Portugal. The Man is an experimental indie rock band from Wasilla, Alaska … Read Full Bio ↴Portugal. The Man is an experimental indie rock band from Wasilla, Alaska (formed in 2004), but currenly based in Portland, Oregon, USA. The band's line-up currently consists of singer/guitarist John Gourley and bassist Zach Carothers (both formerly of Anatomy Of A Ghost), Gourley's wife Zoe Manville (backup vocals/percussion), guitarist Eric Howk, drummer Jason Sechrist, and keyboardist Kyle O'Quin (formerly of Gatsby's American Dream). The band has released nine studio albums (the latest being 2023's "Chris Black Changed My Life"), two #1 hits on Alternative Radio, scored a #4 hit in the USA with "Feel It Still", and won a Grammy for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance.

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.

Our Way
Portugal. The Man Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh, but we found that we were always lost
Never find our way
But we found that we were always lost
Never find our way
But we found that we were always lost
Never find our way
But we found that we were always lost
Never find our way

But we found that we were always lost
Never find our way
But we found that we were always lost
Never find our way
But we found that we were always lost
Never find our way
But we found that we were always lost
Never find our way

But we found that we were always lost
Never find our way
But we found that we were always lost
Never find our way
But we found that we were always lost
Never find our way
But we found that we were always lost
Never find our way

(But we found that we were always lost)
(Never find our way)

Overall Meaning

The repeated mantra of "we found that we were always lost, never find our way" in Portugal. The Man's song Our Way speaks to the ever-present feeling of being lost in life, despite efforts to find direction. The lyrics suggest that perhaps there is comfort to be found in the recognition that we are not alone in our aimlessness.

This sentiment is further emphasized by the song's dreamy, almost hypnotic melody, which seems to mimic the cyclical nature of feeling lost and finding oneself back at square one. In this way, Our Way becomes less about finding a specific way forward, and more about the journey of self-discovery and acceptance.

The song's outro builds to a crescendo of layered, harmonizing voices, perhaps suggesting the possibility of finding connection and community in our shared sense of confusion and uncertainty. Ultimately, Our Way offers a sense of profound catharsis in its acknowledgement of the complexities of the human experience, and the beauty to be found in surrendering to the unknown.

Line by Line Meaning

But we found that we were always lost
Despite our efforts, we could never quite figure things out

Never find our way
We were unable to reach our destination, either literal or metaphorical

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Baldwin Gourley

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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