The group started as a friendship nearly two decades ago in Birmingham, Alabama. “Orenda and I have been friends for 16 years,” Lemoyne offers. “When Remy Zero was just starting and becoming successful in Birmingham, Orenda and her musical partner Maria were a 16-year-old songwriter duo that would just hang around. We quickly recognized a talent in them and knew they would do well.” Many years later, an artist-in-residence program in Omaha would provided them with unusual creative control, resulting in several recordings of experimental pop songs.
Fink had moved to Omaha because of her involvement in Azure Ray and their Omaha-based record company Saddle Creek Records. When the local Bemis Center of Contemporary Arts offered Fink a musical art residency, she accepted, and with no guidelines in place, Fink considered using her collection of field recordings (recorded in, among other places, Omaha, Haiti, and an Alabama church) as source material for loops and pop songs. Fink: “My idea was to go and collect field recordings from all over. Places that inspired me in a kind of atmospheric way”
Fink invited her old friend Lemoyne to participate in the art project and he soon took residence at the Center in Omaha, where their early meetings took place in the basement. Lemoyne explains: “We’d take samples of sounds of Haitian rituals, street noises or whatever, then cut them into loops. We’d arrange them into forms and write songs with them or, she might have started a song and I would take some of these sound materials to create bodies of music around it.”
As the project began to take shape, both recognized its commercial as well as artistic potential. “We didn’t know what would happen and that was afforded by the fact that it was an art residency – we had freedom,” Fink says. “Ultimately, it ended up working really well. We created a cohesive work.”
The result has been compared to the work of Angelo Badalamenti. “We listened to a lot of David Lynch soundtracks and 10cc,” confesses Fink. “I was looking for this balance of light and dark. You don’t know why it is dark because it is actually very light sounding. That is what I was going for,” she adds.
Their debut, produced by Michael Paterson (Beck, Notorious B.I.G., Ladytron) is characterized by drum loops, shifting from acoustic guitar and angelic vocals to plodding piano, tinkling bells and a mixture of unidentifiable voices.
Permanent Scar
O+S Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Leaves a permanent scar
On a beautiful heart?
A beautiful heart
What kind of wound
Leaves a permanent scar
On a beautiful heart?
Was it you and me
Or the summer breeze?
Sometimes I think
Day will close so sweet
And just as gone
Just as gone to me
What kind of wound
Leaves a permanent scar
On a beautiful heart?
A once beautiful heart
What kind of wound
Leaves a permanent scar
On a beautiful heart?
My beautiful heart
I wear a shroud
Heavy and true
That keeps me from
Loving anyone but you
In the secret hour
I face my darkest fear
Was it you and me
Or the summer breeze
Sometimes I think
Day will close so sweet
I wear a shroud
Heavy and true
In the secret hour
I face my darkest fear
Permanent scar
Permanent scar
Permanent scar
Permanent scar
Permanent scar
Permanent scar
The lyrics to O+S's song Permanent Scar are haunting and poignant, with the repeated question of what kind of wound leaves a permanent scar on a beautiful heart. The song speaks to the pain of love lost and the difficulty in moving on from that hurt. The singer wonders whether it was the relationship itself or just the passage of time that caused the wound that has left a permanent mark on her heart. She wears a shroud that keeps her from loving anyone but the one who caused the wound, and in the secret hour, she faces her darkest fear. The chorus repeats the words "Permanent Scar" over and over again, emphasizing the finality and lasting impact that this experience has had on her life.
The song's meaning is open to interpretation, but it seems to be about the lingering pain of lost love and the difficulty in finding closure. The repetitive nature of the lyrics and the haunting melody create a sense of obsession and fixation on this experience. The singer cannot seem to let go of the past, and she is left with a permanent scar on her heart that no amount of time or healing can erase.
Line by Line Meaning
What kind of wound
Asking what type of injury results in a never fading mark
Leaves a permanent scar
Creating a lasting impression on a person's skin or soul
On a beautiful heart?
Implying that the wound is not a physical one but figurative, causing emotional pain
A beautiful heart
Describing the person who suffered the wound as someone with pure intentions
Was it you and me
Questioning if the wound was caused by a relationship between the singer and another person
Or the summer breeze?
Suggesting that the wound might be a result of life's natural occurrences
Sometimes I think
Expressing the confusion and uncertainty surrounding the cause of the wound
Day will close so sweet
Reflecting on the innocence and beauty of life before the wound left a mark
And just as gone
Implying that something was taken away or destroyed
Just as gone to me
Stating that the memory of what was lost still affects the singer
What kind of wound
Repeating the initial question, emphasizing the severity of the injury
Leaves a permanent scar
Reiterating the idea that the wound caused lasting damage
On a beautiful heart?
Emphasizing that the person who suffered the wound was of good character
My beautiful heart
Claiming that the singer's own heart was scarred by the wound
I wear a shroud
Describing the protective barrier the singer has built around themselves
Heavy and true
Indicating that the barrier is strong and impenetrable
That keeps me from
Explaining the purpose of the shroud
Loving anyone but you
Revealing that the wound came from a past love that the singer cannot let go of
In the secret hour
Suggesting that the barrier is only let down during moments of vulnerability
I face my darkest fear
Admitting that the singer is afraid of being hurt again
Permanent scar
Repeating the phrase as a reminder of the resulting damage
Contributed by Allison I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
NoGeeGee
God I love this song/video
That Sound
Love the visuals, very Zoo TV (minus the news clips).
Rafael Cunha Fanca
taste very of this music. I liked it video I hug here of Brazil.
Breno Lucena
You're great... :D