With their debut, Yerself Is Steam, the band gained an underground following, particularly in the UK. 1993's Boces was critically acclaimed for its alternative sound, and the band's next album, See You on the Other Side, begins a shift away from the extremes of sonic experimentalism towards the elaborately-orchestrated classic rock blueprint of their later work.
With their early records, Mercury Rev offered experimental, psychedelic rock, which gradually shifted to a melodic, ornate sound. Mercury Rev is often compared to The Flaming Lips, and in fact share close ties: soon after the band's formation, Donahue also joined the Flaming Lips as second guitarist and appeared on two of their albums; and since the 1990 album In a Priest Driven Ambulance, Dave Fridmann has co-produced every Flaming Lips studio album to date except 1993's Transmissions from the Satellite Heart.
Despite considerable critical acclaim, their early releases never gave Mercury Rev more than cult popularity, though they appeared on the smaller second stage at some 1993 Lollapalooza stops. Baker left after their second record, Boces (1993), citing musical and personal disputes; he later recorded an album as Shady. With his departure, the darker, more experimental and less accessible features of their music began to disappear.
The band's first post-Baker album, See You on the Other Side (1995), found them in transition, and the 1998 release of the acclaimed Deserter's Songs (which featured appearances by Garth Hudson and Levon Helm of The Band) made Mercury Rev unexpected pop stars. In the UK, NME Magazine made Deserter's Songs their Album of the Year. Donahue's earnest, high-pitched vocals and concentration on relatively concise, melodic songs gave the band's material an entirely new feel and much increased popularity (Deserter's Songs spawned three UK top 40 singles).
All Is Dream was issued in 2001. It managed a UK top 20 single, "The Dark is Rising," which reached #16 in the UK Top 40.
Mercury Rev's much-anticipated The Secret Migration was released on January 24, 2005. This was followed up in 2006 by a compilation album called The Essential Mercury Rev: Stillness Breathes 1991-2006 and the film soundtrack album Hello Blackbird. More recently, the band released a pair of albums on September 29, 2008: Snowflake Midnight, and a free MP3 album of instrumentals, Strange Attractor.
In 2011 the band performed Deserter's Songs in it's complete form live at several festivals in the UK.
Hercules
Mercury Rev Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The sun follows your step and leads you back to me
You keeps telling yourself that you're here but you're not alone
And you get the feeling that your mind is not your own
In the evening the sun's red gown turns to brown
The moon follows you to the beach then it swallows you down
Strange how you can change and end up at her feet
You keep telling yourself but you know you're not to be believed
You and me and Hercules in between
Shadows rise from the plain, fifty men row
In the distance the ships in the waves cash in their load
On the hill stands Colossus and your mind can feel
Clouds from your past now at last open to reveal
You and me and Hercules in between
You and me and Hercules in between
Cross the desert sand no one knows your name
And you wish you were somewhere else with some kind of fame
What appears as your shadow is formless as a mist
You keep telling your friends you know it exists
One becomes two then before you turns to three
Words climb your tongue like a ladder to speak
Drifting as you go but you row till it seems
All is one, All is mind, all is lost and you find, All is Dream
The song "Hercules" by Mercury Rev is a haunting and surreal composition that seems to weave together various dream-like images and symbols. The lyrics describe a strange journey, in which the singer seems to be wandering through a landscape that is both familiar and alien at the same time. Throughout the song, there is a sense of disorientation and fragmentation, as the singer describes their experiences in disjointed and abstract terms.
The opening lines of the song are particularly striking, as they describe the strange sensation of one's face "cracking and falling to the sea." This imagery suggests a sense of dissolution or fragmentation, as if the singer's identity or self is dissolving into the vastness of the ocean. The sun and moon are also mentioned throughout the song, representing opposing forces that seem to be pulling the singer in different directions.
As the song progresses, there are references to various mythological and historical figures, such as Hercules and the Colossus. These figures seem to represent larger-than-life archetypes or symbols that the singer is grappling with in their own psyche. The repeated refrain of "you and me and Hercules in between" reinforces this sense of a struggle between different parts of the self.
Overall, "Hercules" is a complex and enigmatic song that invites multiple interpretations. It seems to be exploring the liminal spaces between different states of consciousness, and the conflicting desires and impulses that arise within those spaces.
Line by Line Meaning
In the morning your face cracks and falls to the sea
Your tired face is submerged in the depths of the sea as the sun rises
The sun follows your step and leads you back to me
The sun guides you back to me as you navigate through the day
You keeps telling yourself that you're here but you're not alone
You assure yourself of your presence in reality, but you still feel detached from everything and everyone else
And you get the feeling that your mind is not your own
Your thoughts and emotions seem to be out of your control and influenced by external factors
In the evening the sun's red gown turns to brown
The sun fades into the horizon, its once bright appearance now dull and muted
The moon follows you to the beach then it swallows you down
The moon watches over you as you descend into a state of contemplation or introspection
Strange how you can change and end up at her feet
It's curious how easily you can shift your perspective or disposition, and ultimately submit to another's will or influence
You keep telling yourself but you know you're not to be believed
You attempt to convince yourself of something you're aware is not wholly true or genuine
You and me and Hercules in between
You and I, along with the mythic hero Hercules, find ourselves caught in a state of ambiguity or in-between-ness
Shadows rise from the plain, fifty men row
Silhouettes emerge from the flat landscape as a group of men row towards an unknown destination
In the distance the ships in the waves cash in their load
Far off in the ocean, ships complete their journeys and unload their cargo
On the hill stands Colossus and your mind can feel
The giant structure of Colossus stands atop a hill, and it's presence is palpable in your thoughts
Clouds from your past now at last open to reveal
Your previous experiences which were once unclear, now become illuminated and comprehensible
Cross the desert sand no one knows your name
You journey through a vast desert where no one knows or recognizes you
And you wish you were somewhere else with some kind of fame
Deep down, you yearn for renown or recognition in a place other than where you currently are
What appears as your shadow is formless as a mist
Your shadow or reflection is amorphous and nebulous, taking on no discernable form
You keep telling your friends you know it exists
You inform your companions of this undefined entity, insisting that it truly exists
One becomes two then before you turns to three
Your perception of reality changes, transforming one idea into two, and then eventually into three distinct concepts
Words climb your tongue like a ladder to speak
Words form on your tongue and articulate themselves like a ladder ascending upwards
Drifting as you go but you row till it seems
You move through life with a sense of aimlessness, yet you continue to push forward until it feels like you've arrived
All is one, All is mind, all is lost and you find, All is Dream
Everything is interconnected and exists within a state of dreaming and illusion
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JEFFREY MERCEL, JONATHAN DONAHUE, SEAN MACKOWIAK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind