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.
Youth
NoMeansNo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In your heart the red blood flows
Down like a river to the sea it goes
Youth, I see
Through all the trouble, the work and pain
You laugh like a child in a warm spring rain
Youth, I See
And the lapping of the tide is the only sound
The jungle lurks where the firelight fades
The stars are swimming in a moonlit bay
Women cry in their native tongue
Singing of the days when they were young
Hear the black eyed women pray
For all their lovers who have sailed away
On the altar the incense burns
For all the men who will never return
Youth, I see
Muscles ripple across your back
As you grab the rope and hold it fast
Youth, I see
Laughing faces at the end of the day
Hands that clap as the music plays
Youth, I See
See the temple on the hill above
A black bird circling a nesting dove
See the monks in their crimson robes
Walking single file down a dusty road
In the market the hawkers sing
Of aromatic spice and copper rings
Dice are thrown and rattling fall
At the feet of the soldiers on er) ancient wall
And the bones of those who climbed and died
Lie gleaming in the sand on the other side
See all of them dream
Youth, I see
A clear horizon the colour of lead
The sea is green like a blanket spread
Over thee
On the sheltering shore the breezes sing
But here the wind like a big bell rings
Over thee
A white-haired King with a withered hand
Bowed to the youth from a foreign land
Behind the curtains a young girl sighed
Basking in the light of his deep, blue eyes
The King decreed that the youth should know
Alt the secrets of his treasure trove
But never again would he roam free
From that kingdom he would never leave
The young man looked, the young man learned
And never to his home did he return
See all of them dream
The song "Youth" by NoMeansNo is a reflective and wistful ode to youth and its fleeting nature. The first stanza describes the energy and vitality of youth, with the imagery of blood flowing like a river and the joy of laughter in warm spring rain. The second stanza seems to shift to a different time and place, with mentions of the heavens, the jungle, and women singing in their native tongue. The scene is one of mourning and loss, with incense burning for those who will never return. The third stanza brings us back to a different view of youth, with muscles rippling and music playing. The final stanza is a poetic contemplation of the passage of time, of youth slipping away like the horizon turning to lead.
The song seems to be suggesting that while youth may be fleeting, it remains an eternal source of inspiration and hope. The various scenes and images painted in the song showcase different aspects of youth, from its joyful moments to its darker reflections. The song does not offer any answers or solutions to the impermanence of youth, but rather acknowledges it as a part of the human experience.
Line by Line Meaning
Youth, I see
I see youthfulness in you
In your heart red blood flows
Your heart pumps red blood throughout your body
Down like a river to the sea it goes
The blood flows through your veins similar to water flowing in a river until it reaches the sea-like organs
Through all the trouble, the work, and pain, you laugh like a child in a warm spring rain
Despite all the challenges, hardships, and physical agony, you still find laughter and joy like a carefree child playing in the warm rain of spring
From the heavens, the moon looks down
The moon is visible from the skies
And the lapping of the tide is the only sound
The only audible sound is the movement of the waves
The jungle lurks where the firelight fades
The darkness of the jungle blends in where light disappears
The stars are swimming in a moonlit bay
The stars in the sky create an image of them swimming while reflecting on the bay illuminated by the moonlight
Women cry in their native tongue
Women weep in their language
Singing of the days when they were young
Singing about their childhood days
Hear the black-eyed women pray
The women with black eyes are offering prayers
For all their lovers who have sailed away
For their lovers that have set sail
On the altar, the incense burns
Incense is burning on the sacrificial table
For all the men who will never return
For all the men that won't come back
Muscles ripple across your back
Your back muscles are visible
As you grab the rope and hold it fast
You hold the rope tightly
Laughing faces at the end of the day
People are smiling at the end of the day
Hands that clap as the music plays
People are clapping while music plays
See the temple on the hill above
There is a temple located on the hilltop
A black bird circling a nesting dove
A black bird is flying in circles around a dove's nest
See the monks in their crimson robes
The monks are wearing crimson robes
Walking single file down a dusty road
The monks are walking alone on a dirty street
In the market, the hawkers sing
Street vendors are singing in the marketplace
Of aromatic spice and copper rings
Selling aromatic spices and copper-made rings
Dice are thrown and rattling fall
Throwing dices that make noise while falling to the ground
At the feet of the soldiers on ancient wall
Dices are being thrown at the feet of the soldiers on the old wall
And the bones of those who climbed and died
Human remains of the people who climbed and eventually died
Lie gleaming in the sand on the other side
Their bones are shining on the other side of the wall on the sand
A clear horizon the color of lead
The horizon appears gray and lead-colored
The sea is green like a blanket spread
The ocean has a green appearance, similar to a draped blanket
On the sheltering shore the breezes sing
The winds make music along the calming shoreline
But here the wind like a big bell rings over thee
The wind sounds like a big bell chiming here
A white-haired King with a withered hand bowed to the youth from a foreign land
An aged King with aged hands greeted the young traveler from another land with respect
Behind the curtains, a young girl sighed
A young girl sighed from behind the curtains
Basking in the light of his deep, blue eyes
She is enjoying the deep-blue eye gazes of the King
The King decreed that the youth should know
The King ordered that the youth must learn the secrets of the kingdom
All the secrets of his treasure trove
All the concealed and cherished secrets of his kingdom's wealth
But never again would he roam free
The youngster will never be free to wander again
From that kingdom he would never leave
He is bound to stay in that kingdom for the rest of his life
The young man looked, the young man learned
The young man observed and took lessons
And never to his home did he return
He never went back home
See all of them dream
All of these people are living in their dreams
Contributed by Allison T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@bodchristie
Progressive. Absolutely fantastic!
@egvoidl01
brilliant narrative, and the last verse could tear your heart out. never a better expression of "loss of innocence"
@spencer2914
this song is way under rated........
@BoredomEnsues
I like how this album has a Medieval/Renaissance vibe to it.
@kreddibletrout4888
maybe that's why Tom's wearing a jester costume on the cover.
@balzonurchin
I fucking love this song.
@hammies.
beautiful, beautiful song
@TheClimbBMX
I've witnessed NoMeansNo several times here on Vancouver Island Canada. Including the "Ramones Tour", in Cumberland BC one December with snow. My son witnessed the live show with me.
@hammies.
that's a great memory
@HermanWaldorf
I think I should re-discover this album. I did not like it very much at that time, but perhaps the time is now :D