The band was formed by two members of Okkervil River, back-up vocalist and accordion/keyboard player Jonathan Meiburg and singer and guitarist Will Sheff, so they could write quieter songs. Beginning in 2005, Sheff lessened his role in the band, leaving Meiburg as the band's songwriter from Palo Santo on.
Band members today include Jonathan Meiburg, Thor Harris, Kim Burke, Lucas Oswald, with many contributions from others. The touring band in 2012 featured producer/drummer Danny Reisch and guitarist/vocalist Mitch Billeaud of The Lemurs and Christiaan Mader of Brass Bed.
To date, Shearwater has released nine full-length albums The Dissolving Room, Everybody Makes Mistakes, Winged Life, Palo Santo, Rook, The Golden Archipelago, Animal Joy, and Jet Plane & Oxbow as well as EPs Thieves and The Snow Leopard, and a split LP with Okkervil River entitled Sham Wedding/Hoax Funeral, as well as an album of covers of former touring partners, Fellow Travelers, released in November 2013.
As an ornithologist and writer, Meiburg has a unique perspective. The songs of Palo Santo were partly written at the Galápagos Islands in the footsteps of Charles Darwin. Rook was influenced by studies in the Falklands Islands and by the current mass extinction we are living through. The Golden Archipelago examined the destruction of island cultures in the 20th century and beyond. Animal Joy returned to more personal concerns; Meiburg stated repeatedly in interviews that the foundational idea is that life is most real when "the blood flows fastest and closest to the surface." Fellow Travelers started as a small home EP and expanded into a full album celebrating relationships with the other bands they've met along the way.
Animal Life
Shearwater Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hardened by a Roman machinery
Cast among the building sites
The coiling wires, the shots collected
Called out in the wake of a lottery
Held inside the family gathering
Mirrored beams and dog-like stretch
Murmurs in the dark confessional
And rides along the road, ephemeral
As an animal life
Rusting in the shade of the batteries
Hanging from a rope in the gallery
Pacing down the balance beam
Of half-remembered holidays
No rush of light, no sign of belonging
No joy in building, love in the finishing
Chasing down an anodyne
And half-reflected radiance
To hide below the ancient barricade
In chambers like the rooms a swallow made
For an animal life
Charging down the maw of the ocean
I want to come close, I want to come closer
I held your name inside my mouth
Through all the days out wandering
But called up from the mouth of oblivion
Cast away like dogs from the shelter
I shed the dulling armor plates
That once collected radiance
And, surging at the blood's perimeter
The half-remembered wild interior
Of an animal life
The lyrics of Animal Life by Shearwater are intriguing, leaving room for ambiguity and personal interpretation. The song speaks of a person born into a family, though seemingly not one of acceptance, belonging, or joy. The family is compared to a machinery, which in turn has hardened the person, leaving them cast amongst building sites, coiling wires, and collected shots. The person is then seemingly called out in the wake of a lottery, and remains held inside a family gathering. Throughout, we are given animalistic imagery regarding wandering, murmurs in the dark confessional, and an animal life that is both ephemeral and half-remembered.
As the song progresses, the lyrics shift to speak of someone rusting in the shade of batteries, hanging from a rope in a gallery, pacing down a balance beam of half-remembered holidays, and chasing down an anodyne. The person seems to have no rush of light or sign of belonging, nor joy in building, or love in the finishing. They then hide below an ancient barricade in chambers, like the rooms a swallow made, leading the listener to believe that there is a lack of life and vitality. Finally, the song speaks of someone charging down the maw of the ocean, holding someone's name inside their mouth through all the days out wandering. In the end, the lyrics speak to shedding the dulling armor plates that once collected radiance and surging at the blood's perimeter, the half-remembered wild interior of an animal life.
Overall, the lyrics of Animal Life are wrought with a sense of despondence and hopelessness, despite the mention of love and wandering. The animalistic imagery is used to depict a sense of both freedom and captivity, and the song ultimately leaves the listener to their own personal interpretation of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
Born inside the gates of a family
From birth, the singer was a member of a certain family
Hardened by a Roman machinery
Growing up, the singer was exposed to an oppressive and rigid system
Cast among the building sites
The singer was thrown into an environment where there was a lot of construction going on
The coiling wires, the shots collected
The artist was surrounded by dangerous and unpredictable things such as live wires and gunshots
Called out in the wake of a lottery
The artist felt like they were chosen randomly and without control and without knowing the purpose behind it
Held inside the family gathering
Even when they managed to be around family, they felt trapped
Mirrored beams and dog-like stretch
Things seemed to reflect each other and no progress was made - and the singer felt like they were desperately trying to change
A wandering association
The artist struggles to connect and accept the environment and the people around them
Murmurs in the dark confessional
The artist had moments of despair where taking refuge in confession yielded no answers
And rides along the road, ephemeral
The artist's journey has been brief and temporary, like a mere snapshot compaered to the larger picture of life
As an animal life
Overall, the singer feels like they've been living their life just like any other animal, without purpose or meaning beyond survival
Rusting in the shade of the batteries
The artist feels like they are decaying and fading away without charging themselves like batteries
Hanging from a rope in the gallery
The singer feels like they are just hanging in there and not making any real progress in life
Pacing down the balance beam
The singer feels like life is a balancing act that is difficult to maintain and makes them anxious and unsure
Of half-remembered holidays
The happy memories of the past are fading as they struggle to find meaning in present days
No rush of light, no sign of belonging
The artist feels disconnected, hopelessly searching for a sense of purpose and belonging
No joy in building, love in the finishing
The artist feels like they are devoid of optimism or any possibility of finding happiness in what they do
Chasing down an anodyne
The singer is searching for a painless and numb existence
And half-reflected radiance
The few moments of happiness or light are fleeting and dim, reflected by external factors
To hide below the ancient barricade
The artist submerges themselves in a murky and safe world devoid of any chance of change or progress
In chambers like the rooms a swallow made
The artist feels confined to small chambers, and emerges from them occasionally only to retreat back again
For an animal life
They come to the realization that life has always been as an animal in disposition and essence
Charging down the maw of the ocean
The singer has finally embraced the inevitability of the end
I want to come close, I want to come closer
In spite of this acceptance of the end, the artist wants to come close to something that really matters
I held your name inside my mouth
The singer treasures someone or something, which brings back life and meaning to the dull existence
Through all the days out wandering
Despite their search for meaning, the singer has wandered aimlessly and without purpose for a long time
But called up from the mouth of oblivion
Even in the darkest or most meaningless moments, there is a certain hope that they will find a way out
Cast away like dogs from the shelter
The artist has had moments of rejection and abandonment which added to their despair
I shed the dulling armor plates
The artist sets out to shed their damaging and limiting ways of thinking and living
That once collected radiance
The dullness they've carried with them prevented the radiance of life from shining through
And, surging at the blood's perimeter
The singer feels a sense of determination as if they're fighting to the very end
The half-remembered wild interior
Deep inside, the artist realizes they have a wild and untamed spirit that was suppressed and forgotten until now
Of an animal life
This newfound energy propels the artist to embrace the animalistic impulse to fight for what they love
Contributed by Eva A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ringmod
This is a brilliant song. I love the subtle changes in the chord progression starting where he sings, "cast away like dogs from the shelter."
Carin de Kock
This song remains so beautiful and significant.
Cara Mason
Absolutely beautiful and brilliant 👏👏👏🌹🌹🌹
experimentalpunk21
Born inside the gates of the family
Hardened by a Roman machinery
Cast among the building sights
The calling wives, the shards collected.
Called out in the wake of the lottery
Hurled inside the family gathering
Mirrored beams and doglike stretch
The wandering association
Marbles in the dark confessional
And the rides along the road ephemeral
As an animal life!
Rustling in the shade of the batteries
Hanging from a rope in the gallery
Pacing down the balance beam of half remembered holidays
No rush of light, no sign of belonging
No joy in building love in the finishing
Chasing down an anodyne and half reflected radiance
To high below the ancient barricade
In chambers like the rooms a swallow made
For an animal life!
Charging down the mall with the .
I wanna come close, I wanna come closer
I held your name inside my mouth
Through all the days out wandering
But called out from the mouth of …
Cast away like dogs from the shelter
… that once collected radiance
And searching at the…
The half remembered wild interior
Of an animal life!
Tiggy Wilson
Yes, this is it. Thank you.
Tiggy Wilson
Born inside the gates of the family
Hardened by a Roman machinery
Cast among the building sites
The coiling wires, the shots collected.
Called out in the wake of the lottery
Heard inside the family gathering
Mirrored beams and doglike stretch
The wandering association
Murmurs in the dark confessional
And the rides along the road ephemeral
As an animal life!
Rusting in the shade of the batteries
Hanging from a rope in the gallery
Pacing down the balance beam of half remembered holidays
No rush of light, no sign of belonging
No joy in building love in the finishing
Chasing down an anodyne and half reflected radiance
To hide below the ancient barricades
In chambers like the rooms a swallow made
For an animal life!
Charging down the maw of the ocean,
I wanna come close, I wanna come closer
I held your name inside my mouth
Through all the days of wandering
But called out from the mouth of oblivion
Cast away like dogs from the shelter
I shed the dulling armour plates that once collected radiance
And surging at the blood's perimeter
The half remembered wild interior
Of an animal life!
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Mükemmel💟🍒
Voice
Good song