Having already served successful tours in the Northwest punk bands Thrillhammer, Hazel (two albums on Sub Pop records) and the rambunctious bluegrass band Golden Delicious, Pete Krebs has emerged as one of the most consistently engaging contemporary singer-songwriters. Much like his friend and collaborator Elliott Smith, Krebs uses his more rock-oriented roots to drive his intensely introspective songs. Both Krebs and Smith have passed through early periods of extremely stripped down solo recordings to tackling grander ambitions with more sonically dense collaborative works.
Debuting as a solo musician in 1995 on Cavity Search Records, Krebs' starkly acoustic Brigadier immediately established him as one of the more impressive voices in the crowded singer-songwriter idiom.
Orleans Parish
Pete Krebs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Moon
Built by our fathers
As we waltz in their tombs
With your life before you
And my life that's past
A girl like her mother
A boy who's a man
Sleeping
In the arms of a man you
Already knew
Icicles chilled from a heart
Stopped beating
As I walked with the memories
I was too proud to lose
Blackbirds descending
In fields of magnolias
The brush of a smile
That's deadly to me
With eyes like agates
And hands like glass statues
That melt like the night
In the town of Orleans
The song "Orleans Parish" by Pete Krebs is a melancholic ballad about lost love, regret, and nostalgia. The opening lines "Make believe me a crescent moon, built by our fathers as we waltz in their tombs" set the dreamlike and surreal mood of the song. The singer reflects on his past relationship with a woman who reminds him of her mother. He left her in Orleans Parish, sleeping in the arms of another man, and now he walks through memories of their time together, haunted by regret and a heart that has stopped beating.
The setting of the song is atmospheric, with references to blackbirds descending in fields of magnolias and the brush of a smile that is deadly. The object of the singer's affection has eyes like agates and hands like glass statues that melt like the night in the town of Orleans. The lyrics are poetic in their imagery, creating a vivid portrait of a place and a feeling that cannot be easily forgotten.
Overall, "Orleans Parish" is a powerful tribute to lost love and the beauty of memories. It captures the essence of a dreamlike state where past and present blur together, and the heart longs for what it cannot have.
Line by Line Meaning
Make believe me a crescent Moon
Pretend that I am a symbol of change
Built by our fathers
Shaped by generations before us
As we waltz in their tombs
Dancing amongst the buried memories our ancestors left behind
With your life before you
You're moving on with your life
And my life that's past
I'm still stuck in the past
A girl like her mother
Reminding me of her mother
A boy who's a man
Reflecting on my own maturity
In Orleans Parish I left you
I abandoned you in the city of Orleans
Sleeping
Unaware of my departure
In the arms of a man you Already knew
Seeking comfort from someone familiar
Icicles chilled from a heart Stopped beating
My heart was frozen after being broken
As I walked with the memories I was too proud to lose
I refused to let go of the memories of our time together
Blackbirds descending In fields of magnolias
Darkness descending in a beautiful place
The brush of a smile That's deadly to me
A smile that I find dangerous and hurtful
With eyes like agates
Eyes clear and piercing
And hands like glass statues That melt like the night
Fragile hands that can't hold on, slipping away in the darkness
In the town of Orleans
In the city known as Orleans
Contributed by Violet L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.