Formed in 19… Read Full Bio ↴Powderfinger were a rock band from Brisbane, Australia.
Formed in 1989, the band managed to keep the same line up since they hit the big time, Bernard Fanning (Vocals, guitars), Darren Middleton (guitars), Ian Haug (guitars), John Collins (Bass) and Jon Coghill (drums). Powderfinger are winners of nearly every major award in Australia – including the ARIA (Australian Record Industry Awards) for Album of the Year, Best Rock Album and Song of the Year.
Their musical style changed significantly over the years from a predominantly Grunge influenced one (Parables for Wooden Ears, Double Allergic) to their own brand of Alternative Rock on the following albums Internationalist and Odyssey Number 5. Several songs on Vulture street were in tribute to classic rock bands like Led Zeppelin and AC/DC and Songs on Dream Days at the Hotel Existence feature a prominent Neil Young influence- to whom they owe their band name from his song of the same name.
The band released seven studio albums and a greatest hits album, Fingerprints - The Best of Powderfinger 1994-2000, in 2004. Their final album, Golden Rule, was released in late 2009. Despite their popularity in Australia, Powderfinger never achieved similar success overseas.
They toured with Silverchair on the "Across the Great Divide" Concert, from August to October 2007, trying to raise awareness of the indigenous people of Australia.
On the 9th of April 2010, it was announced at a press conference and on the band's website that after 20 years together, Powderfinger would be disbanding after their farewell Sunsets Tour. Of the split, frontman Bernard Fanning stated:
With the completion of our last album, Golden Rule, we feel that we have said all that we want to say as a musical group. We firmly believe that it is our most complete and satisfying album and can't think of a better way to farewell our fans than with music that we all believe in and also with, hopefully, our best tour to date.
Drifting Further Away
Powderfinger Lyrics
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Don't stare too long, you'll poison my love
Don't shut me out, don't hold it all in
Don't let my venom get under your skin
'Cause every word and every turn
Every sign points to your hurt
With every hour you're drifting further away
Come make your peace, come find your way
Come lay your wreath at the alter of change
Don't lose your step, don't break the bones
Don't shoulder the burden out there on your own
'Cause every word and every turn
Every sign points to your hurt
With every hour you're drifting further away
Don't banish me then bid me home
Don't tell me where I came undone
Don't harbor love like it's all your own
Don't linger over what you've done
Don't sink underneath the weight of
With you're trying to carry way too much
You never should have let go
You could have joined the whole show
You never should have let go
You never should have let go
'Cause every word and every turn
Every sign points to your hurt
With every hour you're drifting further away
Now you're drifting further away x3
The song “Drifting Further Away” by Powderfinger is a soulful ballad about a lover drifting away from the person they once loved. The song is filled with melancholy and regret. The lyrics use water metaphors such as “flood” and venomous language to describe how the persona feels about the situation. The first verse pleads with the lover not to go too deep into the flood or to stare too long, as it will poison the love. The persona believes there is still hope for the relationship and asks the lover not to shut them out or let their venom get under their skin.
The chorus emphasizes the heartbreak of the situation, conveying that every word, turn, and sign seems to point towards the lover’s hurt. This pain is further heightened by the image of “drifting further away” with every hour that passes. The second verse seems to be an appeal to the lover to make peace, find their way, and let go of the burden that they are carrying alone. The persona warns them not to lose their step or break their bones, as the journey ahead is hard. The last part of the song shows the persona's pining for the lost love and how the lover should not have let go.
Overall, the song reaches out to those who have lost love and laments the state of missed opportunities and regret. Powderfinger gives a nod to the fact that relationships are complex, and words unsaid and actions not taken can play a significant role in why some love does not stand the test of time.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't go too deep into the flood
Do not immerse yourself too deeply in the problems.
Don't stare too long, you'll poison my love
Don't dwell and focus on what went wrong so much that it ruins the relationship.
Don't shut me out, don't hold it all in
Don't isolate yourself or keep all the emotions inside and hidden.
Don't let my venom get under your skin
Don't allow the negative emotions and feelings to affect you.
'Cause every word and every turn
Every sign points to your hurt
With every hour you're drifting further away
All the signs indicate pain and the longer the time it goes unaddressed, the further apart we grow.
Come make your peace, come find your way
Come lay your wreath at the alter of change
Try to reconcile and take steps to move forward.
Don't lose your step, don't break the bones
Don't shoulder the burden out there on your own
Stay strong and do not try to handle everything without help.
Don't banish me then bid me home
Don't tell me where I came undone
Don't harbor love like it's all your own
Don't linger over what you've done
Don't sink underneath the weight of
With you're trying to carry way too much
Don't push away and then pull back in, do not place blame or take on all the weight of the situation alone.
You never should have let go
You could have joined the whole show
You never should have let go
You never should have let go
We should not have given up on the relationship and instead participated in working through the issues.
'Cause every word and every turn
Every sign points to your hurt
With every hour you're drifting further away
Now you're drifting further away x3
Reiterating that as time goes on, we are drifting apart and need to address the problems before it is too late.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BERNARD JOSEPH FANNING, DARREN STUART MIDDLETON, IAN DAVID HAUG, JOHN ANDREW COLLINS, JONATHAN ROBERT COGHILL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind