Starting out as a three-piece after their previous band dissolved, Dylan Slocum, Gabe Mayeshiro, and Ruben Duarte soldiered on before recruiting Kyle McAulay on guitar, via an online advert, to flesh out their sound a few months later. With McAulay on board -- who also happened to work in a recording studio -- the group started laying down tracks for their debut EP before their first gig in August 2013. Over the next year, while still working their day jobs, the four-piece continued to record and play shows and expanded their original EP to become their debut album, releasing a few teasers beforehand. In March 2015, Giant Sings the Blues, was finally released digitally via their own label, with the band playing shows throughout the year, including support slots for the likes of Good Riddance and The Flatliners. At the beginning of 2016, Wiretap Records signed them and reissued their debut with a handful of extra tracks. The group returned to the studio mid-year to start recording their second album, while their debut also found a home in Europe via Bearded Punk Records. The band rounded out the year with dates across the U.S., and toured Europe for the first time.
2017 saw Spanish Love Songs become a five-piece after adding Meredith Van Woert on keys, and they put the finishing touches on their sophomore album. In October the digital three-track EP, Buffalo Buffalo, was issued, and while the group continued to hold down their day jobs, they spent the rest of the year touring and building their fan base. After a demo tape of their second album found its way to Anti-Flag's A-F Records, the label offered to put it out, while Uncle M also stepped in to issue the release in Europe. Schmaltz was released in the March of 2018. The band headed out on a major U.S. tour to support the record before returning to play dates across Europe.
Stranger
Spanish Love Songs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The side of my bed looks like a ghost.
Where nothing as good as love will ever grow.
And I consoled the empty walls.
Their loneliness is all my fault
because I'm the only one who wastes away 'round here.
Content to hang.
the wound I'm nursing, it ain't healed right.
Still full of stink.
Still full of those sad things I'll never hide.
All your boxes stacked to my teeth as remainders
of the shitty life you'd never lead.
It still hurts.
It still kills though I knew you'd be the one to leave.
I will buy you a new house.
Move you and your things in.
We can sit across the table,
new to fuck things up again.
We'll kiss like strangers.
We'll love blind.
Be givers and takers.
All won't be right.
And I won't be your family anymore.
In "Stranger," Spanish Love Songs focuses on feelings of emptiness and isolation that exist after a considerable break-up. The first verse discusses how the singer feels out of place in his new home, which is full of lonely walls, and the bed he sleeps in has the appearance of a ghost. He is conscious that nothing except love will thrive in his life, but he cannot seem to find love. As a result, he absorbs himself in his solitude, feeling stuck and alone because he believes that he is responsible for the state he is in.
The second verse reveals that the singer still battles to overcome the emotional scars left by his failed relationship. He admits that he is still wounded and that the wound has not healed completely, and he cannot seem to get rid of the hurtful thoughts and memories associated with his ex. The boxes reminding him of their shared past are still too close and too painful, even though he is conscious that his former partner's life is "shitty" and not one he would have wanted for himself. The final lines express a longing for reconciliation and a willingness to try again despite the painful ending to the previous relationship.
In general, "Stranger" is a melancholy song with a glimmer of hope that provides insight into the aftermath of a failed relationship. Spanish Love Songs use evocative lyrics to convey the turmoil and pain of the singer, creating a powerful emotional impact on the audience.
Line by Line Meaning
Woke up older in my new home.
I woke up feeling grown up in my new place.
The side of my bed looks like a ghost.
The empty side of my bed reminds me of loneliness and my ghostly past.
Where nothing as good as love will ever grow.
There won't be anything as good as love for me in this place.
And I consoled the empty walls.
I try to find comfort in talking to the empty walls.
Their loneliness is all my fault because I'm the only one who wastes away 'round here.
I blame myself for the loneliness of the empty walls, as I am the only one who stays idle in this place.
Content to hang.
I am happy to just exist without any purpose.
Peeled back the bandage again to find the wound I'm nursing, it ain't healed right.
I reopened a wound and realized that it still hasn't healed correctly.
Still full of stink.
It still smells bad, indicating that the wound hasn't healed properly.
Still full of those sad things I'll never hide.
My wound is still full of sorrow that I can't keep hidden.
All your boxes stacked to my teeth as remainders of the shitty life you'd never lead.
I have reminders of the miserable life that you never lived with boxes that are stacked up to my teeth.
It still hurts.
I am still in pain.
It still kills though I knew you'd be the one to leave.
Even though I knew that you would leave, it still hurts to be alone.
I will buy you a new house.
I want to make things better by purchasing a new house for you.
Move you and your things in.
I will help you move your things into your new home.
We can sit across the table, new to fuck things up again.
We can sit together, starting fresh to mess things up as we always have.
We'll kiss like strangers.
Our kisses will feel like those of strangers.
We'll love blind.
We will love each other blindly, without seeing the consequences.
Be givers and takers.
We will give and take from each other in our relationship.
All won't be right.
Things won't be perfect between us.
And I won't be your family anymore.
I realize that I won't be a part of your family anymore, after everything that has happened.
Contributed by Oliver T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.