The Barr Brothers is a Canadian folk quartet founded in Montreal, Quebec, c… Read Full Bio ↴The Barr Brothers is a Canadian folk quartet founded in Montreal, Quebec, consisting of Andrew and Brad Barr (of The Slip), Sarah Page and Andres Vial. Their first (and eponymous-titled) album was released in 2011.

Best known as founding members of the spirited and unpredictable rock trio The Slip, brothers Andrew and Brad Barr had spent most of the 90s criss-crossing North America. In the spring of 2004, the band was playing a small club in Montreal, QC when a fire broke out in the venue. They grabbed a few guitars/drums and rushed out onto the rainy street with the rest of the concert goers. As the club's mezzanine was swallowed by flames, Andrew offered his coat to one of the waitresses from the bar. One year later, Brad and Andrew Barr were living in Montreal. That waitress is now one of their managers.

In his first apartment in the new city, Brad shared an adjoining wall with Sarah Page, a classically-trained harpist from Montreal, whose melodies would seep through the cracks of the wall and into the music Brad was writing. From this nebulous relationship, a friendship developed and the brothers, with Sarah, began recording and performing around Montreal. Soon, their friend and multi-instrumentalist Andres Vial was brought in to lend his wide array of expertise to the outfit, playing keyboards, bass, vibes, percussion, and singing. In 2006 they began to call themselves The Barr Brothers.

Song That I Heard
The Barr Brothers Lyrics

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In the same reckless city
Where great Antonio died
On the island in the river
With a mountain at its side
I came to scatter ashes
Of the bridges I've burned
And I know the name of the song that I heard
Yeah, I know the name of the song I heard

Like a moonlight mathematician
I subtracted my concerns
And I multiplied my options and divided my returns
Sacrificed the angel who was tugging at my shirt
I was already claimed by the song that I heard
Yeah, already chained to the song that I heard

From the corner of my eye I caught the shadow of a girl
But my shoes were tied together and my face was in the dirt
Her gentle eyes said everything before she said a word
And I knew I was changed by the song that I heard
Yeah, I knew right away by the song I heard

In the cult of desperation he stayed just behind the curve
And no one here admits we're getting more than we deserve
I was born a first child, she was born a third
We were already named by the songs that we heard
Yeah, already claimed by the songs we heard

Did I make you out at Phoenix from the ashes of a bird?
Did we build our palace and watch it as it burned?
It's kind of like a lesson that had to be unlearned
Like a fool maker
Fall-taker
Forsaker
Heartbreaker
Earthquaker
Soul-shaker
Soothsayer
Moon prayer
Sun slayer
Yeasayer
Mistaker

Rattlesnaker
We are already changed by the songs we heard

Overall Meaning

The Barr Brothers' "Song That I Heard" feels like it's about the transitions and the changes that we encounter in our lives. The song is about letting go of the past, embracing the present and moving towards the future. The lyrics tell a story of a person who has gone through some burning bridges and is now trying to start anew. He is in a city where a famous performer named Antonio has died, and he is here to scatter the ashes of his burnt bridges. The island he mentions in the lyrics is the one in the Saint Lawrence River in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He thinks back to the time when he heard a song that changed his life, the "Song That I Heard" in the title. It's a song that he knows the name of, and now he's claiming it as his own.

Throughout the song, he talks about how changing his mindset has impacted his life. Like a mathematician, he's added up his options and divided his returns. He sacrificed the angel that was tugging at his shirt to embrace the song that changed him. He sees a girl, but his shoes are tied together, and he's in the dirt, but her eyes say everything, and he knows he's changed. The song talks about how we are all changed by the songs we hear, and we all have our own story to tell.

Overall, the song feels like a message of hope, of starting over, and looking forward with clear eyes. Even though we have made mistakes in the past and burnt bridges, we can start afresh and find our own "song" that will guide us along the way.

Line by Line Meaning

In the same reckless city
The singer is in a city where recklessness and danger are the norms

Where great Antonio died
The city is also associated with the death of a famous person, Antonio

On the island in the river
The singer is on an island located in a river

With a mountain at its side
The island is located near a mountain

I came to scatter ashes
The singer came to the island to symbolically get rid of his past mistakes

Of the bridges I've burned
The singer wants to leave behind the destroyed relationships caused by his actions

And I know the name of the song that I heard
The singer knows what song he heard that influenced him

Like a moonlight mathematician
The singer carefully uses logic to make decisions

I subtracted my concerns
The singer eliminated his worries

And I multiplied my options and divided my returns
The singer explored his possibilities before making a decision

Sacrificed the angel who was tugging at my shirt
The singer ignored his conscience that advised him against his decision

I was already claimed by the song that I heard
The singer was influenced by the song he heard and felt bound to its message

From the corner of my eye I caught the shadow of a girl
The singer noticed a girl nearby

But my shoes were tied together and my face was in the dirt
The singer was caught off guard and stumbled

Her gentle eyes said everything before she said a word
The girl's facial expression revealed her emotions before she spoke

And I knew I was changed by the song that I heard
The singer realized that the song he heard had a lasting impact on him

In the cult of desperation he stayed just behind the curve
Others around the singer are always in desperate situations and he barely avoids them

And no one here admits we're getting more than we deserve
People around the singer do not acknowledge their own privileges

I was born a first child, she was born a third
The singer and the girl came from different backgrounds and have unique experiences

We were already named by the songs that we heard
The singer and the girl's past experiences have shaped who they are

Did I make you out at Phoenix from the ashes of a bird?
The singer asks if the girl rose from her hardships just like a phoenix rose from ashes

Did we build our palace and watch it as it burned?
The singer wonders if he and the girl built something special only for it to fall apart

It's kind of like a lesson that had to be unlearned
The singer is reflecting on a painful experience that taught him a valuable lesson

Like a fool maker, Fall-taker, Forsaker, Heartbreaker, Earthquaker, Soul-shaker, Soothsayer, Moon prayer, Sun slayer, Yeasayer, Mistaker, Rattlesnaker
These phrases describe the different personas the singer takes on in life, each with its own characteristics

We are already changed by the songs we hear
Music has a powerful effect on the singer and can change him in profound ways

Writer(s): Philip Bradford Barr, Andrew Gilmore Barr

Contributed by Grayson T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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