The Metroschifter began in 1994 as a solo project for Louisville, Kentucky … Read Full Bio ↴The Metroschifter began in 1994 as a solo project for Louisville, Kentucky designer Scott Ritcher. The band released five full-length albums and several EPs between 1994 and 2000, adding a sixth album in 2009.

Originally Ritcher with Pat McClimans and Mario Rubalcaba, in its early years, the band included a succession of members from hardcore and indie rock heavyweights such as Rodan, Endpoint, 411, Sunspring, the Rachel's, Falling Forward, Shipping News, Transcend, Eleven Eleven and Chamberlain.

The Metroschifter has operated in innovative ways starting with their very first record. The band is from Louisville, Kentucky, but their members originally lived in different cities across the United States. Because of this, they learned their first set of songs from demo tapes that singer/songwriter Scott Ritcher mailed out to the other members. As a result, their first tour in 1994 was booked before they had even played together. Regardless, a few intensive practice sessions before the trip solidified their sound and their debut album was recorded the following week.

In a similar fashion, that album, "The Metroschifter Capsule," went on sale before it was even finished. The band members and Ritcher's label, Slamdek, ran advertisements announcing the new group was releasing a record that could be ordered in advance. Fans purchased the album before it was completed, then each copy was personalized with the buyer's name on the cover and home-delivered.

The Metroschifter's sound is loud, distorted, thunderous, and blazing, yet sometimes stops on impossible points to become complete silence, before diving headlong back into a mathematical, emotional storm.

Reviewing the "Fort Saint Metroschifter" album, Toledo Entertainment magazine said the Metroschifter put "more curveball dynamics in 1/3 of an hour than most of their contemporaries would put in a friggin’ box set."

Impact Press describes a sound that can "fly from rage to softness to downright discordant... both spacious and gracious." Mega Music said "they almost never look or sound the same way twice" and Over The Shoulder called them "so damn inventive." A reviewer at Ignition chimed, "like nothing I’ve heard before," and Outback Magazine echoed, "One of the most unique and interesting bands."

Maybe Punk Planet made Metroschifter proudest: "There are very few bands that are putting out such challenging albums. It's incredible. Three cheers for the Metroschifter!"

Early on, the band decided to stretch their sound, to never make the same record twice, and to make a conscious effort to test their audience. In 1996, they briefly departed from their ultra-distorted, full-throttle sound, and released an even more demanding record, the all-acoustic, country album "Generation Rx." Teleport City observed, "I've always admired Metroschifter's willingness to fuck with people," but Second Nature wasn't as smitten and barked, "After this record, Metroschifter should rename their band to something more suiting, like for instance, Crap!"

Metroschifter released "Encapsulated" in 2000 which pushed the band deeper into uncharted territory. On this unique record, they assembled a cast of some of their favorite bands who each learned and recorded a new, unreleased Metroschifter song. The result was an album of new Metroschifter songs on which each song was performed by a different artist. Participants included Elliott, The Get Up Kids, Ink & Dagger, The Promise Ring, Refused, Burning Airlines, and Rye Coalition. Manatee Bound announced, "this has never been done before," while Pitchfork comically wondered if the aging members of Metroschifter were too lazy to play their own songs.

All three members of Metroschifter have collaborated with each other on a variety of other projects in the time since the band was regularly active. And all members are also currently in other groups; Chris Reinstatler performs in Brett Ralph's Kentucky Chrome Revue; Scott Ritcher is in the group Best Actress; Pat McClimans leads Lafayette, Indiana's Root Hog. Ritcher also ran in the 1998 election for Louisville mayor and was a 2008 candidate for Kentucky's state senate.

After taking about six years off between 1999 and 2005, they returned to the stage for a series of exciting sold-out shows in Louisville. Always trying to keep it interesting, the opening act for the first return performance was a spelling bee in which audience members competed against bassist Pat McClimans. He lost. Upon their return, they picked tiny, ridiculous ticket prices ranging from $1.79 to $2.44 in their hometown to dispel rumors they were reuniting to make money.

The Metroschifter has played over 200 shows, across 14 countries, including five tours of Europe and five tours in the United States. Scott Ritcher also recorded and toured as a solo artist in the US and Europe.

The bulk of Metroschifter's and Scott Ritcher's music was issued on Doghouse Records and is available from that label or from the Apple iTunes Music Store. Many tracks are available directly from www.metroschifter.com.

The band's sixth full-length recording was released in July 2009, on the Louisville label Noise Pollution.

I'm so Lonesome I Could Cry
Metroschifter Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Hear that lonesome whippoorwill
He sounds too blue to fly.
The midnight light is whining low,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.

I've never seen a night so long
When time goes crawling by.
The moon just went behind the clouds

To hide its face and cry.

Have you ever seen a robin weep
When leaves begin to die?
Like me, he's lost the will to live,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.

The silence of a falling star
Lights up a purple sky.

And as I wonder where you are,
I'm so lonesome I could cry.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Metroschifter's song I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry reflect the deep despair and loneliness felt by the singer. The song starts with a lonesome whippoorwill, which sounds so sad that it can't even fly. The singer relates to the bird and expresses how he is so lonely that he could cry. The midnight light's low whining further adds to his sense of isolation.

The singer then goes on to state that he has never experienced such a long night where time seems to be dragging along slower than ever. The moon goes behind the clouds, which represents how the singer feels like everything has abandoned him. Even the moon wants to hide its face and cry. The robin weeping when the leaves start to die further represents the singer's loss of will to live, interspersed with his ongoing sadness.

Finally, a falling star lights up the sky, and as the singer looks at it, he wonders where the person who will bring happiness and light in his life is. This thought amplifies his isolation, and he concludes by mentioning that he is so lonesome that he could cry.

Overall, the lyrics of this track provide a moving portrayal of the depths of loneliness and despair that someone can feel. The song is a cathartic release for those going through a hard time in their lives and feeling lonely and isolated.

Line by Line Meaning

Hear that lonesome whippoorwill
Listen to that lonely bird singing

He sounds too blue to fly.
Its song is full of sadness and despair

The midnight light is whining low,
The dim light of the night is depressing and unsettling

I'm so lonesome I could cry.
I'm incredibly lonely and in pain

I've never seen a night so long
This night seems endless and never-ending

When time goes crawling by.
Time is moving so slowly

The moon just went behind the clouds
The moon is hiding itself from view

To hide its face and cry.
Perhaps it's crying because it can sense my pain

Have you ever seen a robin weep
Have you ever witnessed the sadness of a bird?

When leaves begin to die?
It's a symbol of the end of something beautiful

Like me, he's lost the will to live,
The bird is also feeling helpless and desperate