My Morning Jacket is a rock band which formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentuc… Read Full Bio ↴My Morning Jacket is a rock band which formed in 1998 in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The band consists of Jim James (vocals, guitar), Carl Broemel (guitar), "Two Tone" Tommy Blankenship (bass), Bo Koster (keyboards) and Patrick Hallahan (drums). The band is best known for their reverb-soaked sound and their enthusiastic live shows. My Morning Jacket is signed with ATO Records. The band's style is a blend of alternative, alt country, folk rock and psychedelic rock.

The band's moniker comes from a discarded coat James saw while walking through the remains of his favorite bar the morning after it burned down. The coat had the letters "MMJ" embroided on it. The band has released seven albums so far: "The Tennessee Fire" (1999), "At Dawn" (2001), "It Still Moves" (2003), "Z" (2005), "Evil Urges" (2008), "Circuital" (2011) & "The Waterfall" (2015). The band's breakthrough came when their 2003 single "One Big Holiday" became one of the most played songs on college radio that year. 2008's "I'm Amazed" was also a sizable hit, peaking at #6 on Billboard's Triple A (adult album alternative) Singles chart.

The Circuital songfacts reports that "Circuital" was recorded inside a church’s converted gymnasium in the band's hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. Said frontman Jim James: “I hate the phrase ‘going back to our roots’, but for this record we came home and made it in Kentucky. And it just felt a lot like it did when we were first starting out.”
James co-produced the record with Tucker Martine. The pair first worked together when James appeared on Laura Veirs ' album "July Flame" in 2010, which Martine, Veirs’ husband, also produced.

My Morning Jacket guest stared in the American Dad Episode "My Morning Straitjacket" where Stan Smith becomes obsessed with them and decides to become a groupie. The edisode was first aired November 22 2009.

At Dawn
My Morning Jacket Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

At dawn they ride again
They'll haul you out to the streets

They'll burn your papers and your empty trash cans
Beat this thought into your head
Singin' over and over again

"All your life is obscene!"

"Forget the papers, forget your musical dreams!"
But that's when my knife rises
Their life ends and my life starts again

Again!
Again!

Again!
Again!

Overall Meaning

At first glance, the lyrics to My Morning Jacket's "At Dawn" appear to tell a story of rebellion and resistance against an oppressive authority. The opening lines indicate that, as soon as the sun rises or "at dawn," a group of people will "ride again" and forcibly remove another from their home or place of dwelling. The ensuing actions of "burning papers and empty trash cans" seems to suggest that this person is being evicted from their residence or being deprived of their personal belongings. The group then proceeds to physically assault the individual with the repeated phrase of "All your life is obscene" and telling them to forget their ambitions.

However, the final lines reveal a twist in the narrative. The singer mentions their own knife rising, suggesting that they are a member of this violent group. This implies that the individual being assaulted is, in fact, the true target of the song. The phrase "Their life ends and my life starts again" indicates that the singer seeks to both reclaim their own life and express a violent dominance over the individual they are attacking. In essence, "At Dawn" is a commentary on how people can become oppressors themselves once they are given a hint of power and control.

Line by Line Meaning

At dawn they ride again
The oppressors come back at dawn to inflict harm.

They'll haul you out to the streets
They will take you out on the streets, leaving you exposed.

They'll burn your papers and your empty trash cans
They will destroy your belongings and things that define you.

Beat this thought into your head
They force you to think the same way they do.

Singin' over and over again
Repetition of the same message to further brainwash you.

"All your life is obscene!"
Your whole life is a disgrace to them.

"Forget the papers, forget your musical dreams!"
They urge you to give up your passions and aspirations.

But that's when my knife rises
The turning point when the artist stands up to the oppressors.

Their life ends and my life starts again
With the oppressors gone, the artist can finally live their life again.

Again!
Emphasizing the artist's rebirth and new beginning.

Again!
Repeating the message of starting over.