Their debut EP Taking Abalonia was released in 2007. It was re-released with seven new songs on June 3, 2008, in Canada as a full-length LP under the name Howe Sounds / Taking Abalonia.
On July 1, 2009, Said the Whale released the EP The Magician to drum up anticipation for the release of their second full-length album Islands Disappear on October 13, 2009.
In the spring of 2011, Said the Whale toured the U.S. for the first time. During this time they were the subject of the CBC documentary "Winning America" directed by Brent Hodge and Thomas Buchan. The movie documented the band's trip and performances along the West Coast of North America on their way to and from Austin, Texas' SXSW Music Festival and culminated when Said the Whale won the Juno Award for New Group of the Year at the 2011 Juno Awards. The documentary aired on July 23, 2011, in British Columbia, and on April 7, 2012, across Canada.
They released their EP New Brighton on November 8, 2011, in preparation for their third full-length album, Little Mountain, released internationally on March 6, 2012.
In early 2012, the band was awarded a spot on the Canadian music magazine Rockstar Weekly's list of the "Top 12 RockStars to Watch in 2012". The list also included Van Halen, The Rolling Stones, and Rush. The band performed at the Sasquatch! Music Festival in 2012 and 2013.
Said the Whale released their fourth studio album, titled hawaiii, on September 17, 2013.
On January 4, 2017, they announced their fifth album, As Long As Your Eyes Are Wide. At the same time, they announced the departure of Spencer Schoening, and that they would move forward as a trio. The album was released March 31, 2017. The first single was "Step Into The Darkness."
On March 5, 2017, they posted an Instagram video with an email address which fans could contact in order to listen to the whole album for free before its release. Fans could stream the whole album on a personalized, private SoundCloud account from the 10th until the 15th of March without leaking or sharing the link. From the 15th until the 26th of March, the fans could invite their friends to listen to the album in a "listening party" in order to promote it but still not sharing the link to the album, keeping it strictly limited to those who were sent the link.
In September 2018, Said the Whale signed to Canadian indie label Arts & Crafts, and announced a new record to be released in early 2019. The band released a new single "UnAmerican" on October 12, 2018. They released their sixth studio album, Cascadia, on February 8, 2019.
Throughout 2021, Said the Whale released a number of singles and music videos from their upcoming album, including "Honey Lungs," "Everything She Touches is Gold to Me," "Show Me Everything," and "99 to the Moon." In May, Bancroft announced he was launching a new record label called EVERYTHING FOREVER. Said the Whale's seventh studio album, Dandelion, was released on October 22, 2021, via that label.
Emerald Lake AB
Said the Whale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A bit more sun than we could take
I'll push the Jimmy, if you push the Dave
Then we could sink down to the bottom and say
What a fine life we are living
And I think you'll agree
To squishing pennies and kissing girls
We scratched our names all in a row
Into a tree, in hopes it would grow
Into the tallest tree the forest ever would know
We'd climb up to the top and shout to below
What a fine life we are living
The lyrics of “Emerald Lake AB” by Said the Whale appears to be a reminiscence of a day spent with friends by a lake. The song begins with burnt left arms and heading towards the lake after soaking a bit too much sun. The singer then suggests that they all push two old cars into the lake (Jimmy and Dave). After sinking the cars and being submerged, the singer and the friends proclaim what a great life they are living.
The second verse of the song refers to a set of nostalgic memories that were collectively shared with friends - squishing pennies, kissing girls, and scratching their names on a tree. The song then ends with the singer observing how beautiful life is within their company. The song seems to be about cherishing beautiful memories made with friends, emphasizing the importance of enjoying the little moments and making memories that last a lifetime.
Line by Line Meaning
Left arms burnt, we head for the lake
Our left arms are sunburnt, so we're going to the lake to cool off
A bit more sun than we could take
We got more sun exposure than we wanted
I'll push the Jimmy, if you push the Dave
I'll help push one of the cars if you help push the other
Then we could sink down to the bottom and say
If we push the cars into the lake, we could watch them sink and say
What a fine life we are living
We're happy with our current lifestyle and surroundings
And I think you'll agree
I believe you'll share my opinion
That the train tracks are complimentary
The train tracks add to the beauty of the area
To squishing pennies and kissing girls
We enjoy simple pleasures like flattened coins and romance
We scratched our names all in a row
We engraved our names one after another
Into a tree, in hopes it would grow
We carved our names into a tree hoping it would continue to grow
Into the tallest tree the forest ever would know
We hoped the tree would become the tallest one in the forest
We'd climb up to the top and shout to below
We would climb the tree and yell to the people below
What a fine life we are living
We're content with our current lifestyle and grateful for our experiences
Contributed by Mateo D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.