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.
Trains Across the Sea
Silver Jews Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To see you, I can't stand to see you when you're
Crying at home. Scotch & penicillin, please try
Carlton, a cold black maple hanger & husbands
On the run I just got back from a dream
Attack that took me by surprise & in there
I met a lady, her name was Shady Sides & she
Said, "It's been evening all day long, evening
Wrong". Sin and gravity drag me down to sleep
To dream of trains across the sea, trains across
The sea. Half hours on earth, what are
They worth, I don't know. In 27 years
I've drunk fifty thousand beers & they just
Wash against me like the sea into a pier....
The lyrics of the Silver Jews' song "Trains Across The Sea" provide a powerful account of the struggles and emotions of the singer. The opening lines "Troubles, no troubles, on the line, & I can't stand" indicate a sense of unease or anxiety. The singer then expresses their inability to bear seeing another person, possibly a loved one, crying at home. The use of the words "Scotch & penicillin" suggests an attempt to relieve their own pain, both physical and emotional, through self-medication. However, even these remedies do not seem to help, as the mention of "husbands on the run" implies some sort of domestic turmoil.
The second stanza shifts towards a dream-like, surreal atmosphere. The singer recounts a dream attack they experienced, which led them to meet a mysterious woman named Shady Sides. She speaks in riddles, saying "It's been evening all day long," which could represent a sense of melancholy or darkness that persists despite the passage of time. Shady Sides wonders how something so old could still be so wrong, hinting at the idea that the singer is burdened by something from their past. The final lines "Sin and gravity drag me down to sleep / To dream of trains across the sea" provide a striking image of the singer being pulled towards a deep sleep while dreaming of a fantastical journey, perhaps representing a desire to escape their troubles.
Overall, "Trains Across The Sea" is a haunting account of a person struggling with various challenges in life, ranging from emotional pain to addiction. The dream-like imagery and enigmatic dialogue add a layer of complexity to the lyrics, inviting the listener to ponder their meaning further.
Line by Line Meaning
Troubles, no troubles, on the line, & I can't stand
No matter what's happening on the train line, the singer can't stand to see their loved one crying at home.
To see you, I can't stand to see you when you're Crying at home.
The singer can't bear to see their loved one upset and crying at home.
Scotch & penicillin, please try Carlton, a cold black maple hanger & husbands On the run
The singer is making a request for a specific type of scotch and penicillin medication, as well as suggesting using a black maple hanger to alleviate their spouse's troubles as the spouses of others are running away from them.
I just got back from a dream Attack that took me by surprise & in there I met a lady, her name was Shady Sides & she Said, 'It's been evening all day long, evening All day long & how can something so old be so Wrong'.
After waking from a sudden dream, the artist describes encountering a woman named Shady Sides who expressed confusion over how something as old as evening could be so wrong and pervasive all day long.
Sin and gravity drag me down to sleep To dream of trains across the sea, trains across The sea.
The artist's internal struggles and the weight of the world cause them to sleep and dream about trains crossing an impossible ocean.
Half hours on earth, what are They worth, I don't know.
The singer ponders the worth of half-hour increments of their life on earth and comes to no conclusion.
In 27 years I've drunk fifty thousand beers & they just Wash against me like the sea into a pier....
The singer reflects on their past 27 years of life and the numerous beers they've consumed, feeling as though they've had little effect on them and are like waves crashing against a pier.
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
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