In my shoe
One that I'll always
Be trying to shake loose
An ache in my chest
And a thorn in my side
More than a scratch
Beneath this skin
Somewhere between
The beginning and the end
I don't feel a lot lately
I don't feel whole lately
I don't feel much lately
That's how I hide
That's how I hide
You wrote it down not to
Draw attention to yourself
You let the pilot just
To blow it out
Here the conversation's
Always too loud
And we're as pathetic as the jumper
That listens to the crowd
To say I miss you
Wouldn't be enough
I feel like Tom Waits
Singing, 'Diamonds and rust'
And I'm as pathetic as a junkie
Who knows what he does
It's a perpetual stone
In my shoe
One that I'll always
Be trying to shake loose
An ache in my chest
And a thorn in my pride
More than a scratch
Beneath this skin
Somewhere between
The beginning and the end
I don't feel a lot lately
I don't feel whole lately
I don't feel much lately
But that's how I hide
That's how I hide
The song "Railroaded" by Matthew Ryan is a melancholic piece about the persistent sorrow and regret that the singer feels. The first stanza describes the singer's physical ailment, caused by his smoking, but it is not really about that. It is rather a metaphor for the emotional hurt that he feels. His longing for the person he wants to hear from or see is making him ill, and he compares it to the polluted air of Oakland. His emotions are like the rusted tracks and forgotten dreams of old train lines, something that used to have purpose but now feels like a relic of the past that can’t be revived. The second stanza reveals that the feeling of hurt and loss is not just temporary, but rather a permanent state of being, a stone in his shoe, a constant ache in his chest, and a thorn in his side. It is something he will always try to shake loose, but he knows he never can.
The chorus repeats "I don't feel a lot lately, I don't feel whole lately, I don't feel much lately, but that's how I hide, that's how I hide." The repetition emphasizes the extent of his numbness and how it is his way of dealing with his emotions. He has been hurt so many times that his only protection is to shut himself off from his feelings. The last stanza introduces the idea that the singer has written or said something that he regrets, and he wishes he could take it back. However, he realizes that even if he had the chance, he wouldn't want to bring attention to himself. The conversations around him are always too loud, and everyone is so caught up in their own issues that he fears being seen as pathetic, like a "jumper that listens to the crowd," or an attention-seeking person who only wants people to feel sorry for them.
Overall, "Railroaded" is a poignant song about the burden of pain and regret that we carry with us, the isolation we feel when we try to shut out those emotions, and the fear of being seen as weak or pathetic. It is a song that speaks to the universal struggle we all face when we lose someone or something that we hold dear.
Line by Line Meaning
Well, I smoked my
Throat out last night
Hoping you'd call
Or just stop by
Last night, I smoked so much that it hurt my throat because I was hoping you would call me or visit me.
Now, I'm wheezing
Like the Oakland sky
Feeling like
The rusted tracks
And forgotten dream
Of the old train lines
I'm wheezing badly now, almost like the smoggy skies of Oakland. I feel like the old train tracks which are rusted and forgotten like a long lost dream.
It's a perpetual stone
In my shoe
One that I'll always
Be trying to shake loose
An ache in my chest
And a thorn in my side
This feeling is like a stone in my shoe that will never let me be at peace, an ache in my chest and a thorn in my side.
More than a scratch
Beneath this skin
Somewhere between
The beginning and the end
This feeling is more than just a scratch beneath my skin, it's deep rooted and somewhere between the beginning and end.
I don't feel a lot lately
I don't feel whole lately
I don't feel much lately
That's how I hide
That's how I hide
I don't feel much lately and that's how I hide my emotions, to not seem vulnerable.
You wrote it down not to
Draw attention to yourself
You let the pilot just
To blow it out
You wrote it down to express your thoughts and feelings, not to make it about yourself. You let the pilot just take over and push the feelings aside.
Here the conversation's
Always too loud
And we're as pathetic as the jumper
That listens to the crowd
The conversation is always too loud in this place and we're pathetic for staying and listening to them like a jumper who listens to the crowd.
To say I miss you
Wouldn't be enough
I feel like Tom Waits
Singing, 'Diamonds and rust'
And I'm as pathetic as a junkie
Who knows what he does
Saying I miss you wouldn't be enough because my feelings are like Tom Waits singing 'Diamonds and rust.' I'm pathetic because my actions are like a junkie who knows what he does is wrong.
It's a perpetual stone
In my shoe
One that I'll always
Be trying to shake loose
An ache in my chest
And a thorn in my pride
This feeling will always be like a stone in my shoe, never giving me any peace, an ache in my chest and a thorn in my pride.
More than a scratch
Beneath this skin
Somewhere between
The beginning and the end
This feeling is deep beneath my skin, more than just a scratch, and it's somewhere between the beginning and the end.
I don't feel a lot lately
I don't feel whole lately
I don't feel much lately
But that's how I hide
That's how I hide
I don't feel much lately and that's how I hide my emotions to avoid being vulnerable.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: RYAN CHRISTOPHER WEBB
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind