In twelve months of deepening obscurity, Skinny Jean begot three children: a boy, a girl, and an album. In all the resplendent wankery the band admits to represent, they have chosen a title as elongated as it is indicative. The Diving Saucer Returns from a World Where the Sun Never Shines heralds the captivating return of the four-piece.
Contrasting analogue production with shiny new electronic appendages, they have slowly crafted a work that is both warm and slick. In typical Skinny Jean fashion, the album showcases songs that deeply contrast each other. After the nation-wide critical acclaim that their first album Dolce Doggerel generated, the band has sought to eclipse that full-length attempt from 2009.
They spent twelve long months in exotic Moorooka at Stephen Bartlett’s Docking Station studios. Amid the bleak metropolitan setting a diverse array of songs gestated. The songs were recorded directly to tape through analogue gear and mastered to vinyl. Using this production aesthetic, the band quickly discovered the positive effect recording to tape had on their sound and performances.
Skinny Jean will imminently be releasing the first 3 cuts from The Diving Saucer Returns from a World Where the Sun Never Shines online and marking the occasion with their comeback show on August 4, 2012 at the Visy Theatre, New Farm.
Time: 8pm
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Alarm Heist
Skinny Jean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He was frisky as bird and he threw me with all his force
Until the day that I grabbed him by the reins
And stared him in the eye and called him names
And broke him so bad he could carry my cold little corpse
And he rode along, rode along
He rode along, rode along
He took me under a low-branched tree
Knocked me off so I couldn't see
And he rode along, rode along, rode along
There were four of us from the mountain and the rivers 'neath the moon
With families of five to feed and pretty soon
We'd be walking on through the old hinged door
Of the local bank carryin' 4-0-4's
With some pasty bloke setting off the alarm
He's on the 'larm, on the 'larm
He's on the 'larm, on the 'larm
He's on the alarm, the alarm, on the alarm
I kissed him with my rifle butt
He screamed out loud like a shaggy mutt
And he's on the 'larm, on the 'larm, on the alarm
No longer on the alarm
As we waited for the sirens of the fuzz to blare outside
My mountain horse was gettin' edgy and some woman just up and cried
You didn't quiet her down, you didn't threaten to bash
You were too busy sweatin' on your technicolour stash
While the bullets tore burning holes right through our hides
As we rode along, rode along
We rode along, rode along
We rode along, rode along, rode along
My horse turned red and I turned white
He carried my corpse: I taught him right
As we rode along, rode along, rode along
The song "Alarm Heist" by Skinny Jeans is a narrative depiction of a young man's experiences as a criminal horse thief. The first verse describes him breaking a frisky mountain horse using violent means. He later used the same horse as a getaway vehicle during a bank heist; a crime he committed alongside three other men from the mountains. In the chorus, they all rode into the town with their guns and bombs, terrifying the locals and beating up the security personnel.
However, the heist takes a twist when the alarm goes off, and they are faced with even more brutal resistance from the police. They end up engaging in a shootout with the officers, and the singer's mountain horse, which he had trained so well, eventually gets shot, and he dies. The song's overall theme is one of the consequences of the singer's actions, as he realizes his mistakes and is faced with the inevitable repercussions of his past deeds.
Overall, the song gives the listener a vivid account of the singer's violent and lawless experiences, eliciting feelings of empathy and fear, while also exploring themes of morality and fate.
Line by Line Meaning
I was young when I rode my first little mountain horse
I was inexperienced when I first rode my mountain horse.
He was frisky as bird and he threw me with all his force
The horse was lively and bucked me off.
Until the day that I grabbed him by the reins
I took control of the horse by grabbing its reins.
And stared him in the eye and called him names
I asserted my dominance over the horse by staring it in the eye and verbally scolding it.
And broke him so bad he could carry my cold little corpse
Through harsh training, the horse was tamed so well that it could even carry my dead body.
There were four of us from the mountain and the rivers 'neath the moon
Four of us from the nearby areas gathered together for a heist.
With families of five to feed and pretty soon
Our families were struggling financially and we needed quick cash.
We'd be walking on through the old hinged door
We were planning to enter the bank through its old entrance.
Of the local bank carryin' 4-0-4's
We were carrying 404s, a type of error message, but this could also be slang for firearms.
With some pasty bloke setting off the alarm
The bank's security system was triggered and an employee, who was nervous or scared, was responsible.
He's on the 'larm, on the 'larm
The alarm is sounding off.
I kissed him with my rifle butt
I struck the employee with the butt of my rifle.
He screamed out loud like a shaggy mutt
The employee screamed loudly and pitifully.
And he's on the 'larm, on the 'larm, on the alarm
The alarm is still going off, despite the employee being incapacitated.
No longer on the alarm
The bank employee is no longer setting off the alarm.
As we waited for the sirens of the fuzz to blare outside
We were waiting for police to arrive outside the bank.
My mountain horse was gettin' edgy and some woman just up and cried
My horse was becoming restless and someone nearby started crying.
You didn't quiet her down, you didn't threaten to bash
I didn't attempt to calm down the crying woman, nor did I threaten to harm her.
You were too busy sweatin' on your technicolour stash
I was too preoccupied with worrying about my stash of illegally obtained goods.
While the bullets tore burning holes right through our hides
The police attacked us with gunfire and we were wounded as a result.
My horse turned red and I turned white
My horse was injured and bleeding, while I became pale with fear or shock.
He carried my corpse: I taught him right
My well-trained horse was able to carry my dead body after the shootout.
Contributed by Julia B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.