1) The Choir were a ro… Read Full Bio ↴There have been two bands known as The Choir:
1) The Choir were a rock band in the mid-1960s from Cleveland Ohio, best known for the oft-covered song "It's Cold Outside". With the addition of singer Eric Carmen, they became The Raspberries in 1970. The band consisted of Dann Klawon on rhythm guitar, Dave Smalley on vocals & rhythm guitar, Wally Bryson on vocals, lead guitar, & bass, and Jim Bonfanti on vocals & drums.
2) The Choir (originally The Youth Choir) is an atmospheric alternative Christian rock band, led by Derri Daugherty on guitar and vocals, Steve Hindalong on drums -- who also writes most of the band's lyrics -- and Dan Michaels on lyricon, electric flute and saxophone. Originally formed in Southern California in the early 1980s, the band members moved to the Nashville, Tennessee area in the 1990s. Past members include guitarist Marc Byrd and bass guitarists Michael Sauerbrey, Robin Spurs, Bill Batstone, and the late Tim Chandler.
Each band member also has a depth of musical history outside of The Choir. Hindalong produced four successful City On A Hill albums, writing the well-known song "God of Wonders" with Marc Byrd. Daugherty has been a member of the Christian-alterna-pop-supergroup The Lost Dogs since it started in 1991, and Hindalong joined the group in 2006. Chandler was the bass player for years for Daniel Amos and that band's alter egos The Swirling Eddies, and passed away in 2018. Byrd was a member of Common Children, recorded with his wife Christine Glass as Glassbyrd, and is currently half of the post-rock duo Hammock. Michaels has been a Senior Vice President of Fair Trade Services (formerly INO Records) since 2000.
Never More True
The Choir Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With a pistol in his boot
Dreamin' about salty water
And he's lookin' for a snake to shoot
I'm thinkin' it won't get any worse
I'm thinkin' about buying you a hat and a purse
I'm wishing I never came here
And every now and then I realize
You are rhythm you are melody
Giving me that silent torture
You might as well poison my tea
I'm thinkin' it won't get any worse
I'm thinkin' about buying you a hat and a purse
I'm thinkin' about strangling you
You know that never was more untrue
(Thinkin' about predestination
Predestination and free will
What about that wonderful plan)
There's a Christian underneath his house
Trying to recall the light
He's praying for divine intervention
Her lips are frozen to the pipe
I'm thinkin' it can't get any worse
I'm thinkin' about buying you a hat and a purse
I'm dreaming about thrilling you
Oh honey, my heart was never more true
You know my heart was never more true
The Choir's song Never More True is a complex piece that tackles a range of issues, from the frustration of unrequited love, to the struggle of faith, to the question of free will versus predestination. The opening lines paint a vivid picture of a man (presumably from the North) wandering the rural South, armed and aimless. His dreams of the ocean contrast sharply with the dusty reality of his surroundings, and his desire to kill a snake speaks to a deeper sense of ennui and frustration. The song's narrator, meanwhile, is weighed down by the memory of a failed relationship, and faces the painful realization that their former lover may be using their own emotions against them. The singer yearns for freedom from this emotional manipulation and, by extension, larger questions of personal choice and agency in life.
As the chorus repeats throughout the song, the singer considers a range of possibilities for the future, from purchasing gifts for their former partner to committing an act of violence. These conflicting impulses hint at a deeper struggle between the desire for control and the recognition that some things are too vast or uncontrollable to ever fully understand or manage. The reference to predestination and free will in the final lines underscores this theme, as the song suggests that human beings are at once creators and creatures of their own fate. In this sense, Never More True captures the quintessential tension of modern existence: the struggle to reconcile our dreams with our realities, and the desire to control our own destiny even as we recognize the limits of our power.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a Yankee in the Cumberland
There is a person from the northern states of the US in the Cumberland region.
With a pistol in his boot
He is carrying a firearm in his boot.
Dreamin' about salty water
The person is daydreaming about the ocean or sea.
And he's lookin' for a snake to shoot
He is searching for a snake to kill.
I'm thinkin' it won't get any worse
The artist is hoping that things won't get any worse.
I'm thinkin' about buying you a hat and a purse
The singer is considering buying a hat and a purse as a gift for someone.
I'm wishing I never came here
The singer is regretting coming to this particular place.
You know my heart was ever sincere
The artist is assuring that they always meant what they said.
And every now and then I realize
Occasionally, the artist comes to the realization that something is true.
You are rhythm you are melody
The person being addressed is the beat and the tune.
Giving me that silent torture
The person is causing pain without saying anything.
You might as well poison my tea
The harm caused by the person is equivalent to being poisoned.
I'm thinkin' about strangling you
The singer is contemplating killing the person being addressed through suffocation.
You know that never was more untrue
The person being addressed is aware that the statement about wanting to kill them was not true.
There's a Christian underneath his house
There is a religious person under his house.
Trying to recall the light
The person is attempting to remember past religious experiences.
He's praying for divine intervention
The person is asking for help from a higher power.
Her lips are frozen to the pipe
A female is stuck to a pipe possibly due to the cold.
I'm dreaming about thrilling you
The singer is fantasizing about excitement for the person being addressed.
Oh honey, my heart was never more true
The artist is emphasizing that they have never meant anything more than they do now.
Contributed by Thomas O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.