Angels of Light include many New York City collaborators, including Dana Schechter of Bee and Flower, Kid Congo Powers of The Cramps, Larry Mullins aka Toby Dammit, Bliss Blood of The Moonlighters and Pain Teens, Thor Harris of Shearwater, and most recently the Brooklyn band Akron/Family.
Gira talks about the Angels project :
I write the songs on acoustic guitar, then gather musicians and friends, and build up the orchestrations with them in the studio and in live performances. I guide the process, but solicit their creative contributions actively. Each recording contains the contributions of an ever-changing plethora of amazing musicians, whom I thank here heartily!
After many years (too many to comfortably contemplate!) of dwelling on "sonic overload" with Swans, I now concentrate on augmenting the songs I write with orchestrations that support the basic song, rather than the sound itself taking over.
My goal is to achieve the same sense of magic I experienced as a child listening to Burle Ives recordings of Brer Rabbit and other such marvels, including the early Disney children's records I listened to long ago.
I view the arrangements as little films created to make a context for the words and voice, so that one can drift off into the world the music creates. I produce the Angels recordings, and the production of the recordings is as important to me as the songs themselves.
Most of the instruments used in the recordings are acoustic, but not all. Electric guitars, bass and drums etc., are sometimes used (as well as an occasional electronic sound, or loop), but I intentionally steer clear of a "Rock" sound. It doesn't interest me at all any more.
However, I have no particular fealty to "The Song" as if it were some sacred codex. On the other hand, just sitting around my house, writing these things, and finally coming up with a statement that I think makes sense, I want to bring them to life as much as possible, in new and challenging ways for both myself and you, so I always strive to present them in a fresh and interesting context.
For this reason, I'm always changing the sonic approach from record to record.
All Angels of Light albums have been released on Michael Gira's label Young God Records.
The name Angels of Light was first used by the spiritual theater group founded by drag queen Hibiscus of The Cockettes. It is not known whether Gira's group was named in homage to Hibiscus's similarly metaphysically-minded group.
Promise Of Water
The Angels of Light Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Now they live in your head and they travel your veins
Every word that you speak is a word they have made
When you open your mouth, you're too stupid to scream
When you open your mouth, you're too stupid to scream
Your eyes are the holes where you suck in your knees
There's steel in the air and there's blood on the wheels
There's steel in the air and there's blood on the wheels
Hear the dogs now they howl as the street fills with flood
Yeah, the dogs now they howl as the street fills with flood
As your body drifts by and your lungs fill with mud
There's some people on earth and they scrape in the dust
There's some people on earth and they scrape in the dust
If you kill them enough, they will look just like us
Now tear down this wall, let the animals out
Yeah, tear down this wall, let the criminals out
Let them take their revenge, let their hate fill your mouth
And just as it was is just how it will be
And just as it was is just how it will be
For the promise of water, I'll walk on my knees
The Angels of Light's song Promise Of Water can be somewhat surreal in its message, but ultimately it is about the power of words and the control they can have over us. The opening lines, "Now they live in your head and they travel your veins / Every word that you speak is a word they have made," suggest that the words we use are not always our own, but rather they come from some external force that influences our thoughts and actions. The following lines, "When you open your mouth, you're too stupid to scream / Your eyes are the holes where you suck in your knees," continue this theme of being controlled and powerless, as if one's own body and voice are not their own.
As the song progresses, it touches on themes of violence and revenge. The lines, "There's steel in the air and there's blood on the wheels / But there's nothing to fear because nothing here's real" suggests a detachment from reality, perhaps due to the violence and chaos taking place. The mention of dogs howling and floods filling the streets furthers this sense of unease and destruction. The chorus, "For the promise of water, I'll walk on my knees," seems to speak to the desperation that arises in such situations, where even the most basic human needs become a struggle.
Overall, Promise Of Water is a haunting and thought-provoking song that touches on themes of control, violence, and desperation.
Line by Line Meaning
Now they live in your head and they travel your veins
The ideas and beliefs imposed on you by others have become a part of your very being
Every word that you speak is a word they have made
Your thoughts and speech are not truly your own, but a product of the implanted ideas and beliefs
When you open your mouth, you're too stupid to scream
You are unable to express your true feelings because your thoughts and speech are not your own
Your eyes are the holes where you suck in your knees
You are so disconnected from your true self and surroundings that nothing exists beyond what you already believe
There's steel in the air and there's blood on the wheels
The world is full of violence, oppression, and destruction
But there's nothing to fear because nothing here's real
The reality you perceive is not real, but a constructed illusion
Yeah, the dogs now they howl as the street fills with flood
As the world succumbs to chaos and destruction, even animals sense the impending doom
As your body drifts by and your lungs fill with mud
The world is so corrupted that even death offers no escape from its grasp
There's some people on earth and they scrape in the dust
There are those who are oppressed, struggling to survive in a world that offers them no hope
If you kill them enough, they will look just like us
Oppression and violence can break even the strongest spirit, turning them into a mere copy of their oppressors
Yeah, tear down this wall, let the criminals out
The structures of power and oppression must be dismantled, freeing those who have been unjustly imprisoned
Let them take their revenge, let their hate fill your mouth
Those who have been oppressed have a right to feel anger and hatred towards their oppressors, and we must acknowledge and support their struggle
And just as it was is just how it will be
The world will continue to perpetuate cycles of violence and oppression unless we actively work to change it
For the promise of water, I'll walk on my knees
I will do whatever it takes, even suffer greatly, for the promise of a better world and a more just society
Contributed by Makayla W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.