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.
Out On the Shield
Said the Whale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We were here for the gold
We got stuck here for the winter
Blinded by golden dollar signs
We built some simple structures
Temporary, not permanent
But each year we dug much deeper
Each year our hearts grew weaker
Blinded by golden dollar signs
We never meant to stay here
We were here for the gold
Put a lump of coal in my hand
Squeeze just as tight as I can
Hope for a brand new diamond
I know it's slight but it's all I can
I promise honey that when we get paid
We'll pack our things and we'll move away
A thousand miles from this frozen lake
We'll find a place where we both can stay
We'll find a city with a million people
Find an apartment where the rent is real low
We'll disappear and no one will notice
How about it Darling?
We could both live downtown
We never meant to stay here
We were here for the gold
We never meant to stay here
But we're just dumb animals with our paws in the hole, grasping gold
Now we're stuck in a small town
Out on the shield
But it lost its appeal long ago
We wake up at dawn and kiss our wives on the forehead
And we slowly make our way into the caves
Where we will forget the faces of our children and our small regrets
Like, I should have kept that lucky penny while I had the chance
The lyrics to Said the Whale’s “Out On the Shield” tell the story of a group of people who stumbled upon a place while searching for gold. At the beginning, the singer makes it clear that they never intended to stay there, they were purely motivated by the potential for wealth. However, as they got further and further into their excavation, they became more deeply ensnared by their desire for riches. Each year they dug deeper, each year things got more serious, and each year they lost touch with their own humanity. The singer regrets their circumstances and expresses their longing for a brand new diamond, some form of payoff for all their hard work. They make a promise to their partner that when they finally get paid, they’ll leave this small town and all its pain behind, including leaving behind their children and small regrets. The whole song is a warning about losing sight of what’s truly important in life and becoming consumed by greed, even to one’s own detriment.
The themes of greed, loss of humanity, and regret in “Out On the Shield” are universal, and can be applied to any situation where someone has become consumed by an obsession. For example, addiction, or workaholism, or even relationships, where one partner becomes so focused on pleasing the other that they forget their own needs. The song encourages us to consider what it is we truly value in life and what we’re willing to sacrifice to get it. The lyrics are also evocative of the California Gold Rush in the mid-1800s, which led to mass migration and exploitation of Indigenous peoples throughout the state.
Line by Line Meaning
We never meant to stay here
Initially, this was not our plan
We were here for the gold
Our aim when we came here was to make money
We got stuck here for the winter
Winter has prolonged our stay here
Blinded by golden dollar signs
We are obsessed with the idea of making money
We built some simple structures
We created temporary dwellings
Temporary, not permanent
Our structures are not meant to last long
But each year we dug much deeper
As time passed, we went deeper in search of gold
And each year things got more serious
Our pursuit of gold became more intense
Each year our hearts grew weaker
Our desires for gold overtook our emotions
Put a lump of coal in my hand
I hold on to anything I can in hopes of finding gold
Squeeze just as tight as I can
I hold on tightly with anticipation
Hope for a brand new diamond
I wish for something better than what I currently have
I know it's slight but it's all I can
I understand it may not be likely, but I have to hope for the best
I promise honey that when we get paid
When we finally make money, I promise to leave this place
We'll pack our things and we'll move away
We plan to leave this small town behind us
A thousand miles from this frozen lake
We'll move far away from this place
We'll find a place where we both can stay
We'll look for a new home where we can settle
We'll find a city with a million people
We'll search for a big city to live in
Find an apartment where the rent is real low
We'll look for an affordable place to stay
We'll disappear and no one will notice
No one will realize we have left town
How about it Darling?
What do you think, my love?
But we're just dumb animals with our paws in the hole, grasping gold
We're foolishly obsessed with money, like animals digging for prey
Now we're stuck in a small town
We are trapped in this town
Out on the shield
We are fighting for what we believe in, but we may not be successful
But it lost its appeal long ago
Over time, this town has become uninteresting to us
We wake up at dawn and kiss our wives on the forehead
We start our day by showing affection to our loved ones
And we slowly make our way into the caves
We head into the mines where we work
Where we will forget the faces of our children and our small regrets
Our job consumes us, and we lose sight of our loved ones and past mistakes
Like, I should have kept that lucky penny while I had the chance
We have regrets about decisions we made in the past
Contributed by Lucas H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.