Poor Old Lu was one of the pioneer alternative Christian bands in the North… Read Full Bio ↴Poor Old Lu was one of the pioneer alternative Christian bands in the Northwest. Just sophomores in the spring of 1990, Nick Barber, Aaron Sprinkle & Scott Hunter began playing under the name 'Bellbangvilla'. The group threw together a 9-song first album named 'In Love with the Greenery'. A few months later Jesse Sprinkle joined the band.

In the summer of 1991, the band officially changed its name to Poor Old Lu, which is taken out of the first book in C.S.Lewis' Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe. In spring of 1992 the group released their first full-length demo entitled Star-Studded Super Step. After Aaron & Jesse's father passed their demo to Randy Stonehill, the group was signed to Alarma Records in the summer of 1993.

Their first album released with Alarma Records was entitled Mindsize, a critically praised release from the foursome. The next summer the band regrouped to record their second album. Wanting to capture a more raw sound on the record, the group teamed up with engineer & producer John Goodmanson. Simply called Sin, the group released the album to high reviews and a growing fan base.

In the midst of their constant touring at this time, the group took about a month in the late spring of 1995 to record an elusive experimental EP entitled Straight Six. The EP saw new musical steps for the group as well as guest vocals from Jeremy Enigk and a cover of The Swoon's Speak Soft.

After an unsuccessful tour in the summer of 1995, the band's financial status forced the group to gain part-time or full-time jobs to help keep the group and their families afloat. With less time for shows and writing music, the group didn't start to seriously talk again of next album until the spring of 1996. Already the band had started tossing around the idea that this album might be their last album and shutting things down altogether. With a few songs in hand, the group entered the studio with Gene Eugene mixing and co-producing the album. Diverse as their previous albums, A Picture of the Eighth Wonder was released as the band began talking about their impending split. As a way for the band to reminisce once more over the years, in November of 1996 in front of packed house in Wallingford, WA the group played its farewell concert. Recorded and later released the next year, In Their Final Performance captures the memorable evening from a group who knew their time had finally come.

In the years following the disbanding, the group released a self-selected greatest hits disc entitled Chrono: 1993-1998, which featured a number of remixes of fan favorite songs. Five years after the group went their ways, these four high-school friends rejoined for a single album with Tooth & Nail Records. In 2001 the group released their last disc, The Waiting Room. Released to mixed reviews, the group did minimal tour support for the album.

Since Poor Old Lu almost all of the band members have gone on within some musical project in one way or another. In 1997 Nick Barber and Aaron Sprinkle formed the group Rose Blossom Punch with two other friends. Released through Sara Bellum Records, Ephemere was released to good reviews. Yet the group suffered through a number of label issues which not only delayed their next album, but eventually altogether shelved the album entirely. Offered eventually as limited-time download through MP3.COM, by the time the six-song EP entitled Sorry To Disappoint You was released the band had long been disbanded and Aaron Sprinkle had begun his solo career, releasing his debut solo disc Moontraveler. Aaron went on to release three more albums: The Kindest Days, Bareface, and a greatest hits disc Lackluster.

Both Aaron Sprinkle and Jesse Sprinkle released solo discs over the next few years, with Aaron also starting to produce records for Tooth & Nail Records.

In 2006 Nick Barber and Aaron Sprinkle once again rejoined, adding Erick Newbill and Joey Sanchez as the group Fair. The group released their debut album The Best Worst-Case Scenario to solid reviews. To all Poor Old Lu fans out there, the album gives hope that we'll be able to enjoy this favorite group in some form or fashion for the foreseeable future.

Enough
Poor Old Lu Lyrics

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One of the more peculiar things we've done is in this song. We always liked the bridge of our song 'Never Said', from our 1992 release Star-Studded-Super-Step, so we decided to use it again. Really. We just placed that bridge right into the middle of this song and that was that. To makes things even stranger, we inserted the sounds of a squeaky rat toy over the top of it during mixing. After loading it up with lots of reverb and delay, it's pretty hard to tell.... but now you know. The result, of course, is a song that sounds straight out of the circus.

'Enough' doesn't particularly have a running theme, except for the chorus. The verses flip from imagery of being total evil in inself "I've a bruise on my head" (read the account of the fall of man, book of Genesis) to putting aside the working of Christ in our lives entirely "another cup of nothing". The chorus proclaims the knowledge of knowing what is wrong and right, but the difficultly, of course, is acting upon it. The song is wrapped up in the final verse... "this is written on me, Christ is everything". indeed, He is.

And is the worst all over
Did my dreams go south or...
I've a bruise on my head

Does it show?

my words sound so strange to me
Thought that I was strong
But now I'm feeling empty
And so low

another cup of nothing
Cause I think I'm full
And my hands are trembling
For a soul

wait, don't count me down or lost
(I know what's real)
I've held - I've held His hands
I know the cost

this is written on me
Christ is everything

wait, don't count me down or lost
(I know what's real)

I've held - I've held His hands
I know the cost

Overall Meaning

The song “Enough” by Poor Old Lu has a haunting quality to it with lyrics that talk about feeling lost. The verses are filled with a sense of emptiness while the chorus proclaims the knowledge of knowing what is wrong and right but struggles with acting upon it. The song doesn't have a particular running theme, except for the chorus, which talks about understanding the truth but struggling to follow it. The final verse wraps it up with the lines, "this is written on me, Christ is everything". The song seems to be saying that although the world offers emptiness and confusion, with Christ, everything will be clear.

The song bridges from the band's previous song “Never Said”, and the same bridge was used in this song. Interestingly, a squeaky rat toy was added during mixing to the bridge. The result is a song that sounds straight out of the circus. The song may lack a particular theme, but it still offers a deep sense of understanding. It also gives hope that even in our darkest moments when we might feel lost, there is still a path towards the light. The song is a reminder that understanding the truth is one thing, but following it is another.

Line by Line Meaning

And is the worst all over
Is everything terrible now?

Did my dreams go south or...
Did things not turn out as I hoped?

I've a bruise on my head
I am like those who have sinned and fallen away from God.

Does it show?
Do my wrongdoings show on the outside?

my words sound so strange to me
I feel like I am talking nonsense.

Thought that I was strong
I used to believe that I was capable.

But now I'm feeling empty
But now I am devoid of emotion and meaning.

And so low
And I feel terrible about myself.

another cup of nothing
I keep filling myself up with meaningless things.

Cause I think I'm full
But I feel like I am not lacking anything.

And my hands are trembling
I am nervous and scared.