Near its inception, Sleeping At Last's amateur debut album, Capture, was noticed by Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan, who helped expose the music to the major-label world. Soon after, the band signed to Interscope Records and released 2003's Ghosts , their first official full-length album. Two independently-released full-length records followed: 2006's Keep No Score and 2009's Storyboards . In between the writing and recording of albums, the band has established a reputation for a pitch-perfect live show, successfully headlining several U.S. tours and sharing the stage with such artists as Switchfoot, Yellowcard, Something Corporate, Billy Corgan's Zwan, Alanis Morrisette, Lifehouse, and Phantom Planet, just to name a few. The creative process has always been protected, as the band self-produced each record, working with respected mixers such as John Goodmanson and Alan Moulder.
After the departure of drummer Chad O'Neal in 2011, the remaining duo embarked on the ambitious Yearbook project, in which O'Neal and Perdue released three songs on the first of every month in individual EPs. After its completion, all EPs were compiled into an LP and published independently. However, upon the final release of the Yearbook series, Perdue stepped down from the duo, leaving Ryan O'Neal a solo artist under the group's pre-existing moniker.
On December 10, 2012, O'Neal announced his largest project to date: the Atlas series, a three-part project approaching the themes of the origins of the universe and human development. Similar to 2011's Yearbook compilation, each set of new songs would be released as individual EPs until each part's completion, at which time the compilation of songs would be released as an LP. Up to now, 2014's Atlas I and 2019's Atlas II remain as stellar examples of O'Neal's accomplishments as a solo independent artist. Production on Atlas III is in progress, and its first two songs, "Overture III" and "Awake" have been released as singles.
Besides the Atlas series, O'Neal has kept busy with other projects, including three albums of covers commissioned by ABC's "Grey's Anatomy", in which Sleeping At Last has appeared a whopping 77 times. Sleeping At Last also produced the scores for the documentaries Many Beautiful Things (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) and charity:water's The Spring (Original Score). Finally, O'Neal has released multiple singles surrounding significant astronomical events, published as a compilation in 2020 under the title of Astronomy, Vol. 1.
Sleeping At Last has long been a beacon shining brightly on behalf of independent artists. In the ever-changing climate of the music industry, the quest for a successful independent career seems evermore difficult to attain. From his new home in L.A., O'Neal pursues this challenge relentlessly through his commitment to musical integrity in his songwriting, and in this way nurtures a unique and personal relationship with his listeners. He has remained true to the things that brought him to music in the first place: his love of melody and the power of words. His music and lyrics emerge from a place that is honest, raw, and spiritual: Says Ryan, "Our faith is a big part of who we are, but we have always intended our music to be for anyone that cares to listen, no matter who they are or what they believe in. Everyone hears a song in a different light."
In keeping with this, Ryan's lyrics ask every important question that occurs. While he promises no fast, sure answers, he somehow always offers hope as the consistent, overarching theme.
The Projectionist
Sleeping at Last Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With the eleventh hour, with the blaze of glory.
The theater lights dim and all goes quiet.
In the darkest of rooms, light shines the brightest.
When hands are tied and clocks are ticking,
An audience convinced: we're leaning in,
Holding our breath again.
Just when we thought the game was over
And we breathe a sigh of relief.
We're leaving, we're leaving our shadows behind us now.
We're leaving, we're leaving it all behind for now.
But even dust was made to settle
And if we're made of dust, then what makes us any different?
I guess we give what we've been given:
A family tree so very good at giving up
When we've had enough.
Though truth is heavier than fiction,
Gravity lifts as the projectionist rolls tape.
And it makes us brave again
And it makes us brave again
And it makes us brave.
So we're leaving, we're leaving our shadows behind us now.
We're leaving, we're leaving it all behind for now.
And it makes us brave again
And it makes us brave.
We're leaving, we're leaving
Sleeping at Last's song, The Projectionist, explores the beauty and power of storytelling. The song begins with the singer reminiscing about their love for stories, the eleventh hour heroism, and the thrill of the ending, where everything falls into place, and the hero is victorious. The song draws on the imagery of a theater, where the lights are dimmed, and the audience's attention is solely on the performance. In the darkest of rooms, when everything seems lost, the light shines the brightest, and hope is rekindled.
The music captures the emotions of the audience in the theater, the feeling of being at the edge of their seats when the game is almost over. And suddenly, the music lifts, and the dying soldier survives, and the audience breathes a sigh of relief. The song captures the power of storytelling to make us brave, to leave the shadows behind and move forward in life.
In the second half of the song, the singer reflects on the transient nature of life, how even the dust settles, and we all eventually return to dust. However, the song suggests that we give what we have been given, and our family trees are good at giving up when we've had enough. The truth may be heavier than fiction, but gravity lifts as the projectionist rolls tape, and we are made brave again.
Overall, the song is a tribute to the power of storytelling to inspire, to uplift, and to make us brave in the face of adversity.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was young I fell in love with story,
As a child, I was enamored with tales of adventure and triumph.
With the eleventh hour, with the blaze of glory.
I loved stories where the hero came out on top against all odds, achieving greatness at the last possible moment.
The theater lights dim and all goes quiet.
As the lights in the cinema faded to black and the chatter of the audience ceased, I was transported into the world of the movie.
In the darkest of rooms, light shines the brightest.
Even in a pitch-black cinema hall, the light from the projector illuminated the screen and captured my attention.
When hands are tied and clocks are ticking,
In situations where time is running out and circumstances are beyond our control,
An audience convinced: we're leaning in,
we as the spectators are engrossed, wanting to see what will happen next.
Holding our breath again.
We're holding our breath, waiting to see how the story unfolds.
Just when we thought the game was over.
At the moment when we believe the hero will not triumph, the plot takes an unexpected turn.
The music lifts and our dying solider lives!
At this moment, triumphant music swells, and the hero defeats their enemy, achieves an impossible victory, or survives against all odds.
And we breathe a sigh of relief.
As tension is released from the story, we as the audience exhale and express our relief.
We're leaving, we're leaving our shadows behind us now.
In the present day, we're leaving our past behind, moving away from the things that used to bind us.
We're leaving, we're leaving it all behind for now.
We're leaving behind our troubles, worries, and stresses, at least for the time being.
But even dust was made to settle
While we may be impermanent like dust, eventually everything settles and finds its place.
And if we're made of dust, then what makes us any different?
If we are all made of the same physical matter that makes up dust, what differentiates us from one another?
I guess we give what we've been given:
Perhaps our actions are determined by the hand we were dealt in life.
A family tree so very good at giving up
The artist is from a line of people who are prone to giving up when faced with adversity.
When we've had enough.
We have a tendency to throw in the towel when things get too tough or painful.
Though truth is heavier than fiction,
While truth may be harder to bear than fiction, it is more real and impactful.
Gravity lifts as the projectionist rolls tape.
As the film continues to roll, the burdens that weigh us down in real life fade away.
And it makes us brave again
The hope and possibility that we see on film inspires courage within us once more.
So we're leaving, we're leaving our shadows behind us now.
Once again, we're moving past the struggles and traumas of the past.
And it makes us brave again
The respite found in the theater allows us to return to our daily lives with renewed strength and purpose.
We're leaving, we're leaving
We're moving on and away from the past, in search of something better.
Contributed by Mateo J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.