The Cribs are an English 3-piece indie band from Wakefield, West Yorkshire,… Read Full Bio ↴The Cribs are an English 3-piece indie band from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England which formed in 2001 and consists of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross. In August 2008 Johnny Marr, former guitarist for The Smiths and Modest Mouse, became the official fourth member of the band. On April 11th 2011, Marr's departure from the group was announced on their website, and The Cribs now continue as a 3-piece again.

They are signed to the Wichita Recordings label, and have currently released 5 albums through this imprint - 'The Cribs' (2004), 'The New Fellas' (2005), 'Mens Needs, Womens Needs, Whatever' (2007), 'Ignore The Ignorant' (2009), and 'In The Belly Of The Brazen Bull' (2012).

Despite starting off as an underground band, The Cribs have experienced commercial success with 'Mens Needs, Womens Needs, Whatever' charting at #13 in the UK album charts, and 'Ignore The Ignorant' achieving the band their first Top Ten album, charting at #8. They also have 7 top 40 hit singles to their name, the most successful of which being 'Men's Needs' (#17). In 2008, Q magazine described The Cribs as "The biggest cult band in the UK".
The Chi-Town Songfacts says that The Cribs' fifth studio album, In the Belly of the Brazen Bull, was recorded at London's Abbey Road and Chicago's EAR studio with famed lo-fi rock engineer Steve Albini and Tarbox Road studio in New York with David Fridmann (Mercury Rev, The Flaming Lips).

After some hard times during which they were (according to an interview in DIY Magazine) "nearly losing the rights to their entire back catalogue, and coming close to calling time on the group entirely," in 2020 they released the album "Night Network."

Confident Men
The Cribs Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It was a parisian fluke and what did I do?
I sat on a bollard and didn't move
Although I knew that
That there is something I just can't pretend
Confident men and their unwelcome friends
Always win in the end
Always

Read into signs like a knowing wink
More than I should
Emails that drowned in lovers ink
Know that I would
Make poor excuses for the things I never dared
I would have kissed you but the moon was there
Watching no-one care
No way

With spirit waltzing
I found something
That belonged to you
Years ago

The emails were drowned in lovers ink
For their own good

I'll tell you something
I just can't pretend
Confident men and their unwelcome friends

Will kill me in the end
Always

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of The Cribs's song Confident Men reflect the insecurity and fear of rejection that comes with falling for someone who seems out of reach. In the first verse, the singer describes a moment in Paris when they were so captivated by someone that they were unable to move or act. They then acknowledge that "confident men and their unwelcome friends" always seem to win in the end, leaving them feeling defeated and hopeless. The second verse continues this theme of lost opportunities and unrequited love, with the singer admitting to reading too much into signals from their crush and making excuses for not acting on their feelings. The chorus repeats the idea that confident men will ultimately be the singer's downfall, emphasizing their feelings of powerlessness and resignation.

Overall, the song captures the bittersweet and often frustrating experience of unrequited love, with the lyrics painting a vivid picture of the singer's feelings of longing, regret, and defeat.

Line by Line Meaning

It was a parisian fluke and what did I do?
I stumbled upon a random occurrence in Paris and I didn't know what to do next.

I sat on a bollard and didn't move
I was frozen and didn't take any action towards the situation at hand.

Although I knew that That there is something I just can't pretend
Even though I was aware of a truth that I couldn't ignore or fake.

Confident men and their unwelcome friends Always win in the end Always
The power of those who exude self-assurance, and the people who follow them, always comes out on top.

Read into signs like a knowing wink More than I should
I was overly attentive to small gestures, trying to read more from the situation than was actually there.

Emails that drowned in lovers ink Know that I would
I wrote emails expressing my love, but they went unnoticed or unacknowledged.

Make poor excuses for the things I never dared I would have kissed you but the moon was there Watching no-one care No way
I was good at coming up with reasons to not act on my desires, even if they seemed shallow or silly to others.

With spirit waltzing I found something That belonged to you Years ago
In a whimsical moment, I stumbled upon something from your past that triggered a nostalgic memory.

The emails were drowned in lovers ink For their own good
My desperate attempts to express my love were burdensome and likely not helpful for the recipient.

I'll tell you something I just can't pretend Confident men and their unwelcome friends Will kill me in the end Always
I can't fake my way through life, and the influence of self-assured people and their associates will eventually harm me.

Contributed by Makayla R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS