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.
Wild Kindness
Silver Jews Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
on a classic nitrogen afternoon.
Some power that hardly looked like power
said I'm only perfect in an empty room.
Four dogs in the distance
each stands for a kindness.
Bluebirds lodged in an evergreen altar…
and spurn the sin of giving in.
Oil paintings of x-rated picnics.
Behind the walls of medication I'm free.
Every falling leaf in a compact mirror
hits a target that we can't see.
Grass grows in the icebox.
The year ends in the next room
It is autumn and my camouflage is dying
instead of time there will be lateness
and let forever be delayed.
I died my hair in a motel void
met the coroner at the Dreamgate Frontier
He took may hand said I'll help you boy
ff you really want to disappear
Four dogs in the distance
each stands for a silence.
Bluebirds lodged in an evergreen altar…
I'm gonna shine out in the wild kindness
and hold the world to its word.
The song "Wild Kindness" by Silver Jews seems to be a contemplation on the nature of existence and the individual's place within it. The singer begins by writing a letter to a wildflower on a nitrogen afternoon, which seems to be an attempt to connect with nature and perhaps find solace in it. However, they are confronted with a power that they recognize as being only perfect in an empty room, suggesting that there is something inherently flawed about the way humans navigate the world.
The lyrics continue with a series of seemingly disconnected images and themes, such as dogs standing for different kinds of kindness and grass growing in an icebox. The singer mentions x-rated picnics and walls of medication, which could be interpreted as societal constructs that limit our ability to truly live freely. They seem to reject the notion of time and choose to live in the moment, embracing a wild silence and a wild kindness that holds the world to its word.
Overall, the song is a meditation on the human experience and a search for meaning and connection within it. The singer seems to be grappling with larger existential questions and trying to find a path forward that allows them to live authentically and with purpose.
Line by Line Meaning
I wrote a letter to a wildflower
on a classic nitrogen afternoon.
I composed a message to a bloom growing untamed on a typical day with nitrogen in the air.
Some power that hardly looked like power
said I'm only perfect in an empty room.
Some force that appeared insignificant informed me that my perfection only exists in an unoccupied space.
Four dogs in the distance
each stands for a kindness.
There are four canines visible far away, each representing a benevolent quality.
Bluebirds lodged in an evergreen altar…
I'm gonna shine out in the wild silence
and spurn the sin of giving in.
Small blue-feathered birds inhabit an altar of coniferous trees...I will radiate a bright light in the midst of nature's quietness and reject the wrongdoing of surrendering.
Oil paintings of x-rated picnics.
Behind the walls of medication I'm free.
Every falling leaf in a compact mirror
hits a target that we can't see.
Works of art portraying adult themed outdoor meals...I am liberated inside a medical setting's confines. A mirror reflecting each leaf that descends strikes an unseen objective.
Grass grows in the icebox.
The year ends in the next room
It is autumn and my camouflage is dying
instead of time there will be lateness
and let forever be delayed.
Vegetation grows in the refrigerator. The current calendar year concludes in the adjacent space. Though it is fall, my cover is fading...late arrivals in place of time...let eternity wait.
I died my hair in a motel void
met the coroner at the Dreamgate Frontier
He took may hand said I'll help you boy
ff you really want to disappear
I tinted my hair in an insignificant place...encountered the individual who examines corpses at the border of a dreamland...He grasped my hand and claimed he'd help me vanish, but only if I genuinely desire it.
Four dogs in the distance
each stands for a silence.
Bluebirds lodged in an evergreen altar…
I'm gonna shine out in the wild kindness
and hold the world to its word.
From afar, four canines symbolize different types of quietness. Blue-feathered birds reside in a forested shrine. I will radiate a bright light amongst untamed kindness and make sure the world stays true to its promises.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Danton
I wrote a letter to a wildflower
On a classic nitrogen afternoon
Some power that hardly looked like power
Said I'm only perfect in an empty room
Four dogs in the distance
Each stands for a kindness
Bluebirds lodged in an evergreen altar
I'm gonna shine out in the wild silence
I'm gonna shine out in the wild silence
I'm gonna shine out in the wild silence
And spurn the sin of giving in
Oil paintings of x-rated picnics
Behind the walls of medication I'm free
Every leaf in a compact mirror
Hits a target that we can't see
Grass grows in the icebox
The year ends in the next room
It is autumn and my camouflage is dying
Instead of time there will be lateness
Instead of time there will be lateness
Instead of time there will be lateness
And let forever be delayed
I dyed…
maldoror2007
And The Others
Some find The Light in literature
Others in fine art
And some persist in being sure
The Light shines in the heart.
Some find The Light in alcohol
Some, in the sexual spark
Some never find The Light at all
And make do with the dark
And one might guess that these would be
A gloomy lot indeed
But, no, The Light they never see
They think they do not need.
David Berman, Acutal Air (Poems)
b s
On this song David and Stephen truly achieved a kind of grace.
Emerald Celestial
@Borno It's crazy how Silver Jews lyrics just age so well and carry you through life like a a free hand to hold when it feels like there are no hands to hold anywhere...
Borno
DCB always achieves grace. There are lines that won't make sense until years later
russel swensen
Shine out in the wild kindness, David. We loved you as best we could. We will miss you more than anyone can ever say.
deliziöse Tiefkühlkost
I hope that you rest easy with the knowledge that u save my life every now and then. RIP david
Danton
I wrote a letter to a wildflower
On a classic nitrogen afternoon
Some power that hardly looked like power
Said I'm only perfect in an empty room
Four dogs in the distance
Each stands for a kindness
Bluebirds lodged in an evergreen altar
I'm gonna shine out in the wild silence
I'm gonna shine out in the wild silence
I'm gonna shine out in the wild silence
And spurn the sin of giving in
Oil paintings of x-rated picnics
Behind the walls of medication I'm free
Every leaf in a compact mirror
Hits a target that we can't see
Grass grows in the icebox
The year ends in the next room
It is autumn and my camouflage is dying
Instead of time there will be lateness
Instead of time there will be lateness
Instead of time there will be lateness
And let forever be delayed
I dyed…
//DISENTANGLED//
absolute lyrical masterclass. Don't give up, give up.
Blake
somebody played this album for me while we were hanging out in 2003, a few weeks before i left home forever, and this has been pretty much my favorite band since then.
saint faery
RIP David Berman. So sad to hear he passed away today.
Unknown
He was very much like me. Apart from he was talented and good looking