Buckner began his career with the acoustic "Bloomed" (1994), a lyrically dense suite of songs recorded in Lubbock, Texas and heavily influenced by that state's tradition of whisky-soaked poet/troubadors, probably best embodied by Townes Van Zandt. In 1996, he released the major label "Devotion & Doubt," with members of Giant Sand backing him, displaying a more adventurous, almost avante garde approach to songwriting and arranging.
Since then, he has returned to recording for smaller labels, to continued critical acclaim and cult status. His 2000 album The Hill - his first for Chicago-based indie label Overcoat Recordings - features poems from Edgar Lee Masters' Spoon River Anthology (1915), which Buckner set to music. The album plays as a single track, nearly thirty-five minutes long. He returned in 2002, first with the "teaser" EP Impasse-ette, then a full-length entitled Impasse one month later. In early 2003, his self-released, self-titled album was reissued by Overcoat, and was his final release for the label. In 2004, an edited version of Richard Buckner's song Ariel Ramirez, from the album Since (1998) was featured in one of the television ads for Volkswagen's Touareg.
He is currently aligned with North Carolina-based indie label Merge Records, who have released four of his albums so far: 2004's Dents and Shells, 2006's Meadow, 2011's Our Blood, and 2013's Surrounded, as well as the 7-inch single Willow (b/w Lost). He also recorded an album with Jon Langford (most notably of The Mekons) called Sir Dark Invader vs. The Fanglord (2005) for Buried Treasure Records.
Window
Richard Buckner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What you do. I talked my way, half the night in
Overdrive, with nowhere else to stay: afternoons spent
Inside crashing on the shadows in the room, wrapped in
Your reigns. Gone along, you won't forget who's standing
Out of frame.
Kick and run:
Come.
Shake it out:
Remember what you'd wanted from the embers floating down.
Aren't you cold'
Standing by my window (curtained up and closed)
Yesterday. I let the door fly open, broken just the same.
It's all so new, though I've known you from somewhere I
Was only falling through. Save your time, coming out with
What you've found on the other side.
Richard Buckner’s Window is a song loaded with enigmatic lyrics; it is a deeply evocative song that tells a story of remembrance and longing. The song follows the singer's emotions as he observes the world from his window. The first verse is a recollection of memories of spending afternoons alone, dwelling on the periphery of a loved one's life. The singer realizes that he does not expect to follow and watch his love interest and talks about how he has talked his way into someone else's life.
The second verse opens with "Kick and run" and "Shake it out." The singer tries to rekindle the past and sets out to relive his past relationships. He wonders if the ones he left behind are doing fine without him. The line "Aren’t you cold?" is a metaphorical reminder of the coldness that follows isolation and loneliness. In the final verse, the singer remembers a time when he opened his window and saw his love interest from a distance. Through this encounter, he notices that despite their time together, he still feels like a stranger to them, that he was only "falling through."
Overall, Buckner's song is about memories and the painful process of letting go. The song's melancholic lyrics, sung over a haunting guitar, delve into the complications of love and the unspoken thoughts that often follow heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
It's almost true: You don't expect to follow, watching
It's mostly true that you won't understand the path someone else takes by simply observing them.
What you do. I talked my way, half the night in
I tried to talk my way out of something but it consumed half of the night.
Overdrive, with nowhere else to stay: afternoons spent
I was pushing too hard, having nothing else to fall back on for the entire afternoons.
Inside crashing on the shadows in the room, wrapped in
I was staying indoors, battling with dark thoughts, and was surrounded by the atmosphere of sadness.
Your reigns. Gone along, you won't forget who's standing
Although you're not the one leading the way, you won't forget who's beside you, backing you.
Out of frame.
Although unnoticed, there's a particular person who gives support out of the limelight.
Kick and run:
To ignite something and then abandon it quickly.
It doesn't fall far from the road and someone's going to
What you leave behind won't go unnoticed by someone, and consequences will come eventually.
Come.
Be present.
Shake it out:
Figure it out.
Remember what you'd wanted from the embers floating down.
Don't forget about what you used to be passionate about given what's left behind.
Aren't you cold'
Are you feeling lonely or lost?
Standing by my window (curtained up and closed)
Obscuring view, I'm standing by the window.
Yesterday. I let the door fly open, broken just the same.
It was just yesterday that I opened the door that was already damaged.
It's all so new, though I've known you from somewhere I
It's all so fresh despite the fact that I have a distant memory of you.
Was only falling through. Save your time, coming out with
I was only going through the motions. Don't waste your time with explanations that won't make a difference.
What you've found on the other side.
What you have learned from personal experience.
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Richard Carl Buckner
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind