Portugal. The Man centered on frontman John Gourley’s abstract musical approach and corresponding upbringing. He was raised in a sort of technological isolation: his log cabin home in the winter wasteland of the fringes of Wasilla, Alaska was powered by a generator and had no telephone. Both of his parents helped completely immerse him in the unique lifestyle that comes with a land of seasonal darkness and perpetual cold with their jobs as dog sled mushers. Gourley’s innate curiosity and individual spirit combined with a fascination with science fiction and experiences of homelessness create a distinctly transcendent sound that is always open to interpretation and change.
The band’s debut album, Waiter: “You Vultures!” was released by Fearless Records on January 24th, 2006.
On June 22, 2007 they released their second full length, Church Mouth. The band then set out on a full US tour with support from The Photo Atlas, Play Radio Play, Tera Melos, and The Only Children. They then toured Europe, and followed it up with another US headlining tour with support from Rocky Votolato and Great Depression during September and October. Following this tour, they joined Thursday on a short east coast tour in November alongside Circle Takes the Square.
Portugal. The Man collaborated with the band The Sound of Animals Fighting on the re-release of their first album, “Tiger and the Duke.” Portugal. The Man remixed three of the songs on that album.
On July 30, 2008, it was announced that Portugal. The Man would release Censored Colors under its independent record label, Approaching AIRballoons, with a partnership with EQUAL VISION RECORDS. The album was released September 16, 2008.
On April 9th, 2009, Portugal. The Man announced a fourth studio album, The Satanic Satanist. It was released on July 21, 2009.
As of October 2009, It was announced through Twitter that Portugal. The Man have completed another album entitled “American Ghetto” which combines their progressive rock style from their latter albums with some of the electo style from their “Its Complicated Being A Wizard” release. A listening party was held for a group of 17 fans in Los Angeles CA. The album was released on March 2, 2010.
The Got it All (This Can’t Be Living Now) Songfacts reports the band’s sixth album and first for Atlantic, In the Mountain in the Cloud, was released on July 19, 2011.
On February 8, 2013, Portugal. The Man leaked pictures on Bonnaroo's official Tumblr page which showed that celebrated producer Danger Mouse was producing the band's new record. According to a Q&A Zach did on the band's Tumblr, their new album was influenced by Pink Floyd's "Dark Side of the Moon" album.
On February 25, 2013, Portugal. The Man released the name of their new album, titled Evil Friends, on Instagram. On March 6, the band revealed the album art for Evil Friends using a Tweet-to-reveal mosaic. The next day, the video for the title track from Evil Friends was released on the band's YouTube channel. On June 4, 2013, the album was released in the United States. The album featured backing vocals by Este Haim and Danielle Haim. A music video of "Purple Yellow Red and Blue" followed.
On April 22, 2014, the band announced a partnership with Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute to release a limited-edition run of 400 records to raise awareness for critically endangered Sumatran tigers. The track, "Sumatran Tiger" does not officially exist digitally, and the copies were sent to "400 carefully chosen influencers, among them actors, activists, musicians, conservationists, bloggers and journalists," and is, as the band claims, "the first song meant to go extinct unless it's reproduced." The band encouraged fans to "scour the Internet" using the hashtags #EndangeredSong and #SumatranTiger to find recordings of the song.
In November 2014, Portugal. The Man were in the studio recording their eighth album with Mike D from The Beastie Boys producing. The band also posted pictures of themselves in the studio on Instagram, as well as showcasing small teasers of what their new album would sound like. Mac Miller was also shown working with the band as well. In May 2015, the band released teasers on social networks of what appeared to be new music with a Latin twist with huapango guitars, dream synths and drums machines. On May 5, Portugal. The Man released a Spanish version of "Purple Yellow Red and Blue" covered by a Mexican-American band called The Chamanas on their official YouTube channel to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. On December 31, 2015, Portugal. The Man posted to their website that they had completed two records followed by separate hashtags #Gloomin + #Doomin. However, on February 3, 2016, the band tweeted from their official account that the new record would be entitled Gloomin + Doomin. In February 2016 Portugal. the Man were featured on the Yoko Ono collaboration album Yes, I'm A Witch Too performing "Soul Got Out of the Box".
On November 30, 2016, Triple J radio debuted Portugal. The Man's new song "Noise Pollution". It was released as a single on December 2, and featured Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Zoe Manville. On March 3, 2017, the band released a single titled "Feel It Still", which was followed by the release of an accompanying music video three days later. It was revealed that Gloomin + Doomin "failed to complete" and was thrown out after three years. They have since completed another album, titled Woodstock, which is promoted by "Feel It Still". The album's title was inspired by an original 1969 Woodstock music festival ticket stub owned by Gourley's father. It led Gourley to a realization that almost 50 years later, music has the same mission as then – "to comment on societal and political unease." "We worked with so many rad people on this album, but ended up with just the four of us in a basement at 4 a.m. trying to say something that mattered," said Gourley. "Trying to write music that would help people feel they're not alone, even if they're angry or feeling lost." Woodstock was released on June 16, 2017. John Gourley and Zoe Manville married on New Year's Eve 2017.
Keep On
Portugal. The Man Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stuck here 'til I'm gone
Boys still throwin' stones
Runnin' till I'm wrong
I never listened
To tell the truth
I never knew
What you did
Quite like I do
Got me thinkin' 'bout it
All day long
All day long
Bangin' my head against the wall
All day long
Bangin' my head against the wall
Dead and gone
But I'm seein' a pattern
Fallin' from a ladder
Must be trippin' like a cartoon
Slippin' on a banana
Looked up in the sun
Burned out but I ain't done
Ice cream meltin' down
Drippin' on the ground
Young black and gifted
Never lose, gotta be the shoes
That old money privilege
Got me confused
What is it you do?
Got me thinking 'bout it
All day long
Bangin' my head against the wall
All day long
Bangin' my head against the wall
All day long
Bangin' my head against the wall
All day long
And it's all and it's all and it's all day long
'Til we're dead and gone
Maybe I'm trippin' to tell the truth
Don't have a clue
(Maybe you're not alone, that's right)
Or maybe I missed out on my youth
Playing it cool
Man in the mirror like
Grow up, be a winner
Blow up, be a winner
All day long, 'til we're dead and gone
Be a winner
All day long, 'til we're dead and gone
Grow up, be a winner
All day long, 'til we're dead and gone
Bangin' my head against the wall
All day long
And it's all and it's all and it's all day long
Bangin' my head against the wall
'Til we're dead and gone
And it's all day long 'til we're dead and gone
Bangin' my head against the wall
In Portugal. The Man's "Keep On," the lyrics suggest the feeling of being stuck in a repetitive cycle, with the boys still throwing stones and the singer running until they're wrong. The singer hasn't paid attention to what they've been doing and realizes that no one misses what they did more than they do. The lyrics "Bangin' my head against the wall all day long, dead and gone" indicate that the singer is struggling and possibly frustrated with their situation. They contemplate their position and their privilege, being young, black, and gifted, and wonder what they should be doing with their life. The chorus repeats the phrase "All day long, 'til we're dead and gone" and encourages the listener to grow up and be a winner.
Overall, the song suggests feelings of frustration and confusion in a cycle of repetitive actions. The singer is struggling to find their way and understand the meaning of their actions, while questioning their privileges and place in society.
Line by Line Meaning
Keep on hangin' on
Persevere and don't give up
Stuck here 'til I'm gone
I'll be here until I die
Boys still throwin' stones
People still judge and criticize me
Runnin' till I'm wrong
Trying to avoid mistakes, but eventually making them anyway
I never listened
I ignored advice
To tell the truth
In all honesty
I never knew
I was oblivious
But nobody misses
Nobody regrets
What you did
The decisions and actions taken
Quite like I do
As much as I do
Got me thinkin' 'bout it
It's been on my mind
All day long
From morning till night
Bangin' my head against the wall
Frustrated and not making progress
Dead and gone
When I'm no longer alive
But I'm seein' a pattern
I'm noticing a trend or repetition
Fallin' from a ladder
Failing despite starting off high
Must be trippin' like a cartoon
Feeling disoriented like in a cartoon
Slippin' on a banana
Making a silly mistake
Looked up in the sun
Stared at the brightness of success
Burned out but I ain't done
Exhausted but not finished yet
Ice cream meltin' down
Something enjoyable being ruined by circumstances
Drippin' on the ground
Going to waste
Young black and gifted
Being talented and having potential
Never lose, gotta be the shoes
Having confidence and reliance on external factors
That old money privilege
Advantages and opportunities available only to the wealthy
Got me confused
I'm uncertain or conflicted
What is it you do?
What's your purpose or role?
Man in the mirror like
Reflecting on oneself
Grow up, be a winner
Mature and succeed
Blow up, be a winner
Achieve fame and success
Maybe I'm trippin' to tell the truth
Maybe I'm wrong but being honest
Don't have a clue
I'm clueless
Maybe I missed out on my youth
Maybe I wasted my youth
Playing it cool
Acting calm and collected
All day long, 'til we're dead and gone
From sunup to sundown, until we die
And it's all and it's all and it's all day long
Repetitive and unchanging
Be a winner
Succeed and be victorious
Grow up, be a winner
Become mature and successful
Bangin' my head against the wall
Frustrated and not making progress
'Til we're dead and gone
Until we die
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Asa Taccone, Eric Andrew Howk, Jason Wade Sechrist, John Gourley, Kyle O'Quin, Zachary Carothers, Zoe Manville
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@luisibarra3601
Lyrics:
Keep on hanging on
Stuck here till I'm gone
Boys still throwing songs
Running till I'm wrong
I never listened to tell the truth
I never knew
But nobody misses
What you did
Quite like I do
Got me thinking bout it
All day long
All day long
Banging my head against the wall
(All day long)
Banging my head against the wall
(Dead and gone)
But I'm seeing a pattern
Falling from a ladder
Must be tripping like a cartoon
Slipping on a banana
Looked up in the sun
Burned out but I ain't done
Ice cream melting down
Dripping on the ground
Young black and gifted
Never lose, gotta be the shoes
That old money privilege
Got me confused, what is it you do
Got me thinking bout it
All day long
(Banging my head against the wall)
All day long
(Banging my head against the wall)
All day long
And it's all and it's all and it's all day long
(Banging my head against the wall)
Dead and gone
And it's all day long
Till we're dead and gone
Maybe I'm trippin to tell the truth
Don't have a clue
(Baby you're not alone, that's right)
Or maybe I missed out on my youth
Playing it cool
Man in the mirror like
Grow up, be a winner
Blow up, be a winner
All day long, till we're dead and gone
(be a winner)
All day long, till we're dead and gone
(grow up, be a winner)
All day long, till we're dead and gone
Banging my head against the wall
All day long
And it's all and it's all and it's all day long
Banging my head against the wall
Till we're dead and gone
And it's all day long till we're dead and gone
Banging my head against the wall
@beesmongeese2978
This one easily my favorite of the album. It keeps your good old vibes
@mrogers11
I love Portugal the Man music, cant wait to see them one of these days
@jasonrobinson4924
How does that relate to one piece great band
@flub3821
@jason robinson One piece great band?
@supernikoify
The banana line kills me every time, his delivery is so smooth
@LouisaGonnaSingALilBit
SAAAMEEEE
@joannak7782
ALBUM OF THE YEAR!
A M A Z I N G
@unknown-ry9tm
In love with this album. the feeling of waking up to 4 new songs is just unexplainable 😍😍
@kofskie1146
Nothing better than waking up to this album being uploaded. love it
@ashlynnsky5320
Kofskerz , agreed to the fullest extent <3