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.
The World Wasn't Built in a Day
NoMeansNo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That everyone I knew had died that day
That my friends, co-workers and loved ones, had all just suddenly passed away
Well, there were drunken car crashes, airline disasters, and suicides that were unexplained
And as I drove past familiar scenes, streets and buildings that were a hundred times seen
As a wave of contentment washed over me, I wondered what this could possibly mean
As the sun spilled its warmth over the houses and trees
I felt that I was finally free
But you know what they say
The world wasn't built in a day
You know what they say
The world wasn't built in a day (no way)
I picked up a woman in the parking lot of the local Safeway
Well, I had seen her face a hundred times but I never knew her name
And as I drove her home she laughed and she sighed and the strain of the moment passed away
I explained how my father had died, how I had seen his body and never cried
She let her hand fall on my leg and there she let it stray
When I dropped her off she asked me up, I politely said I couldn't stay
And as she walked to the door, as those bags of groceries gently swayed
I turned the wheel and muttered to myself, "No way, man, no way"
(Chorus)
Sunset over the mountains and on the harbour that beneath them lay
In long shadows the traffic lights gleamed, red and green, they traced the way
Through a corridor of sidewalks, where people wandered at the end of their day
I drove to my space on the waterfront, picked up my guitar and started to play
Alone I sang for the people that I knew, for my friends and family, and for them I prayed
That no storm would come and sweep them up, that no winds would bear them away
I sang, "Your voice from my throat cries, your heart beats in my chest,
From my head stare your eyes, for you I live and die!
This loneliness is a lie! This loneliness is a lie!"
(Chorus)
The streets were empty as I drove home, the air was cool and the sky was dark
Streetlamps cast their mockery of light over ghostly shapes in an empty night
Should I believe in the things I see? Am I in you? Are you in me?
What should I believe? Tell me. What should I believe?
At home, on the porch, the wind in the trees murmured a background for my waking dream
Where I drive through a city with labyrinth streets, where no one walks, where no voices speak
Where empty towers above me rise toward an empty, starless sky
Like a cold wind washing over me, I saw the meaning of this dream
I felt that I was finally free, I felt that I was finally free
(Chorus)
You lie before me sleeping, your eyes flutter in a dream
Am I in you? Are you in me? What should I believe? What should I believe?
But you know what they say... you know what they say
The song "The World Wasn't Built in a Day" by NoMeansNo is a contemplative and surreal ode to mortality, the tenuous nature of life, and the search for meaning in the face of death. The lyrics describe a waking dream experienced by the singer as he drives around aimlessly. He imagines that everyone he knows has suddenly died in various tragic ways, leaving him alone in the world. However, instead of feeling despair or grief, he experiences a profound sense of peace and freedom.
The chorus of the song, "the world wasn't built in a day," seems to serve as a reminder that life is complex and unpredictable, with joys and sorrows intertwined. The verses are filled with vivid imagery, such as the woman picked up in a parking lot who offers solace, the sunset over the mountains, and the empty streets. The song ends with the singer questioning what he should believe, whether he is in others and they are in him, and the dreamy repetition of the phrase "you know what they say."
Line by Line Meaning
As I was driving around aimlessly, a waking dream occurred to me
The singer had a surreal experience while driving
That everyone I knew had died that day
In the dream, everyone the singer knew had died
That my friends, co-workers and loved ones, had all just suddenly passed away
The singer has lost everyone they care about in the dream
Well, there were drunken car crashes, airline disasters, and suicides that were unexplained
Various causes of death were imagined in the dream
And as I drove past familiar scenes, streets and buildings that were a hundred times seen
The artist drove through familiar places while experiencing the dream
As a wave of contentment washed over me, I wondered what this could possibly mean
Despite the circumstances, an acceptance of the situation is felt
As the sun spilled its warmth over the houses and trees
The sun brings light to the world
I felt that I was finally free
The artist experiences a newfound sense of freedom
But you know what they say
The artist shifts to a more cynical or skeptical tone
The world wasn't built in a day
The world is not a simple or quick creation
You know what they say
The singer reiterates their skeptical tone
The world wasn't built in a day (no way)
Continuing of the idea that the world is not simple or quick to comprehend
I picked up a woman in the parking lot of the local Safeway
The singer encounters a stranger
Well, I had seen her face a hundred times but I never knew her name
The singer recognized the woman but did not know her personally
And as I drove her home she laughed and she sighed and the strain of the moment passed away
The woman and narrator share a moment of ease and comfort
I explained how my father had died, how I had seen his body and never cried
The artist shares a personal experience with the woman
She let her hand fall on my leg and there she let it stray
The Woman provides a physical connection to the artist
When I dropped her off she asked me up, I politely said I couldn't stay
The woman asks the singer to come inside, but the singer declines
And as she walked to the door, as those bags of groceries gently swayed
The singer watches the woman as she walks back to her home
I turned the wheel and muttered to myself, 'No way, man, no way'
The artist has an internal conflict about accepting some kind of a deeper relationship
Sunset over the mountains and on the harbour that beneath them lay
Scene-setting of the sky and surroundings
In long shadows the traffic lights gleamed, red and green, they traced the way
A description of the traffic lights and their illumination
Through a corridor of sidewalks, where people wandered at the end of their day
A visual of the people walking towards home in the evening
I drove to my space on the waterfront, picked up my guitar and started to play
The artist goes to a secluded area where they can play music
Alone I sang for the people that I knew, for my friends and family, and for them I prayed
The singer output their emotions through song
That no storm would come and sweep them up, that no winds would bear them away
The singer wishes for the safety and well-being of their loved ones
I sang, 'Your voice from my throat cries, your heart beats in my chest,
Lyrics to a song the singer is playing
From my head stare your eyes, for you I live and die!
Further lyrics to the same song being played
This loneliness is a lie! This loneliness is a lie!'
Continuation of the previously mentioned song lyrics
(Chorus)
The repeating part of the song
The streets were empty as I drove home, the air was cool and the sky was dark
The narration returns to a personal account of the singer's experiences
Streetlamps cast their mockery of light over ghostly shapes in an empty night
Description of a visually empty environment
Should I believe in the things I see? Am I in you? Are you in me?
Existential questions asked by the artist
What should I believe? Tell me. What should I believe?
The artist continues to ask philosophical questions
At home, on the porch, the wind in the trees murmured a background for my waking dream
The singer returns to the dream-like state mentioned earlier that seemed to carry on in a waking state
Where I drive through a city with labyrinth streets, where no one walks, where no voices speak
A continuation of the dream-like state
Where empty towers above me rise toward an empty, starless sky
Further visuals of the dream
Like a cold wind washing over me, I saw the meaning of this dream
The singer receives realization or understanding from the dream that they have experienced
I felt that I was finally free, I felt that I was finally free
The singer reiterates their sense of freedom mentioned earlier, which has been cemented by their realization
(Chorus)
Repeating part of the song
You lie before me sleeping, your eyes flutter in a dream
The artist observes someone sleeping
Am I in you? Are you in me? What should I believe? What should I believe?
The singer continues to ask philosophical questions
But you know what they say... you know what they say
Continuation of the internal monologue of the singer questioning beliefs or the things they hear
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Chemical
I really do miss these guys.
John Tait
This is a great song about family life and the restless mind with it.
Simon McNamee
its about family and thats what makes it so great ya know
cramptonsound
that was a good gig .... as always the case with these fellows!