Pavement, a band started by Malkmus post-Ectoslavia, pre-New York, at this point began to gain attention. This attention resulted in a record deal and a constant inferiority plague placed upon the 'Joos with Berman totally at the forefront of the group. Misinformed music fans now saw the band as a side-project and, even worse, Berman as being not good enough to play with Pavement, many band members being shared between the two bands.
The connection to Malkmus and the now blossoming Pavement was not all negative, however. Drag City, then not the bastion of American folk music it is today, agreed to release the band's debut EPs which has led to a fruitful relationship (the label continues to release the band's records, right up to album number 7 in 2008, (Lookout Mountain, Lookout Sea).
The Silver Jews in their later days primarily consisted of David and Cassie Berman who contributed most of the lyrics, and a changing cast of characters. They had numerous indie stars in a rotating line up, including Willie T. of Lambchop, and Brian Kotzer of Tim Chad and Sherry.
David Berman is also a poet and has been published in numerous poetry magazines and journals. He also has a book of poetry and rants entitled "Actual Air," which was released in 1999 and received favorable reviews from The New Yorker and GQ.
On the 22nd of January, 2009, David Berman announced on the Drag City messageboard that their show on the 31st of January in Tennessee would be their last. "Can't be like all the careerists doncha know. I'm forty two and I know what to do. I'm a writer, see? I always said we would stop before we got bad." After 10 years off, Berman reappeared in 2019 as Purple Mountains.
David Berman died from suicide on August 22, 2019 after a long battle with depression.
Random Rules
Silver Jews Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Slowly screwing my way across Europe, they had to make a correction
Broken and smokin' where the infrared deer plunge in the digital snake
I tell you, they make it so you can't shake hands when they make your hands shake
I know you like to line dance, everything so democratic and cool
But baby there's no guidance when random rules
I know that a lot of what I say has been lifted off of men's room walls
Maybe I've crossed the wrong rivers and walked down all the wrong halls
But nothing can change the fact that we used to share a bed
And that's why it scared me so when you turned to me and said
"Yeah, you look like someone
Yeah you look like someone who up and left me low
Boy, you look like someone I used to know"
I know you like to line dance, everything so democratic and cool
But baby there's no guidance when random rules
I asked the painter why the roads are colored black
He said, "Steve, it's because people leave
And no highway will bring them back"
So if you don't want me I promise not to linger
But before I go I gotta ask you dear about the tan line on your ring finger
No one should have two lives
Now you know my middle names are wrong and right
Honey we've got two lives to give tonight
To give tonight
To give tonight, oh oh oh oh oh
The Silver Jews' song "Random Rules" is a reflection on the unpredictable and chaotic nature of life. The opening verse describes a moment of mental instability, where the singer is "slowly screwing my way across Europe" and is hospitalized for "approaching perfection." The lyrics suggest a struggle with mental illness, as the singer talks about brokenness and smoking, and references the infrared deer plunge and digital snake, which could be interpreted as a hallucination. The line "they make it so you can't shake hands when they make your hands shake" could suggest that the medical system is not always equipped to deal with mental health issues and sometimes causes more harm than good.
The chorus, "I know you like to line dance, everything so democratic and cool / But baby there's no guidance when random rules," speaks to the randomness of life and how unpredictable events can disrupt even the most structured and controlled situations. The singer acknowledges that some of what he says may come from "men's room walls," suggesting a sense of desperation or searching for answers in unexpected places. The reference to rivers and wrong halls could be interpreted as being lost and unsure of one's path. The song ends with a plea to live life to the fullest, as the singer realizes that "no one should have two lives," and asks his partner to spend the night with him.
Line by Line Meaning
In 1984 I was hospitalized for approaching perfection
I was so obsessed with being perfect that it landed me in a hospital
Slowly screwing my way across Europe, they had to make a correction
I was having a lot of sex across Europe and it wasn't healthy
Broken and smokin' where the infrared deer plunge in the digital snake
I was in a bad place mentally, feeling lost and consumed by technology
I tell you, they make it so you can't shake hands when they make your hands shake
It's difficult to connect with people when you're so anxious and nervous all the time
I know you like to line dance, everything so democratic and cool
You enjoy fitting in and following the crowd without really thinking for yourself
But baby there's no guidance when random rules
You're not really living your own life, you're just following whatever random rules are put in front of you
I know that a lot of what I say has been lifted off of men's room walls
I sometimes say things impulsively without much thought or consideration
Maybe I've crossed the wrong rivers and walked down all the wrong halls
I've made a lot of mistakes and maybe gone down the wrong paths in life
But nothing can change the fact that we used to share a bed
There's a history between us that can't be erased, even if things have changed
And that's why it scared me so when you turned to me and said
When you said certain things to me, it revealed the depth of how much things had changed between us and it frightened me
"Yeah, you look like someone
You resemble someone
Yeah you look like someone who up and left me low
You look like someone who hurt me and left me feeling down
Boy, you look like someone I used to know"
You remind me of someone I used to be close with
I asked the painter why the roads are colored black
I asked someone who knows more about life why things can seem so dark and dismal
He said, "Steve, it's because people leave
The explanation offered was that things can feel bleak because people are always leaving or disappearing
And no highway will bring them back"
There's no easy solution or simple way to bring people back or bring back what's been lost
So if you don't want me I promise not to linger
If you're not interested in me, I'll leave and won't overstay my welcome
But before I go I gotta ask you dear about the tan line on your ring finger
I have to ask you about the evidence that suggests you're married or in a committed relationship
No one should have two lives
It's not right or fair for someone to essentially have two different lives or identities
Now you know my middle names are wrong and right
I have an unconventional or possibly conflicting or contradictory nature
Honey we've got two lives to give tonight
We have a chance to live fully and truly, but we have to take advantage of it now
To give tonight
We have to make the most of the time we have right now
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
Written by: David Craig Berman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@akechi77
Crossroads
Sometimes it descends
Sometimes it ascends, but the
Road will always meet you.
Meet me in the middle
Where nothing intersects with
What you have been.
Where the moon rises
And sets at the same time
Seams are sewn together.
@stevieray56
In the second verse of “Random Rules,” the standout, opening track from Silver Jews’ 1998 album American Water, singer David Berman confesses, “I know that a lot of what I say has been lifted off of men’s room walls.” In context, he might be referring to a tendency toward vulgarity or baseness. But taken another way, it almost seems like a meta-commentary on Berman’s uncanny ability to stitch together a breathtakingly beautiful song out of vivid one-liners.
As one-liners go, “Random Rules” contains some of the best Berman’s ever written. He begins with a now-legendary opening line: “In 1984 I was hospitalized for approaching perfection.” Next thing you know, he’s “broken and smoking where the infrared deer plunge in the digital snake,” which is somehow both evocative and cryptic to the point of being nearly indecipherable. But everything returns to a sobering, melancholy core in the song’s chorus: “I know you like to line dance/ Everything’s so democratic and cool/ But baby, there’s no guidance when random rules.”
Berman’s words come together almost like Dadaist poetry — for which men’s room walls can sometimes provide the perfect venue — and Berman does, in fact, have a history of writing poetry outside of music. “It’s kind of like football players in the ‘70s who started endorsing taking ballet lessons. Who am I to argue against sharpening agility?” he told Pitchfork in 2005. “All musicians should write poetry or at least read it if they want to improve their game.”
Take a step back, though, and the connections between each of Berman’s punchy, seemingly self-contained lines grow more tangible. Berman isn’t piecing together lines of a cut-and-paste word puzzle, but rather attempting to pick up the pieces of a relationship that’s been shattered. And suddenly, each of those brilliant little moments sprinkled throughout the song hit just a little bit harder, and sting just a little bit more. And when Berman narrates a conversation with a painter about why roads are colored black, it’s downright devastating: “It’s because people leave and no highway will bring them back.”
By suggesting that “random rules,” Berman muses on the inherent randomness in the universe — the feeling that everything is meaningless, or at least can feel that way when its meaning is stripped away from you. But the song itself is loaded with meaning, humor and vulnerability. There’s nothing random about it at all.
@mr.mojorisin9040
In 1984 I was hospitalized for approaching perfection
Slowly screwing my way across Europe, they had to make a correction
Broken and smokin' where the infrared deer plunge in the digital snake
I tell you, they make it so you can't shake hands when they make your hands shake
I know you like to line dance, everything so democratic and cool
But baby there's no guidance when random rules
I know that a lot of what I say has been lifted off of men's room walls
Maybe I've crossed the wrong rivers and walked down all the wrong halls
But nothing can change the fact that we used to share a bed
And that's why it scared me so when you turned to me and said
"Yeah, you look like someone
Yeah you look like someone who up and left me low
Boy, you look like someone I used to know"
I know you like to line dance, everything so democratic and cool
But baby there's no guidance when random rules
I asked the painter why the roads are colored black
He said, "Steve, it's because people leave
And no highway will bring them back"
So if you don't want me I promise not to linger
But before I go I gotta ask you dear about the tan line on your ring finger
No one should have two lives
Now you know my middle names are wrong and right
Honey we've got two lives to give tonight
To give tonight
To give tonight, oh oh oh oh oh
Random rules / Silver Jews
@xiaoyuerolin9387
In 1984 I was hospitalized for approaching perfection.
Slowly screwing my way across Europe, they had to make a correction.
Broken and smokin' where the infrared deer plunge in the digital snake.
I tell you, they make it so you can't shake hands when they make your hands shake.
I know you like to line dance, everything so democratic and cool,
But baby there's no guidance when random rules.
I know that a lot of what I say has been lifted off of men's room walls.
Maybe I've crossed the wrong rivers and walked down all the wrong halls.
But nothing can change the fact that we used to share a bed
and that's why it scared me so when you turned to me and said:
"Yeah, you look like someone
Yeah you look like someone who up and left me low.
Boy, you look like somene I used to know."
I asked the painter why the roads are colored black.
He said, "Steve, it's because people leave
and no highway will bring them back."
So if you don't want me I promise not to linger,
But before I go I gotta ask you dear about the tan line on your ring finger.
No one should have two lives,
now you know my middle names are wrong and right.
Honey we've got two lives to give tonight
Source: Musixmatch
@gimmedatwheat
Rest in peace, David. One of the most singular lyricists rock music had seen.
@sentinela8775
Really, when did he die?
@Ivanexecutive
@@sentinela8775 end of 2019, killed himself. very sad. just found out myself. :(
@Xxt3hTIMShoWxX
Lol what this sounds like pink Floyd except they all have downs syndrome..... 🤣
@matthewtaylor4767
One day 'Nashville' (the 'establishment', not the city) will recognize he was every bit the equal of Kris Kristofferson and Shel Silverstein.
@christopherwelch136
Miss him so much.
@taivonation
RIP. Possibly the best song ever written.
"In 1984, I was hospitalized for approaching perfection..."
And that's only the first line.
@realkevinharlan
I agree completely
@danielk9067
It's been over two years since Dave's death. Really, really sucks and I am more fascinated with his work than ever. I discovered Silver Jews when I was in college about a decade ago and it changed my life, literally. This music (especially the lyrics) truly shifted the way I see the world and understand beauty in more ways than one.
On a weird note that I hope doesn't come across in a negative way, I didn't actually discover this video until after Dave's death. That being said, I've only ever really seen imagery of him as an older guy, bearded and greying a little. Not a lot of imagery even exists relative to his contemporaries like Stephen Malkmus who seems to never age (anyway...). So in my head all these years listening to this ridiculously mature work I always pictured a 40-50 year old guy singing those words, because only someone with that much life experience could conceive of these concepts. However, seeing this video I realize that the man singing on the studio recordings was this young, handsome, and relatively healthy looking guy with a smile that could light up a room. It's partially inspiring as hell to know that this young dude was such a genius and it's also very sad and melancholy realizing that he only fell deeper and deeper into depression as the years went on and it culminated in his tragic death. We love you and miss you David Berman, in a way that really cannot be replicated for many other artists.
@soylentcompany5235
beautiful, tragic thought. Thanks for sharing