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.
The Day
Murder By Death Lyrics
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And the lepers left their caves
All the rattlesnakes came down from the mountains
And the kings all became slaves
On the day that my lord came
The fire split the beams
The wall's coming down
The day my lord came
The tears filled up my eyes
So the curtain has been drawn
To lay to waste this land (to me)
It's like the beauty of the breakin' of the dawn
And as a black hand swept across the earth
I know that the day came
When the fish float on the water with their bellies up
I know, I know, that the day came
All the rattlesnakes came down from the mountains
And the kings all became slaves
The trees gave up their roots from the earth
And the lepers left their caves
On the day that my lord came
The coyotes left their dens
The horses left their stables
And they bowed down to the ground
Every creature that was able
A blanket of moss will cover the earth
And I'll know that the day came
It's the changing of the guards
Time to start anew
The old gods have all failed
And their succesors too
My king, my king will wipe the slate clean
Houses become tombs
My king, my king will take what grows
In every woman's womb
Make it his own
My king he is displeased
To be forgotten and alone
And the ones who came before
Well the valley gets filled with their bones
I am a storm brewing up in the east, the west
From every direction at once
The lyrics of the song "The Day" by Murder by Death are a representation of the end of times. The imagery painted is that of a world in chaos, where even the elements are wreaking havoc. The arrival of the lord is indicated by the trees giving up their roots, and lepers leaving their caves. The kings became slaves, and even the animals bowed down to the ground. The day of judgment is upon us, and no one is exempt from its wrath.
The singer notes that the day of the lord was a time of transformation. The coyotes left their dens, and the horses left their stables. The old gods have all failed, and their successors too. The world as people knew it is no more, and the new king is wiping the slate clean. Houses become tombs, and everything growing in every woman's womb becomes his own. The singer notes that he is a storm brewing up in the east, west, and every direction, indicating that even he cannot escape the impending doom.
Line by Line Meaning
The trees gave up their roots
The trees uprooted themselves
And the lepers left their caves
The lepers emerged from their caves
All the rattlesnakes came down from the mountains
The rattlesnakes descended from the mountains
And the kings all became slaves
The kings were enslaved
On the day that my lord came
The day my lord arrived
The fire split the beams
The fire caused the beams to break
The wall's coming down
The wall is falling
The day my lord came
The day my lord arrived
The tears filled up my eyes
I cried
So the curtain has been drawn
Something has ended
To lay to waste this land (to me)
To destroy this land (in my opinion)
It's like the beauty of the breakin' of the dawn
It is beautiful, like a sunrise
And as a black hand swept across the earth
As destruction ravaged the world
I know that the day came
I know the day arrived
When the fish float on the water with their bellies up
When fish die and float upside down on water
I know, I know, that the day came
I know the day arrived, I'm certain
The coyotes left their dens
The coyotes abandoned their dens
The horses left their stables
The horses left their stalls
And they bowed down to the ground
And they prostrated themselves
Every creature that was able
Every able-bodied creature
A blanket of moss will cover the earth
The earth will be covered with moss
And I'll know that the day came
And I'll know the day arrived
It's the changing of the guards
A regime change
Time to start anew
Time for a fresh start
The old gods have all failed
The old gods have been unsuccessful
And their successors too
And their replacements as well
My king, my king will wipe the slate clean
My king will forgive past mistakes
Houses become tombs
Houses will become graves
My king, my king will take what grows
My king will take the fruits of the earth
In every woman's womb
In every woman's belly
Make it his own
Claim it as his possession
My king he is displeased
My king is angry
To be forgotten and alone
To be ignored and lonely
And the ones who came before
And those who existed previously
Well the valley gets filled with their bones
Their bones will fill the valley
I am a storm brewing up in the east, the west
I am a powerful force building up on all sides
Contributed by Cole M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.