Over the Rhine is an American, Ohio-based band, the core of which is the hu… Read Full Bio ↴Over the Rhine is an American, Ohio-based band, the core of which is the husband-and-wife team of pianist/guitarist/bassist Linford Detweiler and vocalist/guitarist Karin Bergquist. The band originally began as a quartet with guitarist Ric Hordinski and drummer Brian Kelley. Hordinski left the band in December 1996, and Kelley continued to play into 1997 before departing. The original foursome has reunited a couple of times recently; first in December of 2008 at The Taft Theatre (in Cincinnati) to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the formation of the band and more recently, in the summer of 2010 at Ric's studio, "the Monastery," to play the album "Good Dog Bad Dog" live, in its entirety.

The band's namesake and place of origin is the Cincinnati, Ohio neighborhood Over-the-Rhine. Karin attended school in Barnesville, Ohio and graduated from Barnesville High School in 1984. She then went to Malone College, located in Canton, Ohio, where she met Linford. Karin and Linford were married in the fall of 1996 in Cincinnati and several years ago relocated to a pre-civil war farm outside of town.

Over the Rhine is now primarily Bergquist (vocals, acoustic guitar, piano) and Detweiler (keyboards, electric bass, vocals) accompanied by complementary musicians on albums and tours. Over the years, they have toured and recorded in many variations. They have shared the stage with a number of fine musicians, including Bob Dylan, John Prine, Adrian Belew, Squeeze, Ani DiFranco, My Morning Jacket, Hem, and toured as "adjunct" members of Cowboy Junkies.

Over the Rhine's new album, _The Long Surrender_ was released nationally on 1/1/11. It recorded on California with Grammy winning producer, Joe Henry and contains a duet with Lucinda Williams on "Undamned" and two songs co-written with Joe Henry.

Flanders Fields
Over the Rhine Lyrics

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In Flanders fields far away
I lost my love one day

Overall Meaning

The opening lines of Over the Rhine's "Flanders Fields" set a haunting tone that immediately draws the listener into the melancholic story being told. The "Flanders fields" are a reference to the site of some of the most brutal battles of World War I; the poppy fields of Flanders, Belgium, which were the site of enormous casualties and inspired the famous poem "In Flanders Fields" by Canadian Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae. The singer of the song is mourning the loss of a loved one who was killed in the war, and the simplicity of the language used to describe the tragedy makes it all the more poignant.

The driving force behind the song is the grief and the sense of absence that the singer feels after the loss of their loved one. The chorus rings out with the lines "No more my dear one's voice in song/ No more sweet love; no more so long/ No more the falling autumn leaves/ Only the silence of Flanders fields." This final image is particularly striking, as it captures the utter devastation and barrenness of a place that was once so full of life, and it underscores the profound sense of loss and emptiness that the singer feels in the wake of their loved one's death.

Line by Line Meaning

In Flanders fields far away
In a distant place called Flanders fields, removed from my everyday life

I lost my love one day
I experienced the heartbreaking loss of someone I loved deeply

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LINFORD JEROME DETWEILER, RICHARD A. HORDINSKI

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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