The band is one of the few outfits still burning with the fire of punk, but managing to combine it with the ideals and knowledge of English folk music - a balancing act they've made into a fine art over the years. And they have deep roots in the U.K. folk scene, emerging from both the Whitstable Oyster Co. Ceilidh Band, which formed in 1975, and Fiddler's Dram, a group put together in 1973 by Dave Arbus, whose fiddle work had graced releases by East of Eden and the Who.
Prosser, Telfer, and Taylor were also in Fiddler's Dram, whose moment of fame arrived in 1979 with the British hit single "Day Trip to Bangor" - released after they'd split up. They reconvened for a last album when Kearey joined them. He also became part of the band's alter ego, the roots-oriented Oyster Ceilidh Band, as they'd now become. With Fiddler's Dram no longer extant, the members put their energies in the newly renamed Oyster Band in 1981, playing gigs around England and self-releasing albums on their own Pukka label.
The band returned in 2003 after the longest recording layoff of its career with Rise Above, which included eight originals and two English traditional numbers, and featured the work of Irish piper James O'Grady throughout.
In 1990, the band collaborated with renowned folk singer June Tabor for the album Freedom and Rain and a tour.
Current Lineup:
Chopper - bass guitar, cello, vocals
John Jones - melodeon, lead vocals
Alan Prosser - guitars, viola, vocals
Ian Telfer - fiddle, English concertina, vocals
Dil Davies - drums
http://www.oysterband.co.uk/
Everywhere I Go
Oysterband Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And your TV screen is filled with snow
And the naked truth has an unmarked grave
Between the waves on your radio
And war is peace and peace is war
And less is more and yes is no
They want to tell you this, they want to tell you that
Just hold your hat when the black wind blows
CHORUS
Everywhere I go I hear what's going on
And the more I hear the less I know
Everywhere I go I hear what's going on
And the more I hear the less I know
And they're all tripped out on the ship of state
They're running late for the breakfast show
And God likes guns, doves are hawks
And Jesus walks in Idaho
And the food we buy won't go bad
But the cows are mad and the chickens glow
They want to tell you this, they want to sell you that
Just hold your hat when the black wind blows
CHORUS (repeating)
The lyrics to Oysterband's song Everywhere I Go talks about how the world is filled with lies and misinformation. The black wind, which is a metaphor for deception and confusion, blows like never before, causing the TV screen to fill with static, and the naked truth to be buried deep within the waves on the radio. The world is upside down; war is peace, and peace is war. They want to tell you this, they want to tell you that, but what can you believe when everything is just a façade? The chorus highlights the feeling of overwhelm, that the more one hears, the less they know.
The second verse of the song takes aim at politicians and the media, whom the band suggests are all taking drugs on the ship of state, and are running late for the breakfast show. The lyrics suggest that everything that once held meaning to us has now been turned on its head. The mention of God liking guns and Jesus walking in Idaho suggests that even religion has been used as a tool to disseminate propaganda. The world we live in is full of contradictions; the food we buy won't go bad, but the cows are mad, and the chickens glow. The final line of the verse is a repetition of the one from the first verse, urging us to hold our hat when the black wind blows, to hold on to our sanity and not get swept away by the chaos.
Overall, the lyrics of Everywhere I Go have a sense of hopelessness and despair, and the band is addressing a world where the truth has been buried under layers of deception. The message in the song is to maintain a level head, to be cautious of what we choose to believe and to not be swayed by the constant barrage of information.
Line by Line Meaning
The black wind blows like you've never seen
A powerful, destructive force is at play that is unfamiliar and overwhelming
And your TV screen is filled with snow
The usual sources of information are disrupted and unreliable
And the naked truth has an unmarked grave
The truth is buried and concealed, making it difficult to discern what is real and what is not
Between the waves on your radio
Even the airwaves are filled with noise and confusion, making it hard to separate truth from lies
And war is peace and peace is war
The world has become so chaotic that up is down and down is up; nothing makes sense anymore
And less is more and yes is no
Traditional values and beliefs have been turned on their head, leading to a world of confusion and uncertainty
They want to tell you this, they want to tell you that
Powerful forces are trying to control the narrative, and are promoting their own agenda
Just hold your hat when the black wind blows
In the face of all this chaos and uncertainty, you need to be prepared to weather the storm and hold onto your own beliefs and values
Everywhere I go I hear what's going on
No matter where you turn, you are bombarded with conflicting messages and confusing information
And the more I hear the less I know
The more you try to make sense of it all, the more you become aware of your own ignorance and the less certain you feel
And they're all tripped out on the ship of state
The people in power are themselves confused and disoriented, and are struggling to maintain control
They're running late for the breakfast show
Even the most mundane aspects of life are thrown into disarray by the chaos that surrounds us
And God likes guns, doves are hawks
Even our most fundamental beliefs and values are being subverted and distorted
And Jesus walks in Idaho
The world is so strange and unfamiliar that it feels like anything is possible, even the impossible
And the food we buy won't go bad
Even the most basic aspects of our everyday lives are being altered and manipulated by outside forces
But the cows are mad and the chickens glow
Even the food we eat has been tainted and corrupted by the strange forces at work in our world
Contributed by Blake D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jens Lewandowski
For many years one of my fav bands, i will never understood why they did not have more success.
henry Woolley
They did have success , mean a lot to so many people
rockweaver
One of the best bands EVER!!
ann Onymous
This is possibly one of the best live bands ever! Go and see them while you can.
irishlad6
The best band, ever. Simply put.
SlightlySusan
Great sound for a live pick up! Chopper and Alan are so into it!
Veronica Greer
They are very well known within the folk world but there are very few folk bands that are as widely known as pop or rock bands.
Philip Clark-Lowes
I love the long strummed violinists in this and the cello aswell. Its proper irish sounding.
Valerie Donnelly
Awesome song, awesome band - they are Gods!!!
Ward Bosmans
wonderfull song i love it