Unfair… Read Full Bio ↴The Auteurs was a British alternative rock band of the 1990s.
Unfairly dismissed as the egotrip of acclaimed songwriter Luke Haines, The Auteurs were one of the unsung bands of the mid-nineties Britpop movement. Releasing their first record, New Wave, in 1993, the Auteurs were compared to Suede, and the resurgent glam-rock movement, and began to amass a reasonable cult following. 1994's second album, and commercial highlight, Now I'm A Cowboy, saw the band embracing at times a more contemporary sound, notably on the single Lenny Valentino, which probably remains Haines' best-known song. Now I'm A Cowboy was marked out by sprawling guitar lines as much as by Haines' inimitable lyrics, a kind of visceral social commentary. While touring this album in 1995, Haines jumped off a fifteen-foot wall, breaking both ankles, resulting in his being in a wheelchair for the rest of that year, recording the starker, angrier third album After Murder Park, most notable for the ballad-like lead single Unsolved Child Murder, released for Christmas at Haines own bidding. Following this, Haines took time out to work on other projects such as Black Box Recorder and Baader Meinhof, reforming the Auteurs in 1999 for the release of the mostly overlooked final album, How I Learned To Love The Bootboys.
While Haines remains widely respected for his lyrical eloquence and eye for the minutae of life, his eccentric, confrontational personality, and habit of styling himself as a louche ne'er-do-well, perhaps impeded the formation of a more affectionate bond with his fans. The Auteurs, similarly, tended to be respected rather more than they were loved.
The South Will Rise Again
The Auteurs Lyrics
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How does the magic move around you?
So come down from the castle, say
The old town looks the same
My father's ghost from '53
The south will rise again
How does the magic move around you?
Went to see the medium
Went to change my name
Came back home a better man
The south will rise again
See I was born and I will die here
And the seasons never change
Scatter my ashes in the water
The gods have smiled, all hail the new queen
The south will rise again
How does the magic move around you?
Church bells ring out Sunday morning
(No one can quite believe the news)
Children's faces betray the second coming
It's Sunday morning
He was a leading light with his fascism of the day
We are angry and we're getting nearer
The gods have smiled, all hail the new queen
The south will rise again
The gods have smiled, all hail the new queen
The south will rise again
How does the magic move around you?
The Auteurs' song "The South Will Rise Again" is a commentary about the nostalgia and yearning for the past that seems to plague those in the American South. The lyrics question the power of magic that seems to keep people trapped in their past, unable to look forward to a different future. The repeated line "How does the magic move around you?" serves as a reminder that sometimes we can be blinded by nostalgia and fail to see the present clearly.
The song appears to be about a man who has returned home and is struck by the fact that nothing has changed. He sees his father's ghost from 1953 and is reminded of the past. The man seeks to change his name but realizes that he cannot escape his past. The repeated line "The south will rise again" suggests that there is a hope that the region will return to former glory.
The line "He was a leading light with his fascism of the day" is a reference to the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. The song seems to be questioning the idea that the South can return to its past glory without confronting the racist history that it is built upon. The final repetition of "The gods have smiled, all hail the new queen, the south will rise again" suggests a desperate hope for a different future, but the lingering sense of nostalgia makes it difficult to envision.
Line by Line Meaning
How does the magic move around you?
What power do you possess that influences those around you?
How does the magic move around you?
What charm and allure do you possess that affects others?
So come down from the castle, say
Stop living in isolation and communicate with the outside world
The old town looks the same
The place of past memories appears unchanged
My father's ghost from '53
A lingering memory of a deceased family member from the past
The south will rise again
A phrase frequently used by those with southern pride in anticipation of a future resurgence of southern culture and values
The queen of the south frowns upon you
The unspoken authority of the south rejects you
Went to see the medium
Visited someone who claims to have supernatural communication abilities
Went to change my name
Attempting to create a new identity and cut ties with the past
Came back home a better man
Returning to one's roots improved and reformed
See I was born and I will die here
The profound sentiment of attachment and belonging to one's hometown
And the seasons never change
The environment remains consistent and familiar
Scatter my ashes in the water
An instruction for a final resting place
The gods have smiled, all hail the new queen
An expression of divine approval for a new leader
Church bells ring out Sunday morning
The symbolic sound of religious worship and community on a weekly basis
(No one can quite believe the news)
An unexpected event or change occurring
Children's faces betray the second coming
A reference to the Christian belief of the return of Jesus Christ and the signs of the end times
He was a leading light with his fascism of the day
A figurehead for a controversial political ideology of the past
We are angry and we're getting nearer
A growing sense of frustration and determination towards a goal
The south will rise again
A repeated phrase that emphasizes the hope and anticipation of a southern resurgence
The gods have smiled, all hail the new queen
A repeated expression of divine approval for a new leader
The south will rise again
A final declaration of the hope for the revival of southern pride and culture
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LUKE MICHAEL HAINES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind