Says Francis, “In the past I’ve worked with acoustic guitar, bass, drums, B3 organ, but I wanted to bring a modern electronic element into my music. When first speaking with Jeff Trott, I quickly realized he had great musical instincts and that he was getting my tunes. And then, he brought ideas to the table that I hadn’t imagined. I saw a new musical landscape could be created with my songs by working with him.”
The musicians that Trott assembled for the recording sessions helped to create this colorful landscape. Having worked with artists such as Beck, Nine Inch nails, Gnarls Barkley, Willie Nelson, Queens of the Stone Age, Dr. Dre, and Scott Weiland, the musicians (Brian LeBarton, Justin Meldal-Johnsen, John O’Brien, Victor Indrizzo and others) provided an extraordinary musical palette of talent and sensibility.
When asked about the project, Trott says, “It really became apparent to me that Pete was a very creative and colorful song-writer. What I liked was that there was this very good sense of Pete’s personality from happy go lucky to dark and brooding. All these aspects were amazing to work with and the lyrics were very colorful. I think that’s one of the things I really enjoy about Pete’s songs… that it’s sometimes hard to really figure out what the meanings are and I think that’s missing in a lot of music - the mystery of what a song is.”
The opening track, “Glue”, generates a feeling of weightlessness by combining organic instrumentation with futuristic sounds. This song solidly represents what’s to follow on the album’s consistent mix of fresh and classic, electronic and acoustic, known and unknown… Each listen unlocks a new guitar lick, synth riff, bass groove, drum program, live drumbeat or horn swell, and even the sounds of the sparsely used Ethiopian instrument cumbus. Midway through the album, the listener gets catapulted into the up-tempo and joyous revelry of “Love Shakes You Down” a sing-a-long with the familiar bell sounds of Motown combined with a string synth creating a modern and retro sound all at once. The slower, more melodic songs of the album like “St. Paul’s Fair” and “Didn’t Know I Built It” lure the listener into dream-states with rich deep vocals, sampled sounds from a town square in Italy, trance-like Wurlitzer pedaling, and vivid lyrics.
No one would deny that Francis has earned his stripes in the independent music scene. He formed the fiercely independent band Dispatch in 1995 whose uncommonly loyal fan-base bid them farewell at The Last Dispatch concert in 2004 with an attendance of 110,000 people from around the world. Since then, his career has infiltrated many musical worlds including performing his solo music at festivals around the country, reuniting with his Dispatch pals for three sold out nights at Madison Square Garden, having his solo music featured in films and television, and performing in the presence of Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C..
Commenting on his new album and departure from his Dispatch days, Francis says, “It’s good to get out of your comfort zone. I tried to let this motto resonate at every turning point of this record’s evolution.” When asked if there is an overall theme to The Movie We Are In, Francis explains, “I like to leave this up to the listener. Hearing an album is similar to visiting a museum. The listener has to have his or her own conversation with the artwork and create their own interpretations."
Burning The River
Pete Francis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
His dark green eyes, stare at me,
His tells me of his papa working on the railway,
Blowing his harmonica, in the morning,
I'm checking in, I'm checking out,
Feeling low, I'm feeling out,
Deeper fish,
Deeper lungs,
He said I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I'm telling you,
He said I'm telling you, I'm telling you,
I'm burning the river, yeah,
Burning the river,
Burning I'm burning I'm burning I'm burning the river,
Oh the river,
Oh the river yeah
So I go home,
A girl lies in my bed,
I hold her hipbone and pull her closer,
I put her cold hands between my thighs,
Stare out the window, into a darkening sky
I'm checking in, I'm checking out,
Feeling low, I'm feeling out,
Deeper fish,
Deeper lungs,
Deeper words for the deeper tongues,
He said I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I'm telling you,
He said I'm telling you, I'm telling you,
I'm burning the river, yeah,
Burning the river,
Burning I'm burning I'm burning I'm burning the river,
Oh the river,
Oh the river yeah
She's left only her body for me,
I lie here feeling her hair, waiting for sleep,
In the early, early hours of night, of night,
In the early, early hours of night, of night
I'm checking in, I'm checking out,
Feeling low, I'm feeling out,
Deeper fish,
Deeper lungs,
Deeper words for the deeper tongues,
He said I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I'm telling you,
He said I'm telling you, I'm telling you,
I'm burning the river, yeah,
Burning the river,
Burning I'm burning I'm burning I'm burning the river,
Yeah
Burning the river,
Burning I'm burning I'm burning I'm burning the river
The song "Burning The River" by Pete Francis is a melancholic and introspective piece that explores the complexities of human emotions and relationships. The singer starts by describing a mysterious man who communicates without moving his lips and talks about his father's work on the railway. The man tells the singer something profound and he repeats the phrase "I'm telling you" continuously. The phrase seems to symbolize the deeper understanding or epiphany that the singer is trying to reach.
The narrative then moves to the singer's personal life, where he speaks about a girl lying in his bed. He holds her close and stares out into the darkening sky. The repetition of the lines "I'm checking in, I'm checking out, feeling low, I'm feeling out" suggests that the singer is struggling with his emotions and trying to reconcile his inner turmoil. The deeper fish, deeper lungs, and deeper words mentioned in the song symbolize the deeper, more complex emotions that the singer is grappling with.
The titular phrase "burning the river" is repeated throughout the song, and it seems to be a metaphor for the singer's desire to let go of his emotions and find some catharsis. The river could be a symbol for the flow of his feelings, and burning it could be seen as a way to release them. The song ends with the singer lying in bed with the girl, feeling her hair and waiting for sleep, probably still searching for some reprieve from his emotional struggles.
Line by Line Meaning
His lips don't move but, still he speaks,
The person speaking does not use his lips yet manages to communicate with me.
His dark green eyes, stare at me,
The person talking has dark green eyes that keep eye contact with me.
His tells me of his papa working on the railway,
He tells a story about his father working on the railway.
Blowing his harmonica, in the morning,
His father played the harmonica in the morning while he was working.
I'm checking in, I'm checking out,
I am in a constant state of fluctuation.
Feeling low, I'm feeling out,
I feel depressed and disconnected.
Deeper fish,
There is something deeper to be discovered under the surface of the water.
Deeper lungs,
The artist needs to breathe deeper, likely due to feeling overwhelmed or anxious.
Deeper words for the deeper tongues,
There are more profound things to be said, yet they have not yet been expressed.
He said I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I'm telling you, I'm telling you,
The artist reiterates the importance of the message they are conveying.
I'm burning the river, yeah,
The singer is setting fire to the river, perhaps as a metaphor for destroying something important.
Oh the river,
The river is of great significance to the artist.
So I go home,
The singer is returning to their place of residence.
A girl lies in my bed,
There is a woman in bed with the singer.
I hold her hipbone and pull her closer,
The singer moves the woman closer to them while holding her hipbone.
I put her cold hands between my thighs,
The artist places the woman's cold hands between their own thighs.
Stare out the window, into a darkening sky
The artist is looking out the window as the sky gets darker.
She's left only her body for me,
The woman has left, but her body is still present with the singer.
I lie here feeling her hair, waiting for sleep,
The singer is having trouble sleeping and is focusing on the woman's hair.
In the early, early hours of night, of night,
It is late at night when this is happening.
Burning the river, yeah,
Repetition of the earlier line.
Burning the river,
Repetition of the earlier line.
Burning I'm burning I'm burning I'm burning the river,
Repetition of the earlier line.
Yeah
An affirmation or agreement to something previously stated.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rodneymcclinton4138
I have this cd. Love this song. The whole cd is awesome.
@caseyomack2870
I was wondering why somebody hit dislike...
@cottonheadandtheninnymuggi3698
Sum times
@cottonheadandtheninnymuggi3698
I was gifted this song by someone who is trying to charm me.
And I had a very oppositional standpoint because I was into punk rock at the time. But when I heard dispatch for the first time in the mid-90s I began to open my ears.
@KosherPorky
Dispatch really is that incredible, eh?
@nickknoll7141
Nick Knoll to the real Pete Francis. I had ducks on the river and still holding 1st place at the Pete Francis Invitational
@arthurw92
Accidentaly clicked "dislike". From the bottom of my heart Lord forgive me :((