Said the Whale is a Juno Award-winning Vancouver based indie rock band star… Read Full Bio ↴Said the Whale is a Juno Award-winning Vancouver based indie rock band started by Ben Worcester and Tyler Bancroft in 2007. The band's current lineup is Ben Worcester (guitar, vocals), Tyler Bancroft (guitar, vocals), Jaycelyn Brown (keyboards), Bradley Connor (drums), and Lincoln Hotchen (bass).

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.

Heavy Ceiling
Said the Whale Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Thought I’d seen the last of you, falling again
I’m a roof and I need sun to fit under our dime
Thought it was the sky, thought the cracked plaster was night
Chips and pain reflected light, light upon you
Thought the water wave was fine
Blending in with ice on heavy

Out in the woods in the pouring rain

Our telephones will never ring
Our telephones will never ring

Is this the worst place you could be?
Stuck beneath me, buried deep
Hope this wasn’t what you dreamt
Elbows up and trying to breathe
I thought you were the moon
Flying sideways like you do
Eyes craters small and blue shining brightly
Looking simple and surreal
Talking in your sleep, saying goodnight!

Out in the woods in the pouring rain
Our telephones well they never ring
Our telephones well they never ring
Out in the woods in the pouring rain
Our telephones will never ring
Our telephones will never ring
I must have fallen on you!

I must have fallen on you!
I must have fallen on you!

Overall Meaning

In "Heavy Ceiling", Said The Whale explores the themes of feeling trapped, suffocated, and stuck in a place where you can't escape. The song starts with the singer expressing surprise and disappointment at seeing someone again who they thought was a thing of the past. The lyrics "Thought I’d seen the last of you, falling again" signify the return of someone who has caused the singer pain and frustration in the past. The ensuing verses imply a feeling of being trapped and suffocated, as illustrated by the comparison with being a roof that needs sunlight to accommodate something as small as a dime. The imagery of the cracked plaster, chips, and pain reflected in light signifies the weight of the responsibility that burdens the singer.

As the song progresses, the lyrics continue to build on the theme of feeling stuck and buried. The singer hopes that this place isn't what the person they are addressing has dreamt of, and they feel buried deep with someone struggling to breathe. The verse "I thought you were the moon, flying sideways like you do" signifies the expectation of something celestial and beautiful but not finding it so, which leads to disappointment. The chorus chorus of the song, "Out in the woods in the pouring rain, our telephones will never ring," emphasizes the isolation and loneliness of being in that place and feeling buried with no way out. The song concludes with the repeated line "I must have fallen on you," which symbolizes the suffocation and being buried beneath something.

Line by Line Meaning

Thought I’d seen the last of you, falling again
I believed we were done with each other, but here we are falling again, repeating our past mistakes.

I’m a roof and I need sun to fit under our dime
I act as the shelter for us, but I need some happiness and warmth in order to make our relationship work.

Thought it was the sky, thought the cracked plaster was night
I mistook a broken surface indoors for a starry night sky, which shows my blurred perception.

Chips and pain reflected light, light upon you
The broken and painful experiences are reflecting on my partner who bears the weight of it all.

Thought the water wave was fine
I felt okay with things that were unstable and could cause a surprise wreck.

Blending in with ice on heavy
Hiding and fitting in, even when the burden is too much, like water holding the weight of heavy ice.

Out in the woods in the pouring rain
In the midst of difficulty and discomfort, in the wilderness that resembles our situation.

Our telephones will never ring
We make no calls to each other, we do not communicate, not even unintentionally.

Is this the worst place you could be?
I question whether the current state of our relationship is the absolute worst we could experience.

Stuck beneath me, buried deep
My partner is stuck under my weight, buried deep, possibly forgotten and neglected.

Hope this wasn’t what you dreamt
I wish that our current reality is not the same as the ideal we both dreamt of.

Elbows up and trying to breathe
Struggling, pushing up elbows and gasping for air, shows the pain and difficulty we are going through.

I thought you were the moon
I put you on a pedestal, thinking you were perfect and could light up the darkness I was in.

Flying sideways like you do
My partner seems to be drifting away, not caring about the direction they are heading to.

Eyes craters small and blue shining brightly
The small, blue craters that reflect the pain and suffering in their eyes still shine brightly, a sign of strength and resilience.

Looking simple and surreal
Despite the complexity of our situation, it all feels simple and not entirely real.

Talking in your sleep, saying goodnight!
My partner is talking in their sleep, probably wishing it was all just a dream so they could say goodnight and wake up from it all.

I must have fallen on you!
I blame myself for falling on my partner, causing harm to them and our relationship.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS