Each member is originally from Anchorage, Alaska and migrated separately to Portland, Oregon to start a career in music.[7][8]
Initially they called themselves "The Funeral Band", performing in the streets and outside of music venues. The name eventually changed to The Builders and The Butchers, "for no other reason than it was the only name all five members liked."[8] The first year of acoustic performances were mostly street shows until opening for the experimental band Man Man in 2006.[8] “We very slowly started plugging [our instruments] in.” Sollee says,[8] but the group had to figure out how to utilize its two percussionists on stage. They found that by splitting one drum kit between Seely and Rude, with one handling the kick drum and another playing the snare, they developed what the group calls a “deconstructed” drumming style.[8]
The band's song-writing process involves Sollee writing the lyrics out and presenting it to the other members, who then start playing and putting the music around these lyrics.[6]
In May 2008 the band won the Willamette Week’s “Best New Band of 2008”[9] and Seattle Sound’s “Best Live Performers 2008”.
In late 2010, The Builders and the Butchers signed with Badman Recording Co. and released their third album, Dead Reckoning on February 22, 2011.[10][11]
Vampire Lake
The Builders and the Butchers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Teach me everything I need to know
If a place a hundred miles beneath the surface is a place that I call home
And it takes a bite on me
To resurrect my body
Oh, vampire lake
Where sixteen vampires are hiding from the sun
And a single silver bullet from a gun
And it takes a bite on me
To resurrect my body
I said it takes a bite on me
To resurrect my body
Oh, vampire lake
Where the chained and drowned will teach you how to breathe
And you can walk across the land by moonlight
And live eternally
And it takes a bite on me
To resurrect my body
I said your neck looks good to me
I wanna reinvent your body
Oh, vampire lake
Teach me everything I need to know
So I can walk amongst the living while the blood that's runnin' through my veins is cold
And I'll take a look at my reflection and not see a goddamn thing
I said your neck looks sweet and lovely
To a vampire like me.
The song "Vampire Lake" by The Builders and the Butchers depicts a powerful yet terrifying fantasy narrative of a place where the undead roam free. The lyrics open with a request to the eponymous vampire lake to teach the singer everything they need to know. In the following lines, the persona imagines a life underground, a hundred miles beneath the surface, where a bite from a vampire's teeth is necessary to resurrect their body. Here, the concept of life and death seems reversed, where death equals life. The concept of resurrection becomes prominent throughout the song.
The chorus repeats the line "And it takes a bite on me to resurrect my body" with the emphasis clearly on the importance of being bitten by a vampire. The second verse talks about sixteen vampires hiding from the sun, a cold talking wind, and a single silver bullet from a gun. The scene created is disturbing and somewhat melancholic, creating a sense of a dark and unforgiving world. The third verse tells the story of walking across the land by moonlight, living eternally and breathing underwater, a place where one can find knowledge and power that extends beyond fatal existence. The song ends with the singer's desire to be turned into a vampire and to be able to walk amongst the living while having the blood running through their veins be cold.
Overall, "Vampire Lake" is a beautifully crafted, eerie song that pays homage to the horror genre. The theme of resurrection is evident throughout, and the lyrics create a vivid world of the undead that the listener can imagine.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, vampire lake
An imaginary place where vampires reside
Teach me everything I need to know
Asking for knowledge about the vampire way of life
If a place a hundred miles beneath the surface is a place that I call home
Vampires are associated with living in underground places
And it takes a bite on me
To resurrect my body
Vampires need to feed on human blood to stay alive
Where sixteen vampires are hiding from the sun
Sunlight is harmful to vampires
And a cold talkin' wind
And a single silver bullet from a gun
Vampires are vulnerable to silver and windy conditions
Where the chained and drowned will teach you how to breathe
Vampire lake is a place where vampires can live underwater
And you can walk across the land by moonlight
And live eternally
Vampires can only leave Vampire lake under certain conditions
I said your neck looks good to me
I wanna reinvent your body
Describing a vampire's desire to feed on human blood
So I can walk amongst the living while the blood that's runnin' through my veins is cold
And I'll take a look at my reflection and not see a goddamn thing
Vampires are immortal but do not reflect in mirrors and lack a pulse
Contributed by Noah E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.