Over its decade-long history, the band has undergone a large number of personnel changes. Multi-instrumentalist and main songwriter Anton Newcombe is the only member who has stayed with the Brian Jonestown Massacre since its beginning, when it was founded by Newcombe, tambourine player Joel Gion (who stayed with him the longest), and guitarist/bassist/vocalist Matt Hollywood. There are at least two dozen musicians who have been in the BJM at one point or another.
Ex-members include: guitarist Jeff Davies; Matt Hollywood, a founding member of Portland band The Out Crowd; Peter Hayes, founding member of San Francisco rock trio Black Rebel Motorcycle Club; Joel Gion, a founding member of San Francisco band, The Dilettantes; Rob Campanella, a Los Angeles producer and engineer who has worked with The Tyde, Beachwood Sparks, Dead Meadow, Mia Doi Todd, Frausdots, Scarling., and his band The Quarter After; Bobby Hecksher, founding member of Los Angeles band The Warlocks; solo recording artist Miranda Lee Richards; Matt Tow, founding member of the Australian band The Lovetones.
Current long-term members include Collin Hegna (bass), Frankie Teardrop (guitar,noise,etc), and Dan Allaire (percussion). Long-time guitarist Ricky Rene Maymi was recently replaced by Irina Yaikowsky for a short tour, who was in turn, replaced by Ricky Rene Maymi.
Much has been made of the fact that Newcombe is head strong and has just one vision in mind: his own. However, many of the musicians who quit his band have stayed in his orbit and continue working with him in some capacity. Newcombe was, at one point, a drummer in Hecksher's Warlocks. Campanella produces or engineers many of the records on Newcombe's record label, the Committee to Keep Music Evil and has also been on the last 2 highly successful European tours, playing keyboards and on occasion, guitar. Gion is forever showing back up shaking the tambourine at BJM shows. Even the Dandy Warhols appear to have buried the hatchet with Newcombe, as he joined them onstage at Lollapalooza in July of 2005.
In 2005 the band released the EP We Are the Radio, on Newcombe's record label The Committee to Keep Music Evil.
The band announced the release of a new studio album, tentatively titled My Bloody Underground, which was released in 2008. On September 3, 2007, the band released rough recordings from the album for download from their website. Music videos of the songs on the album have also been released, including a music video compilation DVD entitled 'Book of Days'. Songs from Brian Jonestown Massacre were specially adapted for use in the score to the critically acclaimed independent film, "Four Eyed Monsters."
Somewhere
The Brian Jonestown Massacre Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
i'm asking you sweet lord show her to me
is she high on a mountain,
or climbing a tree?
i'm begging you Jesus to bring her to me.
hey pretty lady i wrote you this song
i'll teach you the words maybe you'll sing along
just repeat after me
"i'll love you forever cause you set me free"
somewhere my true love is dreaming of me
i'm asking you sweet lord to share her with me
is she way up in heaven,
or drown in the sea?
i'll love her forever that girl in my dreams
i will love her for ever that girl of my dreams
The Brian Jonestown Massacre's song "Somewhere" is a simple yet poignant love song that is filled with longing and hope. The lyrics reflect the desperate search for that special someone who is waiting out there in the world. The song begins with plaintive vocals that yearn for a sign from God to lead the singer to his true love. The singer of the song asks if his true love can be found high on a mountain or climbing a tree, begging Jesus to bring her to him. The verses reflect a search for meaning and a journey to find the ultimate soulmate.
The chorus, with its sweet melody, is a message to the girl of his dreams. He sings about how he will love her forever, as she sets him free, and asks if she is dreaming of him too. The song ends with a simple yet powerful message, declaring his love for the girl in his dreams and promising to love her forever.
"Somewhere" is a beautifully crafted song that touches on themes of love, faith, and hope. It reflects the human condition of longing for companionship and forging connections. The lyrics are masterfully composed and the music serves to amplify the emotions, conveying the depth of feeling behind the words.
Line by Line Meaning
somewhere my true love is waiting for me
There is someone out there who is meant to be my true love and I am sure that they are waiting for me somewhere.
i'm asking you sweet lord show her to me
I am praying to God to show me where my true love is so that I can finally be with them.
is she high on a mountain,
I wonder if my true love is off exploring the world or adventuring by climbing up mountains.
or climbing a tree?
Or maybe they are simply up high on a tree, gazing at the beautiful world around them.
i'm begging you Jesus to bring her to me.
I plead with Jesus to bring my true love to me so that we can share what life has in store for us together.
hey pretty lady i wrote you this song
I confess that I am deeply in love with someone and I have written this song especially for them.
i'll teach you the words maybe you'll sing along
I would be so happy if the person I love would learn this song and sing it along with me.
it's quite easy to learn,
The lyrics to this song are simple and anyone can grasp them if they listen carefully.
just repeat after me
All I ask is that my love interest would repeat the words to this song after me, pledging their love to me forever.
"i'll love you forever cause you set me free"
This line means that I will always love the person who sets me free from my emotional and mental chains, which is the person I truly love.
somewhere my true love is dreaming of me
I believe that the person I love is also thinking about me and they might even be dreaming of us being together.
i'm asking you sweet lord to share her with me
I pray to God that my true love will soon reveal themselves to me and I get to experience life with them.
is she way up in heaven,
I wonder if the person I love has passed away and is residing in heaven, probably thinking about me up there.
or drown in the sea?
Or perhaps they are lost, and I'm not even sure if they are alive or just meant to be found in the sea.
i'll love her forever that girl in my dreams
The girl in my dreams means everything to me, and I will always love her with every breath of mine.
i will love her for ever that girl of my dreams
This line repeats the message of the previous line, emphasizing my undying love for the girl in my dreams.
Contributed by Kaelyn C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@BohemianAndy
Thanks for this Anton, my favourite song by The Brian Jonestown Massacre. Anton really knows how to strike the right wavelengths of emotions and memories within me. It resonates so deeply.
@remdyxx
remember when i heard it for a first time, basically cant stop listen then for a days
@ausgaze436
its very hypnotic I'm on that loop phase
@autotransportbroker
I've never heard this version!!! OMG.
@idance4catpower
i'm a huge fan and have been for a long-ass time, and this is the first time i have heard this particular version unless i'm mistaken. i'm having a holy moment.
@antonfjordson
thanks.
@curtisrunstedler
what an incredible band, Anton Newcombe never has a dull moment :)
@vad64shelby3500
Can someone please tell me what are the chords played here?
@vad64shelby3500
@drfostersmith tx for the chords man.
@TwoPointsUp
@drfostersmith Suspended 2nd and 4th cord make for a lovely sound, generally speaking..