The group was founded by Ken Downie along with Ed Handley and Andy Turner, who had already been producing music under the Plaid moniker.
In 1989, they were unable to find a label to back their releases and had to start their own, Black Dog Productions.
Their first full-length album, Bytes, was released in 1992 on WARP Records, the label later to publish records from some of the most notable of IDM artists, such as Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, and Autechre.
Their music was often produced under a number of different names, such as Close Up Over, Xeper, Atypic, I.A.O., Balil and Discordian Popes. These were often names for the different projects of the three artists.
Later on, in 1994, Ed and Andy broke off from Black Dog Productions, to work full-time on Plaid. Ken Downie continued working in The Black Dog on his own for a while, taking it easy, later to return to music production with Richard and Martin Dust, owners of the label Dust Science Recordings. Since, they have released fourteen EPs and four full-length albums.
What Do They Want?
The Black Dog Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've got me hidin'
You've got me run, hide, hide, run
Anyway you wanna let it roll
Yeah, yeah, yeah
You've got me doin' what you want me
A-baby why you wanna let go
I'm goin' down
I'm goin' up, down, down, up
Anyway ya wanna let it roll
Yeah, yeah, yeah
You've got me doin' what you want me
A-baby why'd you wanna let go
You've got me peepin'
You've got me hidin'
You've got me peep, hide, hide, peep
Anyway you wanna let it roll
Yeah, yeah, yeah
You've got me doin' what you want me
So baby why ya wanna let go.
The lyrics to The Black Dog & Black Sifichi's song What Do They Want? appear to be about someone who is being controlled by another person. The repeated phrases "You've got me runnin'," "You've got me hidin'," and "You've got me peepin'" suggest that the singer feels trapped and is trying to avoid being found. The lines "You've got me doin' what you want me" and "So baby why ya wanna let go" hint at a power dynamic between the two individuals, with one person having control over the other.
The overall tone of the lyrics is one of desperation and uncertainty. The use of the words "anyway you wanna let it roll" suggests that the singer is willing to do whatever the other person wants in order to avoid punishment or retaliation. The repetition of the same phrases with slight variations - "run, hide, hide, run" and "up, down, down, up" - creates a sense of confusion and disorientation, as if the singer is constantly changing direction in order to avoid being caught.
Line by Line Meaning
You've got me runnin'
Your actions have caused me to feel like I need to flee.
You've got me hidin'
Your actions have caused me to feel like I need to hide away.
You've got me run, hide, hide, run
You've caused me to feel like I'm caught in a cycle of constant evasion and escape.
Anyway you wanna let it roll
No matter what you do, I'll have to deal with it and adapt.
Yeah, yeah, yeah
I'm aware that you're in control of the situation.
You've got me doin' what you want me
Your actions have influenced my behavior and decisions.
A-baby why you wanna let go
Why are you causing me distress and leaving me with unanswered questions?
I'm goin' up
Your actions have caused me to feel elevated and high.
I'm goin' down
Your actions have caused me to feel low and depressed.
I'm goin' up, down, down, up
Your actions have caused me to feel like I'm constantly changing in terms of my mood and outlook.
You've got me peepin'
Your actions have caused me to feel like I need to be secretive and sneaky.
You've got me hidin'
Your actions have caused me to feel like I need to hide away and avoid confrontation.
You've got me peep, hide, hide, peep
Your actions have caused me to feel like I'm caught in a cycle of stealth and secrecy.
So baby why ya wanna let go
Why are you causing me discomfort and uncertainty by withdrawing from me?
Lyrics © Kanjian Music, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Jimmy Reed
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Exalia
I wanted to come years later to this video to say that it came to me at a point that it helped change my life in coming out of depression.
6 years ago, I was a teenager suffering from depression, and I felt incredibly stuck. There wasn't any awareness about depression around me (and I didn't know what I was suffering was called 'depression'). My family also couldn't afford medications or therapists - we were poor
I remember it was a combination of two things - my teacher who told me 'you have potential', and she really meant it. No one ever seemed to believe in me then.
And then there was this video. I remember I wanted to know what my symptoms were, and then not too long after looking, I found this video. And I realized I've been suffering depression all this time.
I then thought "Maybe if I just keep reading about it there is a way out" - I saw this light of hope even though I was in a very dark place. I kept reading, and one day I told myself "This is it. I am born with this life for a reason and I will not let ANYTHING or ANYONE stop me in living a good life".
It was incredibly tough. I remember it was one of the hardest battles and it took months of trying to follow the advice I read on the internet - "smile - just the act of it helps physiologically", "be around people", "distinguish the voice in your head that's depression" and etc. I kept doing it every day, and I didn't give up because I knew that I will not let anything stop me from living that good life I was meant to.
After about 1.5 months, I started feeling results. After about 3 months of consciously fighting every single day, I felt that I am starting to come out of it, and even though I was still to suffer anxiety for 2 years after, actively fighting depression starting to come out of it was the hardest part.
6 years later, I live a healthy life and I am still not going to let anything/anyone stop me from living up to my life value, and all these things just made me so much stronger than many people.
If you are suffering depression - I know its hard, but believe me, there is hope, and you CAN do it. You are meant to do great things with your life and your life is given to you with a purpose. You are valuable and you are important. Don't let ANYTHING or ANYONE stop you from it. You CAN do it. Read, practice what you read, and don't give up. I genuinely believe in you.
TomSka
An incredibly accurate visualisation of depression and generally my life at the moment. A few months on medication has made a very noticeable and welcome improvement for me and I'm in the processes of arranging therapy.
As always, IT doesn't get better. YOU get better.
How to ADHD
This made me cry. What a beautifully illustrated depiction of what can be a pretty ugly struggle. Thank you for sharing.
Kaylee Haase
I remember watching videos like this, or commercials for antidepressants when I was younger and thinking, " oh how silly! That will never be me!" A couple of years later the "black dog" came ringing my door bell and life just hasn't been the same.
RuneUlfeblut
This made me cry so much. It's important for people to know that depression is not merely feeling "gloomy" or "under the weather". It's an awful, awful illness that makes you feel scared of everything and everyone, of going to bed, getting up, meeting people or staying by yourself, and makes your heart as heavy as a stone and your life devoid of all pleasure.
ASMR con Kiki
This is so incredibly accurate. The black dog deprives you of your ability to feel hope. And when a human doesn't have hope, it's lost.
Just for the commenting lol
I remember watching this video a long time ago. Years ago I believe, when I first began middle school. It was a very tough time for me and it was also the time I was first getting to know mental illnesses, something I never heard of much or focused on. Not only was it a reality for others, but I believed it was starting to become mine. Every night I would cry, but I could get up the next morning and be just fine, it was never anything too serious, but just like everyone I had my issues. However, through the times I was genuinely sad I would think back to this video and it's analogy. This clip really does hold a place in my heart for how true and down to earth it is. I am now in my sophomore year of school and only now I have experienced how it's like to be such in immense pain where it threatens your life, where you struggle to do even the simplest of things. I fell back with my grades, yet still passing, but this quarter has been my worse and I would be failing my classes. I'm constantly up and down with my feelings and I don't understand myself many times, yet during the moments where I pondered suicide I always knew there was a reason why I'm still alive in that moment and I know there's a reason I'm still alive now. Deep down in my heart I know life is beautiful and that we must all find the one solution to hate, love. Your genetics may give you the tendancy to be depressed, your hormones may influence your conditions, but your conditions can also influence your hormones. Love is the asnwer to everything in the end. Search for the people that touch your heart, that will send your soul flying across time and space. In the end, the most beautiful things outrun time. It is never too late to start living. I know this sounds ridiculous coming from a 15 year old but we all have something to learn from everyone. I remember a poster in my guidance counselor's room that read "tough things don't last, tough people do". Take that pain you have and create something beautiful out of it. It's okay to cry. Cry, and then move. Cry about how much you hate your job, cry about how you feel so alone, cry about how he or she left you, cry about how you've been abused and mistreated, cry about terrible everything has been, cry about how alone you feel. Let all of those feelings sink in. Go ahead and listen to your sad music, go ahead and drain your heart and soul into writing that poem about how much you hate your life, then when all those tears have fallen, when you are finally sick of the sadness that compels you, stand up and move on. I know not everyone has the strength to do so, some are in tough situations, but if there's a way in there's a way out. I know it is hard to do things on your own, that is why I am here telling you these things. Life goes on if you do, the Sun and Moon constantly alternate for a reason. After rainstorms there is sunshine, after tornadoes there are clear skies, after all these terrible things people are brought together by struggle. The sadness is not permanent, but only a change in weather. You may not exactly control it but you can forecast these events and withstand it. Keep going and going, there's a reason you're still breathing.
Josipa Šumiga
I cried. I have always had a hard time explaining to someone what it feels like to be depressed. Now I'll just direct them to this video as it portrays depression perfectly. Thank you.
wnapholi
Depression cost me the love of my life. I hope that all the people who are suffering in silence get to see this video, and recognise how important its message is.
Wizzite
when I suffered from Depression I hated I was depressed but my recovery started when I admitted it, accepted it and went to the doctors. I'm a head strong person and I didn't want to take medication. So I started doing thing's I never usually did and I soon started to feel better about myself. I used to ride 20 miles a day and it helped me. Riding 10 miles 1 way and 10 miles back everyday for 3 months I free'd my mind and I soon recovered. The first step for me was accepting and admitting, the next was excising and forgetting about what brought me down. I hope this helps, even if it helps only1 person.
BoyNamedSue4
I just got out of the hospital after stay there for over a week because of suicidal thoughts caused by my depression. They played this video I cried like a baby. It’s like someone had hacked into my brain and made a video about this terrible illness.
Please remember no matter who you are. You are not alone and there is help out there. Don’t let it wait until you hit rock bottom like I did.