Zedek moved to Boston in 1979, attending Boston University for one semester before deciding to pursue a musical career instead. Her first band, the all-female White Women, broke up after a couple years, and she formed the Dangerous Birds. This group had somewhat more success, including a single, "Smiling Face (Do you Recognize Me?)" that achieved airplay on college and alternative-commercial radio; but Zedek wanted a more "violent" sound in contrast to the somewhat "girlie pop" tendencies of her Dangerous Birds bandmates. Her next project, Uzi, worked to this aim, producing an EP "Sleep Asylum." The EP was characterized by elusive yet subtly menacing lyrics superimposed over lugubrious but driving instrumental tracks that featured layers of dense, murky yet muscular guitar arrangements blended with heady synthesizer and tape effects. But despite the promise of "Sleep Asylum", Uzi dissolved due to tension between Zedek and the band's drummer, Danny Lee.
She next took the role of primary vocalist for New York City's Live Skull, a band already well-established. While the album "Dusted," the first product of this collaboration, reflected an intense synergy between Zedek's vocal style and the complexly histrionic instrumental work of Live Skull, the followup "Positraction" floundered, and Live Skull also disbanded due to conflicts in 1990. By this time Zedek had also run into problems with regard to heroin addiction. Motivated to quit, she returned to Boston and the support of her friends. She soon cofounded Come, with former Codeine drummer Chris Brokaw. Here she had her biggest successes, releasing four albums before the group disbanded in 2001. That same year she also released Been Here And Gone, her first solo project. Zedek was also a participant in the 1998 Suffragette Sessions tour, organized by the Indigo Girls.
Despite limited commercial success, Zedek has been highly critically acclaimed throughout her career and has arguably been deeply influential within the indie-rock realm, particularly through her influence within the prolific Boston indie scene that has spawned so many noteworthy artists.
1926
Thalia Zedek Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It looked like Death had been at your face.
Another cigarette,
Almost gone when the morning first breaks.
Too many people,
Too many people know your first name.
I'm just one,
And after a while I can't bring myself to say:
New York nights, 1926--
It all looked so different
You've starved your telephones,
Now your servants can't bring you messages.
The open fields where people color to no reply;
You can't help it--
If you get out of bed you might paint a sky.
We used to be lovers a long time ago.
Your God hates me--
He can't feel my flesh;
He leaves me panting like a dog at the edge of your bed.
Your God hates me.
Thalia Zedek's song "1926" is a melancholic and introspective reflection on a past love that has been lost with time. In the first verse, the singer describes seeing the person they once loved in the present day and notices how age and possibly illness has altered their appearance. The line "Too many people know your first name" suggests that the person in question may have become famous or well-known, but despite this, the singer feels like they are just another forgotten person from their past.
The second verse takes us back in time to New York City in 1926. The singer describes a city that looks different now, and the person they used to love has shut themselves off from the world. The line "You've starved your telephones, now your servants can't bring you messages" suggests that this person has become the ultimate recluse, shutting themselves off from communication with the outside world. The third line "The open fields where people color to no reply" is a poignant image of the loneliness of their existence. The singer then empathizes with the person's struggle to create and be productive, saying "If you get out of bed you might paint a sky."
The final line "Your God hates me" reveals a possible reason why their relationship didn't work out. The singer feels rejected by a higher power because the person they loved could not fully accept them as they are. The line "He leaves me panting like a dog at the edge of your bed" is a vivid description of their desire, but also their powerlessness in the situation. The song ends with a poignant acknowledgement that their love is now just a distant memory.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw you older--
I noticed that you have aged significantly since the last time I saw you.
It looked like Death had been at your face.
You appeared as if you had been visited by death and it had left its mark on your face.
Another cigarette, Almost gone when the morning first breaks.
You were smoking a cigarette that was almost finished when the morning started.
Too many people, Too many people know your first name.
You are well-known to many people, to the point where even strangers know your first name.
I'm just one, And after a while I can't bring myself to say: "Be sure you notice always what you're eating"
I am just one person, and after a while, I become hesitant to remind you to be mindful of what you eat.
New York nights, 1926--
The events in this song take place during the nights in New York in the year 1926.
It all looked so different You've starved your telephones, Now your servants can't bring you messages.
Things look very different now, because you have neglected to pay your telephone bills, which means that your servants are unable to deliver your messages to anyone.
The open fields where people color to no reply;
People are coloring in open fields as an expression of creativity, but they do not receive any feedback or recognition for their efforts.
You can't help it--If you get out of bed you might paint a sky.
It is natural for you to express your creativity, so even if you were to get out of bed, you might find yourself painting the sky.
We used to be lovers A long time ago.
It has been a long time since we were in a romantic relationship with each other.
Your God hates me--He can't feel my flesh; He leaves me panting like a dog at the edge of your bed.
You believe that the God you worship does not approve of you being with me, to the point where you feel physically overwhelmed and unable to control your desire for me.
Your God hates me.
You strongly believe that your God disapproves of your relationship with me.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mattwalters5337
I’ve had this tune in my head everyday for the last 20 odd years.
We used to be…..Ya god hates me, he can’t feel my flesh…
Makes me tingle every time
@peterzang
Thalia is the best. Great songwriter
@giomakyo
Amazingly beautiful song; long thought lost to the hazy memories of early 80s Boston... glad to see Thalia's keeping it alive. The original V; version is great too.
@cawag98
Awesome! It's nice to see someone as great as Thalia is keeping this excellent almost unknown song by V; alive. I have the original ep and while that version is my canonical version, this is a lovely 2nd!
@lconway1055
One of the best songs ever to come out of the Boston scene..."your God hates me"..I continue to tell myself this...36 years leter
@PotelinoSeven
tem uns anos que conheço essa musica, adoro ela, uma joia de canção
@gwenquesseveur1232
amazing performance
@astral2151
Underrated tune
@cawag98
original by v; is actually available on itunes. Go figure! Nice job Ms Zedek. It takes me back to the Middle East enjoying your great performances with a bottle of Xingu and good friends.
@giomakyo
V; were a band from Boston who were around back when Thalia was in Dangerous Birds, very much part of the same scene, gigging at Cantones and all those scuzzy bars near The Garden. They only released one 12" ep, which had "1926" on it. Very abrasive post-punk, but this one song was just gorgeous.