Murder by Death released its first studio album (Like the Exorcist, but More Breakdancing) in 2002, and has since released seven more studio albums. The band's current lineup consists of two founding members, Adam Turla and Sarah Balliet. Balliet plays cello for the band, an instrument that has been present consistently throughout the band's evolution. Murder by Death's 2012 album Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon reached #76 on the Billboard 200, making it the band's most successful release.
Murder by Death was formed in 2000 in Bloomington, Indiana, by guitarist Adam Turla, cellist Sarah Balliet, percussionist Alexander Schrodt, keyboardist Vincent Edwards, and bassist Matt Armstrong. One of the group's first shows was at the Channing-Murray Foundation's cafe The Red Herring in Urbana, Illinois, with former American Football drummer Steve Lamos' solo project DMS. After the show, the head of the TEAM AV record label with which Lamos was working offered to help Turla and his bandmates secure additional shows. Around the same time the band met Thursday vocalist, Geoff Rickly, when the two bands played on the same bill at a gig in their hometown of Bloomington. Rickly introduced the band, known at the time as Little Joe Gould, to his friend Alex Saavedra (owner of Eyeball Records), who also took an interest in the band. In 2001 the band self-released the eponymous Little Joe Gould EP and early the next year contributed the song "I'm Afraid of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" to the TEAM AV compilation Foreign Nationals. A short time later the group changed their name to Murder By Death, which they felt better represented their sound.
Murder by Death plays a range of music including instrumentals, rock and alt.country. The band uses cello (with an electric cello for live shows) to create a gothic sound with occasional Western references.
The band often arranges themes such as whiskey and the Devil into concept albums. For example, the band's second album, Who Will Survive, and What Will Be Left of Them?, describes a story in which the Devil wages war against a small village in Mexico.
Pillars Of Salt
Murder By Death Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They litter the ground
Grass will never grow near this town again
The frames on the walls
Are crooked and empty
These shoulders bend low towards the dirt
To get us out of this place
But I am falling apart
With each step I take
And as the pieces fall
I count them all.
The lyrics to Murder by Death's song Pillars Of Salt paint a picture of a desolate, deserted town where something terrible has occurred. The missing fingers create a morbid image, and the fact that they "litter the ground" suggests a violent event. The line "grass will never grow near this town again" adds to the eerie atmosphere and reinforces the idea that something unforgivable has taken place.
The next verse paints a bleak picture of the town's remaining inhabitants. The frames on the walls are "crooked and empty," which could suggest that people have fled or been forcibly removed. The image of shoulders "bending low towards the dirt" implies that the remaining people are broken, defeated, and have little hope of survival.
The chorus adds an intriguing layer to the story. The singer has made a deal to leave the town, but it's clear from the following lines that things are not going according to plan. The line "I am falling apart/with each step I take" suggests that the singer is physically deteriorating, perhaps due to the trauma of what they've experienced. The final line, "and as the pieces fall/I count them all," could suggest that the singer is counting the body parts that have fallen off or that their mind is falling apart, and they are keeping track of what's left.
Line by Line Meaning
Our fingers are missing
We have lost something vital and necessary for survival.
They litter the ground
The missing fingers have been discarded and are no longer useful.
Grass will never grow near this town again
This town has been cursed and destroyed beyond repair.
The frames on the walls
The structures and foundations that were once stable are now crooked and broken.
Are crooked and empty
Meaning and purpose have been lost, leaving behind only emptiness and imbalance.
These shoulders bend low towards the dirt
The weight of the world is heavy and oppressive, causing one to bow down under its pressure.
I made a deal
I made a bargain or agreement to achieve a desired outcome.
To get us out of this place
The intention was to leave and escape from this terrible place.
But I am falling apart
Despite the deal, things are not turning out as planned and I am breaking down emotionally and mentally.
With each step I take
Progress is being made, but it is causing further damage to myself.
And as the pieces fall
As I continue to fall apart, I am losing more parts of myself.
I count them all.
I am acutely aware of every loss and every failure.
Lyrics ยฉ Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: MATTHEW TAYLOR ARMSTRONG, SARAH JACKSON BALLIET, ADAM MICHAEL TURLA, ALEXANDER RANDOLPH SCHRODT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Shane Zehr
I used to get so high and blast this album freshman year of college.. and even the grunge kids could appreciate it... every album they make is better than the last.. but you cant explain that to people who havent seen them play
Alex Zajacek
Saw MBD live in a tiny bar once, greatest concert ive ever seen. This was back in 2003 in Wisconsin. Still love this band.
thomas orley
This song very much reminds me of "Tears of Laughter" by Diary of Dreams.
I am by no means putting MBD down, I am quite glad to be reminded of DoD. It just took me quite the while to track down the above mentioned song, the memory was just buried under a lot of years.
No Nickels
Memory buried under a lot of years. That struck man.
Michael Cummings
Favorite song of all time
Hacer ลahin
๐๐๐๐๐ง
Seth Stout
Great, now I have to go re-read Colour out of Space.
brian doan
I agree...it really does remind me of Colour Out of Space...
SPNKr
thank god for pandora.
James Bradshaw
Anyone els getting a david bowie space oddity vibe?