Named after a section of the book 'White Noise', written by postmodernist author Don DeLillo, the group incorporates string instruments and keyboards along with a standard rock lineup of guitar, drums, and bass guitar. Their style takes in a variety of influences from classic rock and roll to arcane-sounding art rock to tuneful indie pop and more. They have been signed to Majordomo Records for many years; on March 4, 2009, the band signed to Island Records.
Formed in the wake of a series of personal tragedies in the life of front-man Mikel Jollett, the band has gathered a reputation for one of the most exciting and energetic live shows in years. Stomping, screaming, wailing, crooning through bony rock songs and enormous dark anthems, the band embodies the desire to live life fully in the face of a world saturated with media and fear. The Cali five-piece's eponymous debut EP includes nods to rock music's most transcendent tidbits: subtle references to the sad-eyed melancholy of The Cure, the balled-fist intensity of The Fall, and the art school disaffection of the Velvet Underground.
The Airborne Toxic Event released their second album, All At Once on April 26, 2011. Songfacts reports the band explaining: "It's called 'All at Once' because the songs deal with the idea of sudden change—how life generally doesn't change incrementally. Your parents die, a child is born, the airplane shakes, a former love from a former life walks casually by you on the street, and suddenly everything is different. We live in the quiet passages between these extraordinary moments of change. It's exhilarating. It's terrifying. It can be monstrously disfiguring. It can be potentially redemptive."
All For A Woman
The Airborne Toxic Event Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All these grateful eyes
All the furious stares these fretful sighs
Promising everything
To everyone
We'll be back soon
You're my favorite one
And I'll keep it quiet
I'll hold you dear
The whispering fills the ear
Tell me you'll stay
We would have such fun
And the lie, you don't need anyone
And the screams, the wails, and the call
The headiness of the fall
Ten-thousand miles from where we began
Falling asleep with a picture in hand
It was all for a woman
You say that you're grateful for the time alone
Two years away and I don't miss home
And someone asks you if, you ever think of her
So you smile politely and you demur
But then all at once your head starts to swim
And you can feel her breath on your skin
If I let you stay, the same spot today
She's above you, below you in ways
And you're shivering cold
Like you're just ten years old
And she's lying asleep in your bed
And you're standing beside her
The light from inside her
Filling up the darkness in your head
It was all, for a woman
You've drowned in our teasing
You've forgotten the reason
The muse inspires the art
You'd give anything for
For her to say them once more
The words you believed at the start
Ten-thousand miles from where it began
Falling asleep with her picture in hand
And it was all, it was all
For the look in her eyes
Of the promise and the lie of a woman
The Airborne Toxic Event's All For A Woman is a powerful reminder of the lifelong impact of love and relationships. The song is an intimate portrayal of a man's journey to rediscover the meaning of love and the extent to which he is willing to go in order to keep it alive.
The song starts off with the singer remarking on the grateful glances, furious stares and the promises made in love, and how all of these are worth it if it is for "a woman". The singer then goes on to describe how he would keep quiet and cherish his partner, even as the whispers of the world threatened to drown them out. He talks about the lies we tell ourselves and the screams of anguish we suffer when love fails us. The song culminates in a haunting scenario - of a man standing beside the woman he loves, while she sleeps, and all the while caring for her as he has loved her through their lives.
The lyrics of All For A Woman are a beautiful tribute to the transformative power of love - its joys and its sorrows, its challenges and its rewards.
Line by Line Meaning
All of these grateful looks
The singer is acknowledging the appreciation he receives from the crowd.
All these grateful eyes
The crowd is showing gratitude with their eyes.
All the furious stares these fretful sighs
Some people in the crowd may not be happy, despite the grateful ones.
Promising everything
The band promises success to everyone they play for.
To everyone
They don't discriminate who they promise success to.
We'll be back soon
They plan on playing for this crowd again.
You're my favorite one
The singer is flattering individual members of the crowd.
And I'll keep it quiet
The singer will keep his feelings to himself about a special girl.
I'll hold you dear
He cares deeply for this special girl.
The whispering fills the ear
He has whispered sweet nothings to this girl.
Tell me you'll stay
He hopes this girl won't leave him.
We would have such fun
He wants to enjoy life with this girl.
And the lie, you don't need anyone
The singer knows this is a lie because he needs this girl.
And the screams, the wails, and the call
The singer describes the noise of a live show.
The headiness of the fall
The excitement of performing live.
Ten-thousand miles from where we began
The band has traveled far from their starting point.
Falling asleep with a picture in hand
The singer falls asleep thinking about a special girl.
It was all for a woman
All the traveling and performing is for this special girl.
You say that you're grateful for the time alone
The singer is addressing the special girl who he's separated from.
Two years away and I don't miss home
The singer has been touring for two years.
And someone asks you if, you ever think of her
Someone asks the special girl if she ever thinks about the singer.
So you smile politely and you demur
The special girl doesn't give a direct answer.
But then all at once your head starts to swim
The special girl remembers the singer.
And you can feel her breath on your skin
She can feel his presence even if he's not there.
If I let you stay, the same spot today
The singer wishes he could be with her now.
She's above you, below you in ways
The special girl is on his mind always, in every direction.
And you're shivering cold
The singer is feeling emotional about the special girl.
Like you're just ten years old
He feels vulnerable like a child.
And she's lying asleep in your bed
He imagines the special girl in his bed.
And you're standing beside her
He's watching over her while she sleeps.
The light from inside her
The special girl represents light and goodness to him.
Filling up the darkness in your head
She brings happiness to his life.
It was all, for a woman
The reason for his emotional turmoil is the special girl.
You've drowned in our teasing
The band has been teasing their audience.
You've forgotten the reason
The crowd is caught up in the entertainment and has forgotten the real reason they're there.
The muse inspires the art
The singer is inspired by his special girl.
You'd give anything for
He would do anything to be with her.
For her to say them once more
He wants her to express her feelings again.
The words you believed at the start
He wants her to reaffirm her love for him.
And it was all, it was all
Everything he's been doing is for this special girl.
For the look in her eyes
The special girl's eyes communicate her love.
Of the promise and the lie of a woman
The special girl both promises love and represents a lie to him.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management
Written by: MIKEL FRANS JOLLETT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Alex Harris
All of these grateful looks
All these grateful eyes
All the furious stares
And the fretful sighs
Promising everything
To everyone
"We'll be back soon
You're my favorite one"
"And I'll keep it quiet
I'll hold you dear"
The whispering fills the ear
"If you tell me you'll stay
We would have such fun"
And the lie you don't need anyone
And the screams, the wails and the calls
The headiness of the fall
Ten thousand miles from where we began
I fell asleep with a picture in hand
It was all
For a woman
You say that you're grateful for
The time alone
Two years away
"No, I don't miss home"
And everyone asks you if
You still think of her
So you smile politely and you demure
But then all at once
Your head starts to swim
And you can feel her breath on your skin
You find that you stare
At the same spot for days
She's above you, below you in waves
And you're shivering cold
Like you're just ten years old
And she's lying asleep in your bed
And you're standing beside her
The light from inside her
Filling up the darkness in your head
It was all
For a woman
And you've drowned in the teasing
You've forgotten the reason
The muse inspired the art
You'd give anything for
Her to say them once more
The words you believed at the start
Ten thousand miles from where it began
Falling asleep with her picture in hand
And it was all
It was all
For the look in her eyes
For the promise
For the lie
Of a woman
https://www.facebook.com/lvngubrthlss
Adriana Carolina Vega Baron
All of these grateful looks
All these grateful eyes
All the furious stares and the fretful sighs
Promising everything to everyone
We'll be back soon
You're my favorite one
And I'll keep it quiet
I'll hold you dear
The whispering fills the ear
Tell me you'll stay
We would have such fun
And the lie, you don't need anyone
And the screams, the wails, and the call
The headiness of the fall
Ten-thousand miles from where we began
I fell asleep with a picture in hand
It was all for a woman
You say that you're grateful for the time alone
Two years away and I don't miss home
And someone asks you if you ever think of her
And you smile politely and you demur
But then all at once, your head starts to swim
And you can feel her breath on your skin
If I let you stay, the same spot for days
She's above you, below you in ways
And you're shivering cold
Like you're just ten years old
And she's lying asleep in your bed
And you're standing beside her
The light from inside her
Filling up the darkness in your head
It was all for a woman
You've drowned in the teasing
You've forgotten the reason
The muse inspires the art
You'd give anything for
For her to say them once more
The words you believed at the start
Ten-thousand miles from where it began
Falling asleep with a picture in hand
And it was all, it was all
For the look in her eyes
Of the promise, of the lie of a woman
paulk1888
Only just found this band and I'm working my way through there songs and I've yet to find a bad one absolutely fantastic
JAJenks
I'm over here crying like a maniac. That was beautiful. They are an amazing group, and they evoke genuine emotion. I can't wait for the album. I can never get enough TATE.
MellowMaps
The Airborne Toxic Event have songs that grab your heart, pull it out through your throat and then squash it right infront of you. And you still wanna listen to them again.
Alonzo Tanner
@RandomGirl 2173 Yeah I was gonna say, all their songs sound the same. You hear the first and second ones, then the third one, you're like hoping they either go into a song you can dance to almost or really just go more into a ballad direction but all their songs are like that in between kind of sound. The sound they have is good. Just very one-tracked.
RandomGirl 2173
@bergamotblonde for a whole week until you choose the next song by them to do the same thing
bergamotblonde
On repeat.
Alex Harris
All of these grateful looks
All these grateful eyes
All the furious stares
And the fretful sighs
Promising everything
To everyone
"We'll be back soon
You're my favorite one"
"And I'll keep it quiet
I'll hold you dear"
The whispering fills the ear
"If you tell me you'll stay
We would have such fun"
And the lie you don't need anyone
And the screams, the wails and the calls
The headiness of the fall
Ten thousand miles from where we began
I fell asleep with a picture in hand
It was all
For a woman
You say that you're grateful for
The time alone
Two years away
"No, I don't miss home"
And everyone asks you if
You still think of her
So you smile politely and you demure
But then all at once
Your head starts to swim
And you can feel her breath on your skin
You find that you stare
At the same spot for days
She's above you, below you in waves
And you're shivering cold
Like you're just ten years old
And she's lying asleep in your bed
And you're standing beside her
The light from inside her
Filling up the darkness in your head
It was all
For a woman
And you've drowned in the teasing
You've forgotten the reason
The muse inspired the art
You'd give anything for
Her to say them once more
The words you believed at the start
Ten thousand miles from where it began
Falling asleep with her picture in hand
And it was all
It was all
For the look in her eyes
For the promise
For the lie
Of a woman
https://www.facebook.com/lvngubrthlss
Lane Warner
The Airborne Toxic Event is one of those rare bands that writes songs with meaning and then sings them with passion.
imacloud
I love how special all these videos feel. there is something close-knit about all of them. you feel together as a band and so natural playing together. It feels as if it becomes personal for the viewer, as if we had just stumbled in to view, and your playing for us.
Franky Vielle
I became a fan of this band by chance, I was really sick a few years back, I gave my mom and sister money to pick up three records by random to listen to while I was in the hospital, they choose this record, My Chemical Romance and Curious George. and the rest is history, my history.