While Pere Ubu have never been widely popular—usually categorized as "underground rock"—they have a devoted following, have been hugely influential on several generations of avant-garde musicians and are a critically acclaimed American musical group. To define their music, Pere Ubu coined the term Avant Garage to reflect interest in both avant-garde music (especially Musique concrète) and raw, direct garage rock.
When Cleveland-based band Rocket From The Tombs fragmented some members formed Dead Boys, while David Thomas and guitarist Peter Laughner joined with guitarist Tom Herman, bass guitarist Tim Wright, drummer Scott Krauss and synthesist Allen Ravenstine to form Pere Ubu in 1975. At the time the band formed, Herman, Krauss, and Ravenstine lived in a house owned by Ravenstine.
Pere Ubu's first single (their first five releases were singles on their own "Hearthan" label) was "30 Seconds Over Tokyo" (inspired by the "Doolittle Raid" and named after a film depicting the raid), backed with "Heart of Darkness"; followed by "Final Solution" in 1976. One review noted that "30 Seconds..." "was clearly the work of a garage band, yet its arty dissonance and weird experimentalism were startlingly unique."
Of their second single, "Final Solution" (backed with "Cloud 149"), one reviewer wrote that Ubu's "call for a 'final solution' was the cry of teen angst run down in the decaying rust belt of America, and unlike the British punks who were looking around England the same year, seeing no future, and hating what they saw, Ubu reveled in it." They would rarely perform this song after some listeners misinterpreted it as being associated with the 'Nazi final solution'.
After "Street Waves", their third single, Pere Ubu signed to Blank Records, a short-lived imprint of Mercury Records.
Laughner left the group after their first two singles, and died soon afterward after a struggle with drug addiction. Tony Maimone signed on as bassist after Tim Wright left to join DNA.
In 1978 they released their debut album, The Modern Dance, which sold poorly but has proven influential. With the song "Sentimental Journey," the debut also introduced the practice of re-appropriating titles from well-known popular songs: Pere Ubu's "Sentimental Journey" has no obvious relation to the Doris Day hit song of the same name; "Drinking Wine Spodyody" has no apparent connection to the Sticks McGhee song (later revived by Jerry Lee Lewis). This practice has continued through 2006's Why I Hate Women, which has a song called "Blue Velvet" (again, no relation to the 1963 hit song by Bobby Vinton).
Special note should be made of Ravenstine's contributions to Pere Ubu. While most synthesizer players tended to play the instrument as they would a piano or organ, Ravenstine generally opted instead to make sounds that were reminiscent of spooky sound effects from 1950s science fiction films, or perhaps electronic music and musique concrète.
Dub Housing was released in 1978 and New Picnic Time in 1979. The group briefly disbanded in 1979, but reformed soon afterward with Tom Herman replaced by Mayo Thompson (of Red Krayola).
The Art of Walking was released in 1980, and by the release of Song of the Bailing Man in 1982, Krauss was replaced by Anton Fier. The group disbanded again soon afterwards; Krauss and Maimone formed Home and Garden, while Thomas worked on a solo career, notably with Richard Thompson and with members of Henry Cow.
By the late 1980s, one of Thomas' solo projects eventually featured much of Pere Ubu. The band was reformed again in 1987, with Jim Jones and Chris Cutler joining for the release of The Tenement Year in 1988, a far more pop-oriented album than ever before. The following year, the track "Waiting for Mary" (off the album 1989 Cloudland) appeared on MTV briefly. After the recording of Cloudland, Ravenstine left the group (although he made a guest appearance on Worlds in Collision in 1991) and later became an airline pilot. Eric Drew Feldman joined the band in time for the Cloudland tour and the recording of Worlds in Collision but left afterwards, joining Frank Black.
Story of My Life was released in 1993 on Imago Records; Maimone left (once again) to join They Might Be Giants, and Michele Temple and Garo Yellin joined the band for the Story of My Life tour and feature on Ubu's 1995 album, Ray Gun Suitcase. Robert Wheeler has played synthesizer and theremin with Pere Ubu since 1994. Krauss left the band during the Ray Gun Suitcase sessions. For the Ray Gun Suitcase tour, guitarist Jim Jones departed as a touring member (although he continued to contribute to recordings), founding guitarist Tom Herman replaced him for the tour.
Concurrent with the 1996 release of the Datapanik in Year Zero box set, Jim Jones retired due to health problems. Tom Herman returned to the band after a twenty year absence to tour with the band in 1995, and went on to record Pennsylvania in 1998 and St. Arkansas in 2002. Jim Jones contributed guitar tracks to each album as well, and guitarist Wayne Kramer of MC5 fame joined the band for their 1998 summer tour. Herman left again in 2005, being replaced by Keith Moliné, of David Thomas's "solo" group Two Pale Boys. The new lineup completed an album entitled Why I Hate Women, which was released on September 19th 2006.
On 18 February 2008, Jim Jones passed away at his Cleveland residence.
Breath
Pere Ubu Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I think about you.
What am I gonna do?
Sorrow's hangin over me.
Let me walk with you cuz it's breaking my heart.
The things that we had,
The good and the bad - now it's parking lots.
Baby, standin at the edge of sorrow.
Let's watch the whole world goin slow.
Let's watch the whole world goin.
I know my way round town.
Used to live around here.
I know the sites to see,
The things they mean to me,
And how we tore it down.
Let me walk with you cuz it's breaking my heart.
The things that we had,
The good and the bad - now it's parking lots.
Don't let's talk about tomorrow -
Baby, standin at the edge of sorrow.
Let's watch the whole world just goin slow.
Let's watch the whole world goin slow.
Unh-hunh.
It was a dream.
Nah, but it was a tin can.
Not a dream - man, it was a tin can.
Ha!
Had I not kicked that...
Had I not kicked that...
Had it clattered in the gutter when it bounced down the sidewalk...
Had I not...
Keep that.
Don't let's talk about tomorrow -
Baby, standin at the edge of sorrow.
Let's watch the whole world goin slow.
Let's watch the whole world goin so.
Let's watch the whole world goin.
The lyrics to Pere Ubu's song "Breath" describe a sense of longing and nostalgia for a past relationship that has since been lost. The opening line, "Dog day afternoon by the sea," sets the tone for a hot, hazy, melancholic day spent by the water, likely somewhere in the band's hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. The singer is consumed by thoughts of a former lover, wondering what to do now that they are gone and lamenting the weight of sorrow that hangs over them.
In the chorus, the singer pleads with their ex to "let [them] walk with you," as the memories of their time together--both good and bad--still haunt them. The once-familiar sights and landmarks of their city now seem empty and desolate without their former companion by their side, reduced to "parking lots." There is a sense that the singer is grasping for any connection to their past, desperately trying to hold onto something before the finality of "tomorrow" sets in.
The song ends with a spoken-word bridge that seems to be referencing a real-life event--perhaps the band's frontman David Thomas kicking a tin can down the street--as a way of emphasizing that the past cannot be undone, no matter how much one might want to go back and change it. The final repetition of "Let's watch the whole world goin'" suggests a sort of resignation to the passing of time and the inevitability of change.
Overall, "Breath" is a poignant reflection on the way past relationships can continue to shape us, even once they are over.
Line by Line Meaning
Dog day afternoon by the sea.
The singer describes the current setting and atmosphere as a hot, lazy afternoon spent by the beach.
I think about you.
The singer's thoughts turn to a particular person.
What am I gonna do?
The singer is feeling lost and uncertain about what action to take in their personal situation.
Sorrow's hangin over me.
The artist is feeling sad and weighed down by emotional pain.
Let me walk with you cuz it's breaking my heart.
The artist wants to spend time with the person they're thinking about because not being around them is causing them emotional distress.
The things that we had, The good and the bad - now it's parking lots.
The singer is reflecting on past experiences with the person they're thinking about, both positive and negative, and realizing that those times are now gone, replaced by mundane surroundings like empty parking lots.
Don't let's talk about tomorrow - Baby, standin at the edge of sorrow.
The singer suggests that they avoid discussing the future, as it's a bleak and uncertain prospect, and instead focuses on the present moment.
Let's watch the whole world goin slow. Let's watch the whole world goin.
The artist wants to take a break from reality and simply observe the world moving slowly around them.
I know my way round town. Used to live around here. I know the sites to see, The things they mean to me, And how we tore it down.
The artist is familiar with the setting they're currently in, having lived there before and knowing the significance of certain landmarks. They also realize that the place has changed a lot since their previous time here and that things are no longer the same.
Unh-hunh. It was a dream. Nah, but it was a tin can. Not a dream - man, it was a tin can. Ha! Had I not kicked that... Had I not kicked that... Had it clattered in the gutter when it bounced down the sidewalk... Had I not... Keep that.
This part of the song contains cryptic and elusive lines that could be interpreted in various ways. It seems to describe a missed opportunity or regret about something that the artist did or didn't do, but the exact details remain unclear.
Don't let's talk about tomorrow - Baby, standin at the edge of sorrow. Let's watch the whole world goin slow. Let's watch the whole world goin so. Let's watch the whole world goin.
The song concludes with a repeat of the previous refrain, emphasizing the idea of staying in the present and not worrying about the future, while also taking in the world around us slowly.
Contributed by Carson V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@floglobe
LOVE this band JIM JONES (electric eels) guitar, TONY MAIMONE (bass) SCOTT KRAUS (drummer) ERIC FELDMAN (Keyboards) DAVID THOMAS (Voice)
Dog day afternoon by the sea.
I think about you.
What am I gonna do?
Sorrow's hangin over me.
Let me walk with you cuz it's breaking my heart.
The things that we had,
the good and the bad - now it's parking lots.
Don't let's talk about tomorrow -
Baby, standin at the edge of sorrow.
Let's watch the whole world goin slow.
Let's watch the whole world goin.
I know my way round town.
Used to live around here.
I know the sites to see,
the things they mean to me,
and how we tore it down.
Let me walk with you cuz it's breaking my heart.
The things that we had,
the good and the bad - now it's parking lots.
Don't let's talk about tomorrow -
Baby, standin at the edge of sorrow.
Let's watch the whole world just goin slow.
Let's watch the whole world goin slow.
Unh-hunh.
It was a dream.
Nah, but it was a tin can.
Not a dream - man, it was a tin can.
Ha!
Had I not kicked that...
Had I not kicked that...
Had it clattered in the gutter when it bounced down the sidewalk...
Had I not...
Keep that.
Don't let's talk about tomorrow -
Baby, standin at the edge of sorrow.
Let's watch the whole world goin slow.
Let's watch the whole world goin so.
Let's watch the whole world goin
@manmaas
About a year or so ago, I went to see him perform at Cafe Oto in London where he pretty much just told stories with the band riffing along in the background. At a certain point he started looking at his watch every now and again, then announced he had to leave to catch a flight to Berlin. Cafe Oto for those not familiar is a former shop with large glass windows facing directly onto the street. He'd spotted the cab that had pulled up and simply stopped, politely said good night, walked thorugh the crowd and straight into the taxi. The band carried on playing as he left the street. True style.
@tschak909
This signifies a time in history, when experimental bands had the ability to break through to mainstream audiences. A very unique time, indeed.
@wetsuit101
DUDE. I finally know where Tim and Eric got the inspiration for Casey's on-stage mannerisms. Also, Pere Ubu is sheer genius.
@spensert4933
Steve Bruhl the early years
@MajarHagard
@JS ThompsonYOU RESPOND TO THIS COMMENT 11 YEARS LATER
@ilonaxsenos
@Majar 😂
@michaelb9537
The mannerisms are really different. This guy loves being on stage. Casey acts like he doesn’t want to be anywhere near an audience.
@marcinb4647
who the fuck are tim and eric and casey dude
@11spike7
"Final Solution" is a masterpiece. I saw them around 76 at a club in Chicago. They had this vibe that impressed me. Like they knew something that no one else did.
@jeffsmith50001
Yes sir. They play for the world. Deep joy music.