Gira lived with his parents in a relatively affluent suburb of Los Angeles, California, though they divorced when he was a young teenager. After staying with his alcoholic mother for much of his youth, he was sent to live with his father in Indiana and then Paris. He ran away from home and hitch-hiked across Europe, and was finally arrested for selling drugs in Israel. Although he was only a teenager at the time, he was placed in an adult prison. His father found Gira with the aid of Interpol and sent him back to the United States. Back in Los Angeles, he played in a band called Little Cripples and enrolled in art school and imagined that he would someday be a visual artist (Gira sketched obsessively); however, he soon became disillusioned with the elitism and academia surrounding the art world and dropped out. He was also in a band called Curtain, later called Strict Ids (source: Brendan Mullen's book "Live at the Masque"). However, Gira's interest in art is known to have affected his music; Inner Female is a study of Francis Bacon. It could also be said that Gira's visceral, surreal writing style is comparative to Bacon's paintings.
In 1979 Gira moved to New York City in order to start a band; he was influenced by No Wave and noise artists like Suicide and Glenn Branca. He played with the band Circus Mort before forming Swans. Before achieving success with his music, Gira was forced to work many tedious, backbreaking jobs in construction and demolition. He also began a short-lived art magazine, No.
Initially, Swans' focus was raw rhythm and abrasive textures, usually eschewing melody for visceral power. They became known for their abrasive experimental and post-industrial sound. The band's lineup and sound evolved over time, most markedly with the inclusion of Gira's eventual girlfriend, Jarboe, who added her ethereal voice and synthesizers to the group in 1985. Gira and Swans spent the next twelve years releasing studio, live, and side-project albums. Gira's frustration with the various record labels they recorded for grew over time.
After dissolving Swans in 1997 Gira released a solo album under his own name and began a new musical direction with The Angels of Light, which are a quieter, more acoustic-based group than Swans. Nonetheless, The Angels of Light retain much of the intensity of Gira's former project. While The Angels of Light are a rather traditional "song-based" group, Gira also spent time experimenting with soundscapes, found sound, and loops with the The Body Lovers project. He has also released several albums under his own name including Drainland (1995), The Somniloquist (2000, a spoken word album), and What We Did (2001), a collaboration with Windsor For the Derby's frontman Dan Matz.
Gira founded his own record label, Young God Records, which has released albums from such artists as Devendra Banhart, Mi and L'au, and Akron/Family as well as the Swans, The Angels of Light and The Body Lovers back catalogues.
Akron/Family served as Gira's backing band during the recording of and touring for The Angels of Light's 2005 album, The Angels of Light Sing 'Other People'.
On the mountain
Michael Gira Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Words cut into stone
Let it clear what remains
Let it scatter their bones
Let there be you
Walking a line on the plain
Let it be you
Getting up again and again
All that you have replaced
Without judgment or fear
With no intention left to waste
Just let it be you
Through the strength and pain of rejoice
Just let it be you
Tracking the years down through your voice
Deep and loud
Clear and true
Let it be you
And your lover she cried
To see you there on the farm
Spinning again, defeated
Still abused and still a boy
But I'm annoyed and ashamed
At the sound of your tenor voice
Winding through you from someplace else
Some place where you never had a single choice
So let it be you
That comes through this town with a sword
Let it be you
That levels the rich and lies down with the poor
Let it be you
That draws a clear line back through time
Let it be you
Who when beaten will always rise
Let it be you
Who will comfort us that need
It is just you
That is remembered and known by me
With love, goodbye
If a man could never die
Then let it be you
The lyrics to Michael Gira's song On the Mountain reflect a powerful message of resilience, strength, and perseverance in the face of adversity. The opening lines suggest a desire to let go of the past, to allow the winds of time to wear away the words that have been cut into stone. The song encourages self-reflection and the ability to stand up again and again, to track the years down through one's own voice.
The lyrics also address the pain of loss and the fear of being defeated. The reference to a lover crying depicts the internal struggle of the singer's defeat, feeling like a boy in a world that has left him little choice. This pressure serves to take a toll on the singer’s voice. He feels ashamed at the sound of his own voice winding through him from someplace else, a place where he never had a single choice.
However, the song is not without hope, as it encourages the listener to be the one who comes through a town with a sword. The singer calls on the listener to be the one who levels the rich and lies down with the poor, who draws a clear line back through time, and who, despite being beaten, will always rise. The final stanza of the song highlights the importance of being remembered and known, concluding with the line, "If a man could never die, then let it be you."
Overall, the lyrics to On the Mountain are a powerful anthem of perseverance and hope in the face of adversity, encouraging listeners to stand up and be the ones who make a difference.
Line by Line Meaning
Let the wind wear away
Allow time to erode and remove the words that are engraved in stone
Words cut into stone
Inscriptions on solid surfaces, which can be both permanent and sterile
Let it clear what remains
Let it get rid of everything else and leave behind only the essentials
Let it scatter their bones
Let it destroy the evil that remains
Let there be you
Let your presence bring hope and purpose
Walking a line on the plain
Surviving through life, trying to maintain balance and direction
Let it be you
You are the chosen one who can make a change
Getting up again and again
Getting back on your feet and never giving up, no matter how many times you fall down
There you contain
You possess the strength and capability of making a change
All that you have replaced
Whatever you have replaced, do it without any judgement or apprehension
Without judgment or fear
Do what you have to do without being biased by your own and others' opinions
With no intention left to waste
Do not leave any room for waste, express yourself to the fullest
Through the strength and pain of rejoice
Endure the pain and struggle with a strong will and rejoice the eventual success
Tracking the years down through your voice
Preserve the stories of the past through the sound of your voice and pass it down through generations
Deep and loud
Emphasize your voice and make it powerful
Clear and true
Be transparent and honest in everything you do
And your lover she cried
Your loved one is moved to tears
To see you there on the farm
Seeing you working hard on the farm
Spinning again, defeated
Continuously working and struggling, despite facing defeat
Still abused and still a boy
Even though you are mistreated, you remain young at heart
But I'm annoyed and ashamed
I'm saddened and embarrassed
At the sound of your tenor voice
Hearing the tone of your voice
Winding through you from someplace else
Flowing through your being and connecting you to another place
Some place where you never had a single choice
Someplace where you have never been able to make your own decision
That comes through this town with a sword
You arrive in town with the power to make a change
That levels the rich and lies down with the poor
You treat everyone the same, without favoring the wealthy
That draws a clear line back through time
You leave a legacy that can be traced back through time
Who when beaten will always rise
You bounce back from adversity and never stop fighting
Who will comfort us that need
You are the one who can comfort those in need
It is just you
You are the only one who can make a difference
That is remembered and known by me
I will always remember you and what you stand for
With love, goodbye
Farewell, with love and affection
If a man could never die
If a person could live forever
Then let it be you
You are the one who should live forever and make a lasting impact
Contributed by Elena A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.