Rites of Spring was an American emocore band from Washington, D.C. Although… Read Full Bio ↴Rites of Spring was an American emocore band from Washington, D.C. Although they were only together from the spring of 1984 through the winter of 1986, they helped define the Revolution Summer sound along with Dag Nasty and Embrace, among others.

Following the band's dissolution, singer and guitarist Guy Picciotto, guitarist Eddie Janney, and drummer Brendan Canty formed One Last Wish with Embrace alumnus Michael Hampton. The three later joined former Rites bassist Mike Fellows for a quasi-reincarnation of Rites of Spring named Happy Go Licky, releasing an LP/CD of various live concert recordings though never producing any studio work. Picciotto and Canty eventually teamed up with the former Embrace singer Ian MacKaye (owner of the band’s label, Dischord Records) in Fugazi.

Rites of Spring was the band’s self-titled debut album from 1985. Its twelve songs were recorded at Inner Ear Studios in February of 1985, and released on vinyl in June of that year as Dischord Records #16. The album was rereleased on CD and cassette in 1987, with an additional track from the same session, "Other Way Around", as well as the four songs from the Rites' follow-up EP, All Through a Life, Dischord #22. The CD and cassette originally retained the number "16" while the 1991 repress, as well as the 2001 remastered version of the same seventeen songs, were numbered "16CD" and given the new title End on End.

The band are named after Igor Stravinsky's famous ballet composition entitled The Rite of Spring/Le Sacre du printemps. The piece is widely dissonant and the context of the ballet is extremely bleak, revolving around pagan rituals.

Persistent Vision
Rites of Spring Lyrics

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I was the champion of forgive forget
But I haven't found a way
To forgive you yet
And though I know you and I are through
All my thoughts are lines converging in on you

I wish sometimes, the mind were blind

I see, what must be seen
To feel, what can't be real
To know, what's done is done - it goes on and on

I am the victim of a persistent vision
It tracks me down with it's precision
And though I know you're not in my eyes
I can't seem to clear you from my mind

I wish sometimes, the mind were blind

I see, what must be seen
To feel, what can't be real
To know, what's done is done - goes on and on

Help me. I can't see at all.

I was the champion of forgive forget
But I haven't a way to forgive you yet

And though I know you're not in my eyes
I can't clear persistent vision

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Rites of Spring's "Persistent Vision" explore the theme of struggling to move on from a past relationship. The singer describes themselves as someone who used to champion the idea of forgiveness and letting go of grudges, but even they have not found a way to forgive their former partner yet. Despite the fact that they know the relationship is over and they should be able to move on, the singer cannot help but think about their former partner constantly. The phrase "all my thoughts are lines converging in on you" reinforces the idea that the person is unable to escape thoughts of their ex.

The singer then goes on to describe this constant obsession with their former partner as a "persistent vision". This vision seems to haunt the singer and won't let them move on. The idea of the mind being blind suggests that the singer wishes they could forget about their ex and move on. The chorus repeats the phrase "I see what must be seen, to feel what can't be real, to know what's done is done - it goes on and on". This reinforces the idea that the singer is unable to escape their thoughts and feelings about their ex.

Overall, "Persistent Vision" is a powerful exploration of the difficulty of moving on from a relationship, even when it is clear that the relationship is over.

Line by Line Meaning

I was the champion of forgive forget
I used to be really good at forgiving and forgetting

But I haven't found a way
But in this situation, I can't seem to forgive or forget

To forgive you yet
I haven't been able to forgive you for what happened

And though I know you and I are through
Even though our relationship is over

All my thoughts are lines converging in on you
All I can think about is you, and it's all-consuming

I wish sometimes, the mind were blind
I wish I could just forget everything and not have to deal with the pain

I see, what must be seen
I see what's really happening

To feel, what can't be real
I feel emotions that I know logically aren't realistic

To know, what's done is done - it goes on and on
I understand that what happened can't be changed, but it still affects me

I am the victim of a persistent vision
I can't stop thinking about what happened

It tracks me down with it's precision
I can't escape these thoughts, they keep coming back with more clarity each time