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.
Cry
Pere Ubu Lyrics
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Cry for the Old Man and the Sea.
Cry once for hope.
Cry once for us and the way things turned out to be.
Cry for tomorrow.
Cry for today.
Cry for the lives that we've frittered away.
Cry one time for the harvester's plight.
Cry for the old man on his knees.
Cry once for all.
Then cry for the dawn of the day neither one of us wanted to see.
The lyrics of Pere Ubu's song "Cry" reflect upon the various struggles and sorrows of people and the world around us. The opening lines call for crying for the Man in the Moon and the Old Man and the Sea, who are often seen as solitary figures in literature and mythology. The lines suggest that even these seemingly uninvolved entities can be mourned for the despair they represent in the larger scheme of things.
The song then calls for crying for the hope that we've lost and the way things have turned out, implying that the world may not have turned out as we had hoped it would. The call for crying for tomorrow and today emphasizes how much we may have lost over the course of time. The lyrics continue with the call for crying for the lives we've wasted away and frittered, implying that we may have squandered our potential and opportunities.
The final part of the song calls for crying for the harvester’s plight, the old man on his knees, and ending with crying for the dawn of the day neither one of them wanted to see. These lines seem to allude to the struggles of ordinary people in agriculture and fishing and a bleak future they face in the face of environmental, economic, or other challenges.
Overall, "Cry" is a poignant and reflective song that speaks to the general sense of despair, loss, and vulnerability we all may feel at times.
Line by Line Meaning
Cry one time for the Man in the Moon.
Express your sadness and sorrow for the lonely Man in the Moon.
Cry for the Old Man and the Sea.
Feel the pain for the Old Man and the Sea, as he struggles to catch fish in his old age.
Cry once for hope.
Let your tears represent the hope that is left, even in this dark world.
Cry once for us and the way things turned out to be.
Weep for the way our lives have turned out to be, despite our hopes and dreams.
Cry for tomorrow.
Grieve for the unknown future, and the uncertainty that it brings.
Cry for today.
Mourn for the present moment, and the struggles that we face.
Cry for the lives that we've frittered away.
Regret the time and opportunities that we have wasted in life.
Cry one time for the harvester's plight.
Empathize with the difficult life of the harvester, who toils for a living.
Cry for the old man on his knees.
Express your sadness for the old man who is weak and vulnerable.
Cry once for all.
Weep for all the pain and suffering that is present in this world.
Then cry for the dawn of the day neither one of us wanted to see.
Finally, shed tears for the inevitable and unwanted future that awaits us all.
Contributed by Julia L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.