Pere Ubu is an experimental rock music group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in … Read Full Bio ↴Pere Ubu is an experimental rock music group formed in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1975. Despite many long-term band members, singer David Thomas is the only constant. The group is named after Père Ubu ("father Ubu"), the protagonist of Ubu Roi ("Ubu, the King"), a play by French writer Alfred Jarry.

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.

Nobody Knows
Pere Ubu Lyrics

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Here's a story about a man named Fred.
He heard a bell when he went to bed.
He woke up at a quarter past three to find himself at
The bottom of the sea.
But don't laugh 'til you hear the truth 'cause a man found
His heart nearly broken in two.
All the fish come from miles around.
He is the party in their one horse town.

Nobody knows all the troubles I've seen.
Just outside
Darling I know
It's the trail of the tears.
And I fear the call of the road.

Here's a bit about a brother Bill,
Who had a house at the top of the hill.
Wife had to better cry her a river.
She fell in love with an Indian giver.

Nobody knows all the troubles I've seen.
Just outside
Darling I know
It's the trail of the tears.
I hear the call of the road.

Here's a ditty about a guy named Dave E,
Who had a life like to drive him crazy.
Don't you see that's a bitter pill to never know what
Lies over the hill?
Don't laugh til you hear the truth about a man found
His heart nearly broken in two.
You don't believe how it came to be?
He bought a ranch at the bottom of the sea.

Nobody knows all the troubles I've seen.
Nobody knows all the troubles I've seen.

Overall Meaning

The song Nobody Knows by Pere Ubu is a collection of three vignettes that explore the struggles and mysterious circumstances of three different individuals named Fred, Bill, and Dave E. The lyrics depict Fred waking up at the bottom of the sea after hearing a bell while in bed, with a man later discovering Fred's heart nearly broken in two. Bill's wife falls in love with an Indian giver, causing trouble in their relationship. Lastly, Dave E's life is described as driving him crazy, with his heart nearly broken too. The song's recurring refrain of "Nobody knows all the troubles I've seen" provides a sense of loneliness and isolation that each character feels.

The song's structure with three distinct stories allows for multiple interpretations depending on the listener's perspective. Some suggest that the lyrics represent the experiences of different marginalized groups in society. The reference to the "trail of tears" in the refrain may allude to the forced relocation of Native American tribes in the 1800s. The song's title has been linked to the African American spiritual "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen," which reflects the hardships and oppression during slavery.

Line by Line Meaning

Here's a story about a man named Fred.
Let me tell you a story about a man named Fred.

He heard a bell when he went to bed.
As he went to sleep, he heard a bell.

He woke up at a quarter past three to find himself at the bottom of the sea.
At 3:15 am, Fred suddenly found himself underwater.

But don't laugh 'til you hear the truth 'cause a man found his heart nearly broken in two.
Don't make fun of him until you hear the details, as another man had a near-heartbreaking experience.

All the fish come from miles around. He is the party in their one horse town.
All the fish come to him, and he's the life of the party in that small underwater community.

Nobody knows all the troubles I've seen. Just outside Darling I know It's the trail of tears. And I fear the call of the road.
No one knows the extent of my problems. I'm aware that the trail of tears is just outside, and I'm afraid of the lure of the road.

Here's a bit about a brother Bill, who had a house at the top of the hill. Wife had to better cry her a river. She fell in love with an Indian giver.
Let me tell you about Bill, who lived atop a hill with his wife. She had to cry a lot because she fell in love with someone who takes back what they've given (an Indian giver).

Here's a ditty about a guy named Dave E, who had a life like to drive him crazy. Don't you see that's a bitter pill to never know what lies over the hill?
This ditty is for Dave E, whose life was driving him insane. It's tough to never know what's beyond the next hill.

Don't laugh til you hear the truth about a man found his heart nearly broken in two.
Hold off on the laughter till you hear about a man whose heart was almost broken in two.

You don't believe how it came to be? He bought a ranch at the bottom of the sea.
You won't believe how it happened - he bought an underwater ranch.

Nobody knows all the troubles I've seen. Nobody knows all the troubles I've seen.
No one knows the extent of my troubles, and I'm saying it again for emphasis.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRIAN HOWE, TERRY THOMAS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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