The first time I met Mike from The Deadly Syndrome, he was throwing up on my couch. He had been out drinking the night before with Will, tore the head off a paper mache dummy, wrestled it across a stranger’s front lawn and then stumbled up to my house (I was living with Will and Jesse, and soon Chris would move into the garage) where he puked all over everything and passed out.
There was a lot of that sort of thing when The Deadly Syndrome first got together. Everyone was running around having fun, working shitty jobs, and writing music all the time. The house was drowning in instruments. There were cheap old organs that somebody picked up off Craigslist. Guitars, pianos, keyboards, violins, all broken down and beat up, just laying around in case somebody needed them.
The weeks started to revolve around shows. You know how whenever someone says, “You should check out my friend’s band?” how your immediate reaction is “are you saying that just because they’re your friend?” I never had that problem. The guys attacked the stage; the audience lost their minds. Their shows were like festivals (with lots of cardboard cut outs). It was a wonderful couple of years.
And then it stopped being fun.
It’s a cliché to say that youth is fleeting. But it’s true. And it’s hard to separate youth from rock and roll. That’s not to say The Deadly Syndrome are a bunch of geriatrics, they aren’t. But after two years of being together they were four guys who loved music, but still weren’t able to do it for a living. Four guys who were getting older and starting to think about things like financial security, maybe starting a family, having a car that didn’t break down all the time, getting health insurance, etc – all the stuff that keeps making more and more noise as the years go by and you start growing up.
And growing up is tricky business in rock and roll. Because the truth is that while age doesn’t stifle creativity, it certainly encourages stagnation. And stagnation leads to a sad and boring road that either ends with too much thinking about The Good Old Days or Fat Elvis.
So after a couple of years I think the guys weren’t sure what to do. If you’ll allow me another cliché, things were starting to feel like an ending, rather than a beginning. At this point they could have very easily broken up. Left on good terms and gone their separate ways. Or they could have written another Ortolan. Similar songs played in the same venues, stretching out the good times as far as they could. Instead they moved all of their stuff into a cabin up in the woods and started over.
There weren’t a lot of updates, no hand wringing or bragging, nothing specific, just the occasional word that things were moving along. And then one day after about nine months had gone by, they let everyone know that they had finished an album and were calling it Nolens Volens.
The songs, the production, it all seems to be the work of a band that has found its strengths, and is busy seeing how far they can push them. You can hear the earlier, younger band throughout all the songs, but there’s something else there as well. A sort of self-assurance that gives each song its own life and space, along with a patience that usually isn’t associated with rock and roll.
More than anything else though, Nolens Volens is about growing up. About the give and take that comes with age and responsibility, about remembering the energy of youth and infusing it into a new, older life.
Or not. Fuck it, maybe I’m over thinking it. Maybe they just made a great record and plan to release it later this year and that’s all there is to it. After all, they’re all still in their 20’s for god’s sake! Why am I talking about growing up? There’s still plenty of time for being young, playing the music too loud, and puking all over everything just before passing out.
–Jason Greene
Eucalyptus
The Deadly Syndrome Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Of eucalyptus
And they will grow
Up to protect us
They'll block the rain, oh
With their salty leaves
They'll keep the wind oh
From our short short sleeves
Well if he comes
And tries to find us
We'll just grab hold
Branches above us
And we'll sit up here
We will wait a year
We'll come back, oh
We'll come back when the coast is clear
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no
It's a row, (a row), a row
A row of stumps surrounding us
It's bright and cold and lonesome
We must have cut them down in our sleep
In our sleep we must have cut down all the trees
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no
And now the wind, it hits our sleeves
It's freezing we got colder
Older, we got older
Without those trunks surrounding us
I can see for miles tonight
And I think I see a distant light
And I need to find out what those are
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Sorry about the stumps
Sorry about the stumps
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
You're sitting here on bloody knees
Where once were eucalyptus trees
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
See you in the night
Goodbye
Goodbye
Goodbye
See you in the night
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no
The chorus of "Eucalyptus" reveals the problem at the heart of the song: the singer has cut down all the protective trees they had grown in order to stay safe. They had planted a row of eucalyptus trees, which are known for their salty leaves that can protect against the rain and wind, but now they are gone. The singer laments their absence and the cold and loneliness that results from their absence. They fear that someone is coming, but with no trees left to hide in, they are out in the open and vulnerable.
The verses reveal more about the situation. "If he comes and tries to find us / We'll just grab hold / Branches above us" suggests that whoever is coming may be a threat, but it's not clear who they are. The idea of waiting a year until the "coast is clear" implies that the danger may be ongoing, possibly a war or some other crisis. The repetition of "oh no" throughout the song underscores the singer's fear and despair.
Overall, "Eucalyptus" is a powerful metaphor for human destruction of the natural world and the consequences that follow. The song suggests that as humans continue to exploit and destroy nature, we are leaving ourselves exposed and vulnerable to danger.
Line by Line Meaning
I'll plant a row
I will plant a line of eucalyptus trees
Of eucalyptus
The type of tree I will plant is eucalyptus
And they will grow
The trees I plant will grow and become mature
Up to protect us
The grown eucalyptus trees will protect us
They'll block the rain, oh
The salty leaves of the eucalyptus trees will block the rain
With their salty leaves
The leaves of eucalyptus trees are known for their saltiness
They'll keep the wind oh
The eucalyptus trees will keep the wind from us
From our short short sleeves
Our sleeves, which are short, will be protected from the wind by the trees
Well if he comes
If someone comes to find us
And tries to find us
And attempts to locate us
We'll just grab hold
We will grab onto
Branches above us
The branches of the eucalyptus trees above us
And we'll sit up here
We'll perch up here
We will wait a year
We will wait for a year
We'll come back, oh
We'll return
We'll come back when the coast is clear
We'll return when it is safe
Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no
A repeated expression of concern, surprise, or fear
It's a row, (a row), a row
The trees are planted in a straight line
A row of stumps surrounding us
The trees have been cut down and are now stumps around us
It's bright and cold and lonesome
The space is open, bright, cold, and lonely without the trees
We must have cut them down in our sleep
We unconsciously cut down the trees
In our sleep we must have cut down all the trees
It was in our sleep that we cut down the trees
And now the wind, it hits our sleeves
The wind now hits our sleeves
It's freezing we got colder
We got colder as a result of the wind
Older, we got older
We aged with time
Without those trunks surrounding us
Without the tree trunks around us
I can see for miles tonight
We have a clear view of the surrounding area tonight
And I think I see a distant light
We see a light far away
And I need to find out what those are
We need to determine the source of the distant light
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
A farewell
Sorry about the stumps
Apology for cutting down the trees
You're sitting here on bloody knees
We are on our knees on the stumps
Where once were eucalyptus trees
The dead stumps used to be eucalyptus trees
See you in the night
A farewell until we meet again in the night
Lyrics © TUNECORE INC, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Christopher Richard, Jesse Charles Hoy, Michael Hughes, William Etling
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Chris Simmons
Great band...saw them live outside Detroit and they sound just as good live.
Donny Perez
Probably one of the best bands I heard 12-13 years ago ! This song brings me back when music was so great ! This song will never get old! Thank you guys for actually putting out great music
Ben Dowell
This band is a recent obsession of mine. Do you know any other bands that are similar?
Maritza
aw i love this song. they are amazing live. love the way they end it. i met them last yr in august, got talk to jesse & will for a bit after their set, really chill guys.
Leos Lit
11 years ago.
damb, kinda feels weird staring into the past like that. account probably closed by now, wonder what all the people involved do now. to anybody reading this, hello.
Cory Brown
Definately a great indie-band. Simple and effective.
Janet Cho
This is one of my absolute FAV bands.
Douglas Bell
Saw DS last night at the El Rey... PHENOMENAL show. I hope some of the dozens of people shooting video got good footage. This is my new favorite band.
Alice Binns
love it, thankgod for bands like these
SiHonda08
deadly syndrome never gets old. i love their music. GOD. U MAKE MY PATHETIC LIFE COME THROUGH MUSICs AND STUFFS. awesome. just super.