The band have never had, or have ever seemed to pursue, strong mainstream success, but they do have a devoted underground following in North America and Europe. They tour fairly often on both continents and maintain a dedicated fan base.
The band was formed in 1979 by brothers Rob Wright (bass guitar and vocals) and John Wright (drum set, keyboards and vocals). Their name derives from an anti-date rape slogan. For their first four years the duo's music would seem to be influenced as much by jazz and progressive rock as punk rock. The musical press described their earliest recordings as "Devo on a jazz trip, Motörhead after art school, or Wire on psychotic steroids." NoMeansNo have been credited with being an influence on, and perhaps even the genesis of, math rock.
The brothers Wright began recording as a two-piece in their parents' basement in 1979. These recordings, heard on their first two self-released 7"s, consisted of full rock band arrangements and had a new wave, warped-pop sound, different from subsequent recordings. When, in the early 1980s, the duo began gigging simply with bass, drums and vocals, the present form of their distinct sound slowly took shape. The songs they played in this period are documented on the "Mama" LP (re-released in 2004 on their own Wrong Records.)
In 1984, they added Andy Kerr (who played with John Wright in Infamous Scientists) on guitar and vocals. Kerr preferred pseudonymity and used such pseudonyms as "Buttercup" or "None-Of-Your-Fucking-Business". He brought a distinct hardcore punk edge to the group, and stayed until 1991. He is often erroneously credited for penning the lyrics of NoMeansNo songs on which he sang, perhaps due to deliberately vague liner notes and frequent vocal moonlighting (Kerr sings lead or co-lead vocals on nearly half the songs on Wrong for example). Kerr's vocals were a necessity for a period of time in the 1980s when Rob Wright was recovering from nodules on his vocal cords. While Rob Wright is the band's lyricist and main songwriter, all members have contributed songs to NoMeansNo records, and nearly all their material is credited to the entire band.
Wrong is widely considered the band's best and most representative record ("The playing is incredibly skilled, with the Wright brothers effortlessly shifting tempos and time signatures and Kerr's razor sharp lyrics clicking right into place").
After Kerr's departure, the Wright brothers recorded "Why Do They Call Me Mr. Happy?" as a duo. They subsequently recruited guitarist Tom Holliston from Showbusiness Giants and The Hanson Brothers, and have continued touring and releasing records, including "Worldhood of the World (as such)", "Dance of the Headless Bourgeoisie", "One", and most recently, "All Roads Lead to Ausfahrt" which was released on August 22, 2006. The album was released by AntAcidAudio in the United States and Southern Records in Europe.
The album "One", released in 2000, featured "two stunning covers that only make sense coming from NoMeansNo": a slow stoner rock-styled version of The Ramones' Beat On The Brat, and rather authentic fifteen-minute version of Miles Davis' Bitches Brew, (complete with electric piano and congas) featuring lyrics by Rob.
NoMeansNo initially released records with seminal punk rock record label Alternative Tentacles. This relationship ended in 2002. The band has since been reissuing old albums through Southern Records under their own Wrong Records imprint.
Even their earliest recordings demonstrate impressive instrumental technique ("some of the most complex instrumentation you're ever likely to find in punk rock"). Jazz has been an influence on the group; Rob's basslines have a loping, melodic quality often reminiscent of Charles Mingus, and John's drumming sometimes sounds a bit like Elvin Jones or Art Blakey.
NoMeansNo's output features a seemingly endless flow of "Wright/wrong/right" puns, and significant measures of black humour, with "pointedly warped lyrics", such as on "Dad" from Sex Mad. The song was a minor college radio hit, and has been called "a bit chilling, even though it's spit out at slam-pit's pace". The first person narrator details a rampaging father's physical and sexual abuse, ending with what's been called a "killer end touch—the baldly delivered line 'I'm seriously considering leaving home.'". One critic (while noting the group's "savage intelligence") suggests that NoMeansNo might well be "the secret influence on a fair amount of both early-'90s math rock and emo, what with the barely controlled fervour of the singing and the sudden jerks back and forth in the rhythm section."
Equally striking about the band's back catalogue is their ability to jump from style to style and still maintain their musical identity. They leap from dirge to thrash, complication to simplicity, discordant to melodic and still sound like themselves.
John's drumming style has been mentioned as an influence to others, including Dave Grohl.
NoMeansNo's alter ego is TheHanson Brothers, a quartet with John singing and different drummer. Nearly a Ramones tribute band, the Hanson Brothers play fun punk rock as a mock group of backward Canadian ice hockey fans. The lyrics centre on ice hockey, beer and girls. The name comes from characters in the 1977 George Roy Hill film Slap Shot, starring Paul Newman.
Rob Wright's alter ego is Mr. Wrong, who dresses as an authoritarian priest and often poses with a shotgun. Mr. Wrong is simply Wright on bass and vocals with no other instrumentation. It is rumoured that Wright also plays upright bass in a traditional jazz band who play standards, but he keeps this side of his life fuzzy in interviews.
Tom Holliston released several albums with his band Showbusiness Giants as well as three solo albums.
Andy Kerr and John Wright played in the early 1980s in the Infamous Scientists. Kerr, after leaving NoMeansNo, released a solo CD and collaborated with Victoria musician Scott Henderson in Hissanol. Kerr most recently has begun a duo called Two Pin Din in the Netherlands.
Joyful Reunion
NoMeansNo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your short sighted expectations
Stop complaining, I don't care
(I told you the way it had to be)
I will fuck with you
If you try to fuck with me
(So don't try it)
Look at this face, I'm the one you love
The white light of truth from heaven above
An angel of shit, fucker
It's no road to ruin
Not a final solution
Just the grand execution
Of our Joyfull Reunion
You squeezed the world in the palm of your hand
But when it lay in pieces
Did you give a damn?
(Why should you?)
Don't play dumb and don't ask why
With a blink of my eye you are cut and dried
And hung up â??bye, bye
It was here, where did it go
I don't know, I don't know
Anything any more
In this ball of confusion
Through these painfull convolutions
There's no clear-cut solution
Just a Joyful Reunion
What are you trying to escape
Your name calls me
Your mirror is my gate
(smash, through the looking glass, fucker)
I am your hated enemy
The friend that makes you start again
Just when you thought it was finally the end
Hit me hard, tear me apart
To rise again is my special art
You can't kill me
With all the things that cut me down
Shake, brake, mutilate â?? grind me into the ground
I'll grow up again with first rain, just the same
We will raze the institutions
Make all new resolutions
Rebuild constitution
For that Joyful Reunion
The song “Joyful Reunion” by NoMeansNo begins with the rejection of the person’s explanation and expectations. The other person is complaining, but the singer doesn’t care. The singer tells them the way it has to be done and threatens to fight with them if they try to mess with them. The singer considers them an angel of shit and the white light of truth from heaven above. There’s no road to ruin, no final solution, just the grand execution of their joyful reunion. The singer questions the other person about their tendency to hold the world in their hand but not give a damn when it lays in pieces. The singer doesn’t know anything anymore than this ball of confusion, through these painful convolution there’s no clear-cut solution, just a joyful reunion.
The song juxtaposes the conflicting ideas of unity and division, conflict and reconciliation, sorrow and joy, anger and forgiveness. The lyrics are rich with metaphors and allusions, creating a complex and layered meaning that requires interpretation. The song also challenges the idea that things must fall apart, but the joy of reunification offers hope for resilience and new beginnings.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't buy your explanations
I do not believe what you are telling me
Your short sighted expectations
Your goals are not far-reaching enough
Stop complaining, I don't care
Please refrain from whining, I am indifferent
(I told you the way it had to be)
(I have already explained what will happen)
I will fuck with you
I will mess with you
If you try to fuck with me
If you try to play games with me
(So don't try it)
(So don't bother trying)
Look at this face, I'm the one you love
I am the one you are committed to
The white light of truth from heaven above
The pure, undeniable truth
An angel of shit, fucker
A messenger of unpleasantness
It's no road to ruin
It is not a hopeless outcome
Not a final solution
It is not the ultimate answer
Just the grand execution
Only the planned course of action
Of our Joyfull Reunion
For our happy reunion
You squeezed the world in the palm of your hand
You held everything in your control
But when it lay in pieces
But when it was broken and shattered
Did you give a damn?
Did you care at all?
(Why should you?)
(You had no reason to care)
Don't play dumb and don't ask why
Do not feign ignorance and do not question
With a blink of my eye you are cut and dried
You are immediately judged and dealt with
And hung up â??bye, bye
And sent away permanently
It was here, where did it go
It was present, where did it disappear to
I don't know, I don't know
I have no information to provide
Anything any more
Nothing at all
In this ball of confusion
During this state of chaos
Through these painfull convolutions
Through these difficult and complex situations
There's no clear-cut solution
There is no straightforward answer
Just a Joyful Reunion
Only a happy gathering
What are you trying to escape
What are you trying to avoid
Your name calls me
Your identity calls out to me
Your mirror is my gate
Your reflection is my entry point
(smash, through the looking glass, fucker)
(shatter the mirror, go beyond appearances, you unpleasant person)
I am your hated enemy
I am the person you loathe
The friend that makes you start again
The person who encourages a new beginning
Just when you thought it was finally the end
Right when you thought it was all over
Hit me hard, tear me apart
Assail me, destroy me completely
To rise again is my special art
To recover and be reborn is my unique ability
You can't kill me
You cannot take my life
With all the things that cut me down
Despite all events that have weakened me
Shake, brake, mutilate â?? grind me into the ground
Shudder, smash, harm, and crush me mercilessly
I'll grow up again with first rain, just the same
I will revive again with the first rainfall, unchanged
We will raze the institutions
Together, we will destroy the current system
Make all new resolutions
Create new decisions
Rebuild constitution
Establish a new system of law and governance
For that Joyful Reunion
For a future happy gathering
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mirekpansky1244
I don't buy your explanations
Your short sighted expectations
Stop complaining, I don't care
(I told you the way it had to be)
I will fuck with you
If you try to fuck with me
(So don't try it)
Look at this face, i'm the one you love
The white light of truth from heaven above
An angel of shit, fucker
It's no road to ruin
Not a final solution
Just the grand execution
Of our Joyfull Reunion
You squeezed the world in the palm of your hand
But when it lay in pieces
Did you give a damn?
(Why should you?)
Don't play dumb and don't ask why
With a blink of my eye you are cut and dried
And hung up -bye, bye
It was here, where did it go
I don't know, I don't know
Anything any more
In this ball of confusion
Through these painfull convolutions
There's no clear-cut solution
Just a Joyful Reunion
What are you trying to escape
Your name calls me
Your mirror is my gate
(smash, through the looking glass, fucker)
I am your hated enemy
The friend that makes you start again
Just when you thought it was finally the end
Hit me hard, tear me apart
To rise again is my special art
You can't kill me
With all the things that cut me down
Shake, brake, mutilate - grind me into the ground
I'll grow up again with first rain, just the same
We will raze the institutions
Make all new resolutions
Rebuild constitution
For that Joyful Reunion
@hcehfdkk
I don't buy your explanations
Your short sighted expectations
Stop complaining, I don't care
(I told you the way it had to be)
I will fuck with you
If you try to fuck with me
(So don't try it)
Look at this face, I'm the one you love
The white light of truth from heaven above
An angel of shit, fucker
It's no road to ruin
Not a final solution
Just the grand execution
Of our Joyfull Reunion
You squeezed the world in the palm of your hand
But when it lay in pieces
Did you give a damn?
(Why should you?)
Don't play dumb and don't ask why
With a blink of my eye you are cut and dried
And hung up -bye, bye
It was here, where did it go
I don't know, I don't know
Anything any more
In this ball of confusion
Through these painfull convolutions
There's no clear-cut solution
Just a Joyful Reunion
What are you trying to escape
Your name calls me
Your mirror is my gate
(Smash, through the looking glass, fucker)
I am your hated enemy
The friend that makes you start again
Just when you thought it was finally the end
Hit me hard, tear me apart
To rise again is my special art
You can't kill me
With all the things that cut me down
Shake, break, mutilate - grind me into the ground
I'll grow up again with first rain, just the same
We will raze the institutions
Make all new resolutions
Rebuild constitution
For that Joyful Reunion
@SharksInTheGenePool
One of their best songs, and I don't say that lightly, as they're all fucking awesome.
@davidgormley7990
That's the song they'll play at my funeral.
@francescotomasin8714
Mine too,long live David
@josephnapper6817
Changed my life. The vocal harmonies at the end blow me away every time. Every single time.
@exit747steve1
NOMEANSNO RULES. This song rules.
@seanleblancdualca
Aaaaigreed
@seanleblancdualca
<3
@nobodylivesherenow
Brilliant. I love how music changes your mood. I was so fucked off my car engine light came on tonight, and im piss fucking poor!!! The last thing I need. I am listening to this for the second time, and Im in a FUCKYAH mood now. Cheers for the upload. And YUS Nomeansno, a total constant in my life! Got me though some tough times all through my life!!!
@elwoodblues3095
Hope you're car is fixed, brother. If not, I'll help you fix it. We car punks take care of our own :)
@davidgormley7990
The greatest of all time.