Rose Chronicles was an alternative rock band from Vancouver, Canada, active… Read Full Bio ↴Rose Chronicles was an alternative rock band from Vancouver, Canada, active in the 1990s. The group consisted of vocalist Kristy Thirsk, guitarist Richard Maranda, bassist Judd Cochrane and drummer Steve van der Woerd.
Their musical style merged elements of the shoegaze scene with ethereal vocals in the style of Sarah McLachlan and the Cocteau Twins.

The band released their debut EP, "Dead and Gone to Heaven", in 1993, scoring a significant chart hit with "Awaiting Eternity". Their debut full-length album, "Shiver", was released in 1994 under the Nettwerk label. "Shiver" went on to win a Juno Award in 1995 for Best Alternative Album.

Thirsk subsequently contributed vocals to tracks on several of Delerium's albums from "Semantic Spaces" (1994) onwards.

In 1996, founding members Judd Cochrane and Steve van der Woerd had finished the followup to "Shiver", but left the band amidst a hailstorm of in-fighting and uncertainty with Nettwerk's intentions. Maranda and Thirsk regrouped with drummer Trevor Grant and bassist Howard Redekopp to complete one new song, which was added to the forthcoming album. The follow-up album "Happily Ever After" was released in 1996, but Thirsk and Maranda's partnership had dissolved prior to its release. The break-up announcement came after the album's release. The single "Voice in Jail" was moderately successful.

Visions
Rose Chronicles Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I smell the salt air
It stays in my hair
Like memories that cling to my head
I'm walking on lines
Of all that reminds
I'm hanging on like beads on a thread

Far, far

These visions are
These visions are
Far, far

My shallow desire
That screams in a fire
Is burning out from embers to dust
The flowers and streams
That glow in my dreams
Are nurturing the seeds, seeds of lust

Far, far
These visions are
These visions are
Far, far

Cherub flies with a dove
Her wings carrying love
A sharp wind blown descending her fall
windblown bodies will flail
Get all wrapped in my sail
Above a sea of comfort for all

Far, far
These visions are
These visions are

Far, far
These visions are

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Visions by Rose Chronicles express a sense of nostalgia and longing. The singer describes walking on lines and clinging to memories that stay with them like the salt air in their hair. They are holding on like beads on a thread to all that reminds them of their past. The chorus repeats the phrase "far, far" to emphasize the distance between the singer's current reality and the visions they have in their mind.

The second verse explores the singer's conflicting desires. Their shallow desire for instant gratification is burning out, while their dreams of flowers and streams nurture their more meaningful desires, including the "seeds of lust" that may represent their creative impulses or romantic longings.

The final verse introduces a cherub flying with a dove, representing love and harmony. However, this image is quickly contrasted with a sharp wind blowing and windblown bodies flailing, representing the harsh realities of life. Despite this, the singer finds comfort in the sea of their own imagination and visions.

Overall, Visions by Rose Chronicles is a poetic expression of the longing for something more and the enduring power of memories and imagination.

Line by Line Meaning

I smell the salt air
I sense the salty breeze and its fragrance

It stays in my hair
It lingers on my hair

Like memories that cling to my head
Similar to how memories cling to my mind

I'm walking on lines
I tread upon the lines

Of all that reminds
Of everything that recalls

I'm hanging on like beads on a thread
I cling like beads on a string

Far, far
Distant, distant

These visions are
These visions are

My shallow desire
My superficial longing

That screams in a fire
That screams in flames