The City on Film is the official name of Bob Nanna's solo act. He began sol… Read Full Bio ↴The City on Film is the official name of Bob Nanna's solo act. He began solo recordings in 1997 during the off-time between Braid tours. These recordings began to accumulate, and in May 2004 he recorded I'd Rather Be Wine Drunk (his first solo EP) in a Salt Lake City hotel room during a Hey Mercedes tour. Thus far, he has released three EPs, an LP, and a 7" vinyl, and several split EPs.

The City on Film's sound is generally lighter, slower, and more cerebral than that of either Braid or Hey Mercedes. There are several lyrical connections and similarities across all three acts (e.g. in Hey Mercedes' "Frowning of a Lifetime", the line the lady's a raven / new Elenora Fagan compares with our baby will be a raven / we'll name her Elenora Fagan from The City on Film's "How a Helicopter Sounds").

* n Formal Introduction (Grand Theft Autumn, 2005) - LP
* In Formal Introduction - Australian Edition (Hobbledehoy, 2007) - CD

[edit] Singles and EPs

* The City on Film / Kind of Like Spitting / Sterling Silver - Slowdance Tour (Slowdance, 1998) - EP
* Two Hour Anniversary (About Midnight, 1999) - 7"
* The City on Film / Kind Of Like Spitting - Split (Sport, 1999) - 7"
* I'd Rather Be Wine Drunk (Post 436, 2004) - EP
* The City on Film / Novi Split - The Sea Was Angry That Day My Friends (Eat The Fly, 2004) - EP
* The City on Film - Little Informal (Grand Theft Autumn, 2005) - EP
* The City on Film - American Diary (Redder, 2005) - EP
* The City on Film / Minus the Bear Split 7" (Polyvinyl)
* The City on Film / Owen Split 7" (Red Cars Go Faster)

Forgiveness
The City On Film Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Kelly I can't believe it's come to this. You know I gave
You all I could. I'm trying to tie up between train trips
And all that I can think of is when you would come to my
Room carrying news.

Unglued and tied to the tune, you read me your blues. And
Soon the fools that were two were one in a big bloom. So
Won't you tell me the truth? How did I lose you?

Kelly I can't control the weather but I can sure try to
Change your mind. Cause even when we were together, I

Never even stepped outside when you would come to my room
Carrying news of true beautiful views and winter sky
Blues.

I didn't know what I was willing to lose when I had to
Choose. It just proves I was a fool to ever leave you.

Now I just can't miss your forgiveness.

Kelly I can't go on pretending. I'm prepared to do what
It takes and once this train reaches it's ending, well

I'll stop by to say that you were such a solution and I'm
A mistake.

Overall Meaning

The song "Forgiveness" by The City On Film reflects on an event in the past where the singer Kelly has left the singer, and now the singer is reflecting on it. The singer is remorseful for abandoning Kelly and tries to understand how she lost her. The singer attempts to convey their feelings on how Kelly used to come to their room to share news with them. The singer wants to make amends with Kelly and is hopeful for forgiveness.

The lyrics highlight the notion of forgiveness and the importance of improving relations with people who have affected our lives. It portrays the realization of past mistakes and the willingness to rectify them. The lyrics also talk about the importance of communication in a relationship and how failure to do so can lead to misunderstandings and problems.

Overall, the song "Forgiveness" is a deep and introspective take on a failed relationship and the hope for reconciliation in the future.

Line by Line Meaning

Kelly I can't believe it's come to this. You know I gave You all I could. I'm trying to tie up between train trips And all that I can think of is when you would come to my Room carrying news.
I'm surprised things ended like this, Kelly. I gave you everything I had. I'm always busy with train journeys, but all I can think about is the time when we were together and you'd come to my room to share news with me.

Unglued and tied to the tune, you read me your blues. And Soon the fools that were two were one in a big bloom. So Won't you tell me the truth? How did I lose you?
You used to share your problems with me, and we became a couple. We were happy together, but now things have changed. Tell me honestly - what did I do wrong?

Kelly I can't control the weather but I can sure try to Change your mind. Cause even when we were together, I Never even stepped outside when you would come to my room Carrying news of true beautiful views and winter sky Blues.
I can't control external factors, but I'm willing to try to change your mind about me. Even when we were together, I didn't appreciate the beauty that you brought into my life.

I didn't know what I was willing to lose when I had to Choose. It just proves I was a fool to ever leave you.
I didn't realize what I would be giving up when I made the choice to leave you. Now I see that it was a foolish decision.

Now I just can't miss your forgiveness.
I know I need your forgiveness and I can't move on until I have it.

Kelly I can't go on pretending. I'm prepared to do what It takes and once this train reaches it's ending, well I'll stop by to say that you were such a solution and I'm A mistake.
I can't keep pretending that everything is okay. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make things right. When my train arrives at its destination, I'll come see you and admit that you were the solution to my problems and I was a mistake for leaving you.

Contributed by Anna B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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