Moxy Früvous was a folk-pop, geek-rock, socially conscious, politically-sat… Read Full Bio ↴Moxy Früvous was a folk-pop, geek-rock, socially conscious, politically-satirical band (1990-ca.2002) from Thornhill, Ontario, Canada, just north of Toronto. Canada and the "human experience" are a common theme in Früvous songs.

The band formed in 1990 when Jian Ghomeshi and Murray Foster, former classmates at the local Thornlea Secondary School, and participants in the school choir, joined with Mike Ford and David Matheson to busk in Toronto. They drew unusually large crowds, and, eventually, the attention of Toronto-based CBC Radio One, which commissioned songs about political and local issues for the radio show Later the Same Day. Some songs written for the show later appeared on their albums; these songs include "The Gulf War Song" and "My Baby Loves a Bunch of Authors", which was written for a Toronto authors' festival.

They cut a six-song demo tape in 1992, and their first major-label album was released the next year. Its single, "King of Spain", was only the second Canadian independent #1 hit in that country's history. (Torontonians Barenaked Ladies were first by a few months, with 1991's "Be My Yoko Ono".) Shortly after, they embarked on a touring schedule that continued, practically without stopping except to record new material, until the end of 2000.

The band reminds some listeners of the Beatles (which Früvous happily acknowledges) or They Might Be Giants. They sometimes sang with little or no accompaniment in a style similar to contemporary a cappella, drawing comparisons to Da Vinci's Notebook. A number of their songs also express the band's progressive political leanings ("The Greatest Man in America", for instance, harps on Rush Limbaugh, and "Big Fish" lambasts former Premier of Ontario Mike Harris). Früvous was also known for their close relationship with their fans and their live shows, which were full of political commentary, humorous banter, and musical improvisation.

The band gave its last concert in 2000 (excepting performances at annual fan conventions in 2001 and 2002), and the last update to the band's website occurred in 2002. As of fall 2005, Jian Ghomeshi was hosting National Playlist on CBC Radio One, and Murray Foster was the bass player for Great Big Sea. On September 5, 2005, Ford, Foster and Ghomeshi performed on CIUT, the University of Toronto's campus radio station, as part of the morning program Toronto Unlocked (an ad hoc program produced and hosted by locked-out CBC Radio One staff).

SAHARA
Moxy Früvous Lyrics

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Do you recall those days of Sahara?
Shade was our ecstasy.
Pride was strong, friends true
As the day was long,
Night winds blew cool and free.

Our finest hours lived in the Sahara
Many centuries ago.

Was it just last year?
Now there's no more good whiskey here.
Not a trace of hidey-ho.

I was never alone at the Sahara.
How they'd gather to hear me speak,
They said my eyes held fire,
But a gold empire burned to the ground,
The world unwound, and left me here a freak.

Bring back those days
Of that blessed Sahara.
Oh, the sin, the sabotage.
We had no fears,
The band played for a thousand years,
Or was it just a mirage?

Or was it just a mirage?

Overall Meaning

The song Sahara by Moxy Früvous reminisces about the good old days spent in the Sahara desert. The lyrics start off by discussing how the shade provided during those days was their ecstasy, and pride was strong, friends were true, and the night winds were cool and free. The imagery creates a nostalgic feeling of happiness and joy.

The second verse talks about how their finest hours were spent in the Sahara, centuries ago. It questions whether it was just last year and how now there is no more good whiskey or hidey-ho to be found. The lyrics suggest a certain longing and a feeling of loss.

The third verse is about the singer never being alone in the Sahara. People would gather to hear the singer speak, and they believed that the singer's eyes held fire. However, despite this belief, the gold empire burned to the ground and the world unwound, leaving the singer alone as a freak.

In the final verse, the lyrics talk about bringing back the days of the blessed Sahara. It relays the sin and sabotage experienced during those days but highlights how there were no fears and how the band played for a thousand years. It questions whether it was just a mirage and whether those memories were real or just an illusion.

Overall, the song focuses on the bittersweet memories of happy times spent in the Sahara, which the lyrics suggest may have been long gone and may have been an illusion or a mirage.

Line by Line Meaning

Do you recall those days of Sahara?
Do you remember the times we spent in Sahara?

Shade was our ecstasy.
We relished the coolness of the shade.

Pride was strong, friends true
We were confident, had loyal friends by our side.

As the day was long,
We had plenty of time to enjoy ourselves.

Night winds blew cool and free.
The wind at night was refreshing and unobstructed.

Our finest hours lived in the Sahara
We had our best times in the Sahara.

Many centuries ago.
It happened long ago.

Was it just last year?
Was it not too long ago?

Now there's no more good whiskey here.
Good whiskey is in short supply now.

Not a trace of hidey-ho.
There's no sign of fun or excitement around here.

I was never alone at the Sahara.
I always had company in the Sahara.