The band self-released their first album, Stars Too Small to Use, which led them to the South by Southwest music festival. After recording their first album in a garage, they signed with Jagjaguwar. Okkervil River continued by releasing four more albums, including critically lauded concept album Black Sheep Boy.
After a period of touring for Black Sheep Boy, Okkervil River followed up with The Stage Names. The album sold 10,000 in its opening week in the United States. The group released a free covers album, Golden Opportunities Mixtape from their live performances.
The band has garnered positive critical reception. Especially noted are each song's lyrics, intricate instrumentation, and thematic albums. In addition, they were featured on the talk show Late Night with Conan O'Brien and have performed with high profile bands such as The Decemberists, The New Pornographers, The National, and Lou Reed.
Okkervil River released their most recent album The Silver Gymnasium on September 3, 2013.
Discography:
* 1998 Bedroom EP – Jound
* 1999 Stars Too Small to Use - Jound
* 2002 Don't Fall in Love with Everyone You See - Jagjaguwar
* 2003 Down the River of Golden Dreams - Jagjaguwar
* 2003 Julie Doiron/Okkervil River (A split CD with Julie Dorion) - Acuarela
* 2004 Sleep and Wake-Up Songs (EP) - Jagjaguwar
* 2004 Sham Wedding/Hoax Funeral (A split CD with Shearwater) - Jagjaguwar
* 2005 Black Sheep Boy - Jagjaguwar
* 2005 Black Sheep Boy Appendix (EP) - Jagjaguwar
* 2006 Overboard and Down (EP) – Inertia, Australia-only tour EP
* 2007 The Stage Names - Jagjaguwar
* 2008 The Stand-Ins - Jagjaguwar
* 2011 I Am Very Far - Jagjaguwar
* 2013 The Silver Gymnasium - ATO Records
* 2016 Away - ATO Records
* 2018 In The Rainbow Rain - ATO Records
Current band members:
* Will Sheff - acoustic guitar, vocals, harmonica (keyboard occasionally)
* Travis Nelsen - drums, misc. percussion
* Scott Brackett - trumpet, coronet, keyboards, organ, tape player, misc. percussion
* Patrick Pestorius - bass, piano, woodblocks
* Justin Sherburn - keys, guitar
* Lauren Gurgiolo - electric guitar, pedal steel, mandolin
Past band members:
* Seth Warren - guitar
* Zachary Thomas - vocals, bass
* Jonathan Meiburg - vocals, banjo, guitar, accordion, piano, organ
* Mark Pedini - drums
* Brian Cassidy - electric guitar, pedal steel, mandolin, melodica (keyboard and accordion when on tour without Jonathan)
Happy Hearts
Okkervil River Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The lyrics of Okkervil River's song Happy Hearts reflect on the theme of heartbreak and the struggle to find healing after going through it. The song questions why happy hearts break so hard and leave the individual curled up or standing in the darkness, staring at something as simple as a windshield or rusty wheels. The singer in the song asks when broken hearts will learn how to heal, as they seem to constantly cling onto the pain of heartbreak.
The second verse of the song tells the story of a boy who was five years older than the singer and whose father left him at a young age. After they took a walk by a stream, he held her down and made her feel as bad as he did. This verse questions why people who have had such traumatic experiences, like abandonment and abuse in this case, continue to perpetuate the pain onto others. The lines "Why did you leave me? Mother, why do you sleep with him? He says he's smothering, then he comes back again, in our house for the weekend" further depict the struggles of those whose hearts have been broken.
The song concludes by questioning why broken hearts must pretend and why they can't talk to anybody. These lines depict the social stigma of talking about heartbreak and the feeling of being alone in the struggle to heal from it.
Overall, the lyrics of the song Happy Hearts by Okkervil River are insightful, thought-provoking and empathetic towards those who have gone through heartbreak. The song doesn't offer solutions to healing but rather offers a space to express and understand these emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Why must happy hearts break so hard, leave you curled up in the back seat of a car, staring up at the windshield?
Why do hearts that were once happy have to shatter so painfully that they leave you huddled in the rear of a vehicle, gazing up through the windshield?
When will broken hearts learn how to heal?
When will hearts that have been broken discover how to mend themselves?
This boy I knew was five years older than me. His daddy'd left him when he was three. After we went walking by a stream, he held me down and made me feel as bad as he.
I knew this guy who was five years my senior, and his father had abandoned him when he was three. When we strolled by a creek, he restrained me and made me feel just as terrible as he did.
Why must happy hearts break so hard, leave you standing in the darkness of the barn, staring at those rusty wheels? When will broken hearts learn how to heal?
Why do happy hearts have to shatter so completely that they leave you standing in the barn, peering at the corroded wheels? When will shattered hearts figure out how to recover?
And everybody's searching for a place to put their love. See the people on the street? They go home and what do you think they dream of? Unconditional love.
Everyone is looking for somewhere to direct their love. Do you see the people walking down the street? When they get home, what do you believe they envision? Unconditional love.
Why did you leave me? Mother, why do you sleep with him? He says he's smothering, then he comes back again, in our house for the weekend.
Why did you abandon me? Mother, why do you sleep with him? He claims he's suffocating, yet he returns again, to our household, for the weekend.
Why must people's breaking hearts pretend?
Why do people with broken hearts have to feign happiness?
Why must happy hearts break so hard, leave you staring in the mirror at a bar? Leave you talking to yourself, because you can't talk to anybody
Why do happy hearts have to shatter so profoundly that they leave you gazing into the mirror at a pub? Why do they make you utter your thoughts aloud since you're unable to converse with anyone?
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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