The band is described, along with Low and American Music Club, as one of the linchpins of the slowcore movement, a subgenre of Indie Rock characterized by downbeat melodies, slow tempos, and often minimalist arrangements. The genre was shaped by musical influences like Folk Rock, Contemporary Folk, and later on, Indie Folk, creating a subdued atmosphere that clashed against most of the comparatively brash Alternative Rock that was popular at the time. Kozelek used this group primarily as a vehicle for his very personal and emotional songs of despair, pain and suffering.
While in Atlanta, Kozelek became friends with Anthony Koutsos, a drummer. He then moved to San Francisco, adding guitarist Gorden Mack and bassist Jerry Vessel to complete the line-up for Red House Painters. After forming, the group played the San Francisco scene extensively, and recorded demos from 1989 to 1992, building up an impressive amount of material. Once they were signed to 4AD Records in 1992, they put out five-and-a-half LPs worth of material in two-and-a-half years--between September 1992 and March 1995, they released three LPs, one double LP, and one EP on 4AD.
Their first 4AD release was an album made up of select demos titled Down Colorful Hill. It was a compilation of haunting melodies complemented by Kozelek's eerie yet rich and emotional vocals. In 1993, the group came out with two self-titled records (now commonly referred to as "Red House Painters I" or "Rollercoaster" and "Red House Painters II" or "Bridge" (based on their cover artwork), solidifying Kozelek's reputation as a talented songwriter with their harrowing autobiographical tales of his troubled life and errant living with no punches being pulled. The music, which ran the gamut from beautiful acoustic folk-rock to intense, dissonant, lengthy soundscapes, effectively conveyed the sadness of the lyrics.
In 1994, they released an EP entitled Shock Me and in 1995, the introspective Ocean Beach, which saw Kozelek's songs becoming more acoustic-based and folk influenced, and featured far less of the lengthy, dreamlike epics of the group's first two albums. His lyrics also showed a considerable shift in tone, as he increasingly began to write about the power of memory and the significance of geography, a subject that would become an obsession in his subsequent recordings.
While Kozelek was beginning work on a solo project, he parted ways with 4AD Records after a somewhat tumultuous relationship. Entitled Songs for a Blue Guitar, which was released on Island Records subsidiary Supreme Recordings in 1996. It was more of a guitar-driven rock album that they released under the Red House Painters name to give the album more publicity. A year later, they came up with Old Ramon, arguably their most accessible, optimistic recording to date. However, major label mergers during the late 90's would leave them without a record label, and it wasn't until 2001 that they were able to release the album on Sub Pop.
Prior to the release of Old Ramon, Kozelek released a solo six-song EP entitled Rock 'n' Roll Singer in 2000. The record was comprised of three original acoustic compositions with minor full-band arrangements and three covers: two AC/DC covers from the Bon Scott era and one John Denver cover. Following the release of the first solo EP, Kozelek released his first solo album six months later. The record, entitled What's Next to the Moon, was released in January of 2001, but would greatly surprise fans. What's Next to the Moon was comprised entirely of shimmering, melancholy acoustic AC/DC covers from the Bon Scott era. The record was also greatly uncharacteristic of Kozelek (though he was prone to enjoy covering songs by his favorite artists) in that it is the shortest full length to date clocking in at just over thirty minutes. Even the first Red House Painters album with only six tracks was more than 45 minutes in length. Both solo albums were released by Badman Records.
4AD would release the best-of package, "Retrospective", on a double-disc in 1999. Kozelek subsequently organized and appeared on a John Denver tribute album, played a part in Cameron Crowe's film Almost Famous and also appeared as a rock musician in the Steve Martin vehicle Shopgirl. He contributed to both a benefit album for AIDS and an album of classic rock covers.
In 2003 Kozelek and Koutsos, along with Geoff Stanfield and Tim Mooney, reformed as Sun Kil Moon, releasing the acclaimed album Ghosts of the Great Highway on Jetset Records. In a 2005 interview with The Onion's AV Club, Kozelek confirmed that he considers Sun Kil Moon essentially the Red House Painters, but that he changed the band name to grab the interest of critics who had gotten bored with, or stopped paying attention to, the Painters. The move was successful, as Ghosts of the Great Highway would be his best-selling album yet, while garnering extremely positive reviews.
Japanese to English
Red House Painters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I went as far as messing up my life
Unloving still strike me different
A million miles away from home
And fifteen from a payphone
Where we sat lonely on the sand
We translate Japanese to English
And English to Japanese
It's not that simple
This dictionary never has a word
For the way I'm feeling
It's nothing plain for me
Of a different god and moral
What if I laid my head down on your stomach
Or put my mouth to your hand
I cannot translate
Japanese to English
Or English to Japanese
What I had to say is unsaid
What I had to do is undone
And if it was done
I'm sure it would have killed our hour
Where we sat lonely on the stand
Above the water the awful gray
Our current from japan
Didn't sweep away
The song "Japanese to English" by Red House Painters is a melancholic and introspective piece that portrays the struggle to communicate and connect with someone from a different culture. The lyrics suggest that the singer went to great lengths to bridge the communication gap with his partner, even losing sleep and messing up his life. Despite the efforts, the differences in culture, language, and beliefs keep them apart, as there is no straightforward translation for the feelings and emotions they experience. The lyrics reflect on the impossible struggle to reconcile two different worlds and the unspoken feelings that never get to see the light of day.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the difficulty of communication by stating that "We translate Japanese to English, and English to Japanese, It's not that simple, this dictionary never has a word, for the way I'm feeling, It's nothing plain for me." The singer is struggling to convey his feelings across the cultural divide, and he feels that there are no words that can express what he wants to say. The song ends with the singer ruminating on the missed opportunities and the things left unsaid, reflecting on how their differences led to an inevitable end of their relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
I went as far as losing sleep
I was extremely troubled and restless
I went as far as messing up my life
I went to such an extent that I completely ruined my life
Unloving still strike me different
Rejection affects me in a unique way
A million miles away from home
I feel so far away from where I belong
And fifteen from a payphone
In a remote location with limited access to communication
Where we sat lonely on the sand
In a desolate place feeling isolated and alone
You're ten years older
There is a significant age gap between us
We translate Japanese to English
We are trying to bridge the language barrier
And English to Japanese
We are attempting to communicate our thoughts and feelings
It's not that simple
This is a complex situation
This dictionary never has a word
There is no word or phrase that can adequately express what I'm feeling
For the way I'm feeling
My emotions are complicated and difficult to articulate
It's nothing plain for me
This is not a simple matter for me
Of a different god and moral
We have different religious beliefs and moral values
What if I laid my head down on your stomach
What if I showed vulnerability and closeness to you
Or put my mouth to your hand
What if I expressed affection towards you
I cannot translate Japanese to English
I am unable to convey my true feelings
Or English to Japanese
I am unable to understand your perspective
What I had to say is unsaid
I didn't speak my mind when I had the chance
What I had to do is undone
I didn't take action when I should have
And if it was done
If I had taken action
I'm sure it would have killed our hour
It would have ended our time together negatively
Above the water the awful gray
A sense of melancholy or sadness hanging over us
Our current from japan
Our emotional distance from each other
Didn't sweep away
Was not diminished or resolved
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Mark Edward Kozelek
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Miervaldis
I went as far as losing sleep
I went as far as messing up my life
Unloving still strike me different
A million miles away from home
And fifteen from a payphone
Where we sat lonely on the sand
You're ten years older
We translate Japanese to English
And English to Japanese
It's not that simple
This dictionary never has a word
For the way I'm feeling
It's nothing plain for me
Of a different god and moral
What if I laid my head down on your stomach
Or put my mouth to your hand
I cannot translate
Japanese to English
Or English to Japanese
What I had to say is unsaid
What I had to do is undone
And if it was done
I'm sure it would have killed our hour
Where we sat lonely on the sand
Above the water the awful gray
Our current from japan
Didn't sweep away
Junnu Ylävaara
I've been loving this once in a while for over twenty years and I still haven't committed suicide. Proves that depressive music can make a depressive man live on.
Larry Beckham
"The blues ain't nothin' but a good man feeling bad"
Der Freigeist
Guess not.. God bless his soul.
SimMaster
Depressive music is probably the best music
meme
cringe
sevenheadedunicorn
This song would have been PERFECT on the "Lost in Translation" sound track. If I had the skills, I'd make a music video with this song and scenes from the movie. One of my favorite Red House Painters songs.
E
Hey
Sourcetorhu Jitzu nin
You should learn dude
Rock Stage Productions
An all-time, ageless favorite. Emotionally gripping, over and over.
Miervaldis
I went as far as losing sleep
I went as far as messing up my life
Unloving still strike me different
A million miles away from home
And fifteen from a payphone
Where we sat lonely on the sand
You're ten years older
We translate Japanese to English
And English to Japanese
It's not that simple
This dictionary never has a word
For the way I'm feeling
It's nothing plain for me
Of a different god and moral
What if I laid my head down on your stomach
Or put my mouth to your hand
I cannot translate
Japanese to English
Or English to Japanese
What I had to say is unsaid
What I had to do is undone
And if it was done
I'm sure it would have killed our hour
Where we sat lonely on the sand
Above the water the awful gray
Our current from japan
Didn't sweep away