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.
Lord Kill the Pain
Red House Painters Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't want to ask you again
Kill my girlfriend
And kill my best friend Sam
Cause I saw them making eyes again
Lord kill the pain
Don't want to ask you again
Kill my neighbors
And all my family too
They doubt my direction
Lord let it rain
Don't want to ask you again
Drown my country
Drown everyone but me
So I can live peacefully
Or put me to sleep here
And wake me in Japan
I want to speak a new language
Drop me a line and pull me out
But do not find me
Amongst dead underground
Let me hear the whining sound
Of a pig drown
And lead me over summery hill
To a place I like to think about
And sedate me with Tylenol pills
Oh how I love to dream about
Drop me a line and pull me out
But do not find me
Amongst life on the ground
Let me see the burning down
Of my home town
Lord kill the pain
The lyrics of "Lord Kill the Pain" by Red House Painters is a deeply intense and heartbreaking expression of emotional turmoil that is centered around the idea of pain and the desire to escape it. The entire song is a plea to a higher power to take away the pain and discomfort the singer is experiencing. The lyrics describe various scenarios that show the singer's desperation to escape the pain he is feeling - from wanting his loved ones who are causing him pain to be killed, to wanting to be submerged under water so as to not feel anything, and finally, to wanting to be transported to a different place entirely, where he can escape the pain.
The first verse starts with a plea to the Lord to kill the pain that the singer is feeling. The second line is a heart-wrenching request to kill his girlfriend and best friend Sam because he saw them making eyes at each other. The singer believes that his loved ones are causing him pain and believes that the only solution is to have them killed. The second verse is even more intense, as the singer wishes for his neighbors and family to be killed as well because they doubt him and his direction in life. The singer wants to escape not just the pain they are causing him, but also their judgment and criticism.
In the final verse, the singer takes his desire for escape to a whole new level. He pleads with the Lord to "drop him a line and pull him out" of his current situation, but he doesn't want to be found amongst the dead and buried. He imagines himself being transported to a different place, where he can speak a new language and live a different life. The last line of the song is a final plea to the Lord to "kill the pain," a desperate request for relief from the singer's inner turmoil.
Line by Line Meaning
Lord kill the pain
Please take away the pain that I am feeling
Don't want to ask you again
I do not want to repeat my plea for help
Kill my girlfriend
Please free me from this relationship that is causing me pain
And kill my best friend Sam
Please remove Sam from my life as I feel betrayed by him
Cause I saw them making eyes again
I witnessed my girlfriend and Sam showing romantic interest in each other
Kill my neighbors
Please distance me from those around me who doubt me
And all my family too
Even my family members are making me feel like an outcast
They doubt my direction
They do not believe in the path I have chosen in life
Lord let it rain
Please let your blessings shower me
Drown my country
Wash away all the negativity and political conflicts in my country
Drown everyone but me
Let everyone else suffer and leave me with peace
So I can live peacefully
I just want to live with peace in my heart
Or put me to sleep here
Let me escape from reality
And wake me in Japan
In my mind, let me travel to a new place where I can start afresh
I want to speak a new language
I want to learn a new way to express myself and communicate with the world
Drop me a line and pull me out
Send me a message or a sign that things will get better and rescue me from my misery
But do not find me
Let me disappear and start a new life far away from here
Amongst dead underground
Do not let me be buried under the weight of past mistakes
Let me hear the whining sound
Let me witness the end of a life that caused me pain
Of a pig drown
Let me find pleasure in seeing the end of someone who hurt me
And lead me over summery hill
Guide me to a place where life is simple and easy
To a place I like to think about
Take me to a place that I often dream about and find peace in my mind
And sedate me with Tylenol pills
Make me calm and peaceful with the help of medication
Oh how I love to dream about
These dreams are what keep me going
Let me see the burning down
Let me witness the end of a chapter in my life
Of my home town
I want to come to terms with my past and move on
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Mark Edward Kozelek
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind