Landing their first record deal with Twin/Tone in 1984, Soul Asylum recorded a total of four albums for the local label: Say What You Will... Everything Can Happen in 1984 (later reissued as Say What You Will, Clarence... Karl Sold the Truck), Made To Be Broken in 1986, While You Were Out in 1986, and the EP Clam Dip and Other Delights in 1988. The band then switched to A&M, releasing Hang Time in 1988 and And the Horse They Rode In On in 1990 under that label. Although they enjoyed some success as a live band, Soul Asylum suffered from low album sales and considered disbanding.
In 1992, they signed with Columbia Records to produce Grave Dancers Union, a record that would come to transform them from underground college rockers to international superstars. The first two singles off the album, Somebody To Shove and Black Gold, both came in at high positions at the Modern Rock and Album Rock charts, but it was the album's third track and it's video of missing teens that led them to their major breakthrough. Runaway Train peaked at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, raised album sales to double-platinum level, and won Soul Asylum the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song in 1994.
In 1995, Soul Asylum followed up the success of Grave Dancers Union with Let Your Dim Light Shine, which climbed to #6 on the Billboard 200 and featured the #1 Modern Rock track Misery. After releasing Candy From A Stranger in 1998, the band members took a break from recording and didn't release a new studio album for the better part of seven years. During the interim singer Dave Pirner released a solo album and Dan Murphy toured and recorded with Golden Smog.
They reunited in 2004 to record their ninth full-length album, The Silver Lining, brought together by the news of Mueller being diagnosed with throat cancer. Up until this point, Soul Asylum had always included Murphy, Mueller, and Pirner, despite several line-up changes. This changed on June 17th, 2005, when Mueller passed away after finishing his work on several tracks on the new album. The Silver Lining was released in 2006 and dedicated to Karl Mueller's life and memory, with Murphy expressing that, "For me, this record is Karl."
In late 2005, ex-Replacements bassist (and current Guns N' Roses bassist) Tommy Stinson and former Prince drummer Michael Bland joined Soul Asylum in tribute to the late Karl Mueller. They completed their American tour in support of The Silver Lining in late 2006. In November and December 2006 they opened for Cheap Trick on their American tour. On March 10th, 2007, Soul Asylum joined Cyndi Lauper, Mint Condition, and Lifehouse to hold a concert to benefit Wain McFarlane, the leader of the legendary reggae band Ipso Facto, to help pay for the expenses of a kidney transplant.
http://www.soulasylum.com
NEW WORLD
Soul Asylum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No one's around except for the drinking
Nobody ever gets around
But those who leave the township sinking
May you rot in heaven
Gotta be home by seven
The sky breathes it in
So why sit and wait for the new world to begin
I'm comin' out across your border
With new orders for you to take
I'd really like to take out your daughter
Down in the water, down by the lake
When the cold water's on her skin
I can feel how long it's been
And the neighbors will all be there
And no one will know what to wear
So why sit and wait for the world to begin
I got a lot I gotta do
Just to get through the end of the day
It hardly ever even happens
But I go to sleep the same anyway
And you can't believe in yourself
You can't believe in anyone else
So why sit and wait for the new world to begin
The opening verse of Soul Asylum's "New World" paints a bleak picture of a small, isolated town where drinking is the only pastime. The singer's reference to those who leave the township sinking implies that those who stay are doomed to a stagnant existence. The chorus rejects the idea of simply waiting for a new world to begin, emphasizing that life is happening now, and there's no use waiting for some vague future change. Instead, the singer declares that he's going to take action, crossing borders and taking out a love interest. However, the song takes a dark turn in the final verse, where the singer admits that despite all his attempts to stay busy and push forward, he still goes to bed feeling unfulfilled and disconnected.
Overall, "New World" speaks to the frustration many people feel when they find themselves stuck in a rut. The references to drinking, burning fields, and sinking towns create a sense of hopelessness, but the chorus insists that waiting for change is not the answer. The song urges listeners to take control of their own lives, rather than settling for a bleak or unfulfilling existence.
Line by Line Meaning
Lives in a little lonely town
The person lives in a small, isolated town.
No one's around except for the drinking
The only activity in town is drinking, and there are no people around.
Nobody ever gets around
No one leaves the town or travels to other places.
But those who leave the township sinking
The people who leave the town are in a bad situation and have no other options.
May you rot in heaven
A sarcastic statement wishing the person ill-will in the afterlife.
Gotta be home by seven
The person has a curfew or obligation to be home by a certain time.
And the field burns away
The surrounding agricultural land catches on fire.
The sky breathes it in
Smoke and ash fills the sky from the burning fields.
So why sit and wait for the new world to begin
There is no point in waiting for something new to happen because it never does.
I'm comin' out across your border
The person is crossing into another place.
With new orders for you to take
The person has a mission to accomplish in the new place.
I'd really like to take out your daughter
The person is threatening to harm someone's daughter.
Down in the water, down by the lake
The person plans to harm the daughter near a body of water by the lake.
When the cold water's on her skin
The person is thinking about the moment when the daughter will be in the water.
I can feel how long it's been
There is a sense of anticipation or longing for something.
And the neighbors will all be there
The people in the surrounding area will be present for something.
And no one will know what to wear
The occasion is ambiguous or confusing, and no one knows how to dress appropriately.
So why sit and wait for the world to begin
There is no point in waiting for something to happen because it never does.
I got a lot I gotta do
The person has many tasks that need to be accomplished.
Just to get through the end of the day
The person is struggling to make it to the end of the day.
It hardly ever even happens
The desired outcome is rare and almost never occurs.
But I go to sleep the same anyway
Despite the difficulties of the day, the person's bedtime routine remains the same.
And you can't believe in yourself
The person lacks confidence in themselves.
You can't believe in anyone else
The person does not trust anyone else.
So why sit and wait for the new world to begin
There is no point in waiting for something new to happen because it never does.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAVID PIRNER, DAVID ANTHONY PIRNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cyclops Was Right
my favorite album of all time !
thehrvatskiglupan
I don't know why so many people don't know about this band, these people make the best music ever. People should have started noticing these guys when they made their first album.