The band are best known for their singles "5 O'Clock" and "Saturday", and for their covers of Spirit of the West's "Home For a Rest" and AC/DC's "Long Way to the Top". In addition, the band recently hit it big with the single "Lost," which was featured in the promos for the NBC television show The Black Donnelly's. Their single Animal was featured on the soundtrack of the hit video games Burnout 3: Takedown and MX vs. ATV Unleashed.
The band's name comes from the occupation of the Campbell brothers prior to forming the band; they were mixing mortar and carrying bricks for bricklayers. The band was influenced by traditional Scottish music as well as hard rock groups like AC/DC. The Mudmen have opened for many bands, including ZZ Top, Tool, Dropkick Murphys and Bowling for Soup as well as fellow Canadians Nickelback, Sum 41 and The Guess Who.
The Mudmen have toured in Canada, the United States and Great Britain. The band has three albums, Mudmen (2000), Overrated (2003) and Defending the Kingdom (2005). Six Mudmen videos have been produced and shown on MuchMusic. As of 2005, the band is touring throughout Canada and are have released their third (October 11th) album Defending the Kingdom and are working on a live DVD.
Home for a Rest
Mudmen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So we stayed in the bars along Charring cross road
We never saw nothing but brass taps and oak
Kept a shine on the bar with the sleeves of our coats
You'll have to excuse me I'm not at my best
I've been gone for a month, I been drunk since I left
These so called vacations won't soon be my death
Easton station the train journeyed north
And in the buffet car we lurched back and forth
Passed odd crooked dykes and through Yorkshire's green field
We where flung into dance as the train jigged and reeled
Chorus
By the light of the moon she'd drift through the streets
A rare old perfume so seductive and sweet
She teased us and flirt as the pubs all closed down
Then walk us on home and deny us a round
Chorus
The gas heater's empty, it's damp as a tomb
And the spirits we drank are now ghosts in the room
I'm knackered again, come on sleep take me soon
And don't lift up my head till the twelve bells of noon
Chorus out
The song "Home For A Rest" by Mudmen is about the experiences of a group of friends on a holiday in London. The opening lines of the song set the scene of a cold December in London, wherein the friends spent most of their time drinking in bars along Charring Cross Road. The lyrics describe the environment they were in with "nothing but brass taps and oak". The friends used the sleeves of their coats to keep the bar shiny, suggesting that they had been there a long time. The first verse sets the melancholic tone of the song, portraying a group of individuals who are feeling lonely and homesick.
The song's chorus conveys the singer's exhaustion from being drunk for the entire duration of their so-called vacation. The lyrics "I'm so sick of the drink, I need home for a rest" expresses their desire to return home and recover from the drinking binge. The second verse describes their journey from Easton station to the north of England. As the train travels, the travelers sway to and fro in the buffet cart, and the train jigs and reels, triggering their wild and spontaneous dance moves. The imagery here is of companionship and camaraderie amongst friends on their journey back home.
The third verse of the song introduces a mysterious female character who leads them back home in the middle of the night. The charm of the “rare old perfume” that she wore kept them spellbound as she flirted and teased them. It's worth noting that this description portrays the female character as nothing more than a fleeting encounter for the drunken travelers, and her presence in the song as a passing reference hints towards the transient nature of life. The final verse describes their return home to a cold and damp house. The spirit they drank was now a ghost in the room, and the only thing left for them was to get some sleep.
Line by Line Meaning
We arrived in December and London was cold
We got to London in December and it was really cold outside
So we stayed in the bars along Charring cross road
To avoid the cold, we spent most of our time in the bars on Charring Cross Road
We never saw nothing but brass taps and oak
All we ever saw in the bars were brass taps and oak furnishings
Kept a shine on the bar with the sleeves of our coats
We used the sleeves of our coats to polish the bar
You'll have to excuse me I'm not at my best
Sorry if I'm not myself right now
I've been gone for a month, I been drunk since I left
I've been away for a month and drinking nonstop since I left
These so called vacations won't soon be my death
These trips that people call vacations won't kill me anytime soon
I'm so sick of the drink, I need home for a rest
I'm really tired of drinking and just want to go home and rest
Easton station the train journeyed north
We took a train from Easton Station going north
And in the buffet car we lurched back and forth
We were swaying back and forth in the train's buffet car
Passed odd crooked dykes and through Yorkshire's green field
We saw some strange crooked structures and passed by green fields in Yorkshire
We where flung into dance as the train jigged and reeled
The moving train caused us to start dancing uncontrollably
By the light of the moon she'd drift through the streets
A woman would wander the streets under the moonlight
A rare old perfume so seductive and sweet
She smelled really good and it was enticing
She teased us and flirt as the pubs all closed down
She would flirt with us as the pubs were closing
Then walk us on home and deny us a round
She would walk us home but wouldn't let us stop for another drink
The gas heater's empty, it's damp as a tomb
The gas heater is out of fuel and the room is damp
And the spirits we drank are now ghosts in the room
The alcohol we drank is now just a distant memory in the room
I'm knackered again, come on sleep take me soon
I'm really tired again and I hope I fall asleep soon
And don't lift up my head till the twelve bells of noon
And don't wake me up until it's noon
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@panwolodyjowski
That's a great band. And this is their best song.
@Redsmash28
This song is really too short! :( But I love it!
@iheartthesmalls
as a fan of Spirit of the West, I like your version :)
@Misiogry
if you don't like it... just volume it UP!!! :D ... so awesome with those bagipes - you just CAN'T listen it quiet...
@MountieFromHell
KILLER BAGPIPE SOLO
@zucchini4067
Yeah I have to agree with you, there needs to be a Celtic sound in the song.
@opnsrc
Fukkin love it!! being a glencoe boy... it don't get much better... I heard my ol neighbour Don taught these boys to play the bagpipes :)
@portugal82
YEAHHH BAGPIPE'S love it.
@Sutherland1987
They played this in Cambridge for the Fusiliers. Best New Years ever!
@neilchair
Fuckin' St. Mary's Ontario!! Never would have thought you'd turn out a band like this. Get back to Goderich when I'm home!!