Most of the band's albums, starting with their 2006 debut album Act I: The Lake South, the River North, are concept albums and a part of a common storyline, planned to conclude with a sixth album. The most recent addition is 2016's Act V: Hymns with the Devil in Confessional. Additionally, they have released albums unrelated to the Acts; The Color Spectrum in 2011, Migrant in 2013, and the EP All Is As All Should Be in 2017.
The band began as a side project of Casey Crescenzo when he was a full-time member of The Receiving End of Sirens. The Dear Hunter was originally intended as a vehicle for music Crescenzo had written that didn't fit with the sound of The Receiving End of Sirens. In the winter of 2005 Casey recorded the Dear Ms. Leading demos. He created 10 copies on burned CDs that were circulated amongst his friends and posted online for download. While elements and characters featured on the demos would reappear on the subsequent Acts, Crescenzo has confirmed that there was a transformation in how he represented these themes and persons; while the story had its origins in his personal life, the Acts removed most autobiographical elements in favor of fiction.
The Church & The Dime
The Dear Hunter Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But the world is numb and cold
And the boy all alone casually wandering home
Unaware of sobering reality.
Faster, save me, harder, I can't.
Breathe in, breathe out
Breathe in, breathe out
Let them all fold, let them all fold.
Hearts finish here, love decays while call girls perform
He waits alone, playing roles to soothe lovers through
The lust and the size, the church and the dime
The cryptic clientele all careening inside
The puzzling facade steers pure from the divine.
Breathe in, breathe out
Let them all fold, let them all fold
Breathe in, breathe out
Let them all fold, let them all fold
Yeah.
Many wishes of hunger will rot
But the pimp and priest thirst for a fault
All the anger from a lover's lament
Force fed in the stomach of sin
Welcome to the world.
"The Church & The Dime" by The Dear Hunter is a cryptic song that delves into themes of religion, corruption, and the darkness that pervades society. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a world that is cold and numb, where people are wandering alone and unaware of the reality that surrounds them. The singer of the song is a young boy who is lost in this world, searching for something to hold onto and make sense of it all.
The chorus of the song, "Breathe in, breathe out, let them all fold," is a thinly veiled reference to the futility of life and the inevitability of death. The boy is aware of this, but he is also aware of the various distractions that people use to try and escape it: the church, the dime, the call girls, and the cryptic clientele. These things offer a temporary reprieve from the harsh reality of life, but they are ultimately hollow and meaningless.
The line "Hearts finish here, love decays while call girls perform" speaks to the commodification of love and human connection in our society. The call girls are just performing, going through the motions to satisfy their clients' desires, while true love decays and fades away. This juxtaposition is further explored in the lines "The puzzling facade steers pure from the divine," suggesting that even religion, often seen as a pure and noble pursuit, can be a facade that distracts us from the true divine.
Line by Line Meaning
She prayed to the man with the twin in the mask
She offered her prayers to the deceiving, two-faced entity that controls her fate.
But the world is numb and cold
The world is unfeeling and indifferent towards her plight.
And the boy all alone casually wandering home
A boy roams aimlessly in solitude, unaware of the harsh reality around him.
Unaware of sobering reality.
He is oblivious to the harsh, sobering realities of life.
Faster, save me, harder, I can't.
The desperation of a plea for help, yet a recognition of one's own inability to survive.
Breathe in, breathe out
An affirmation to keep existing, to keep moving forward.
Let them all fold, let them all fold
To let go of all the worries and concerns that one carries, to surrender to the inevitability of life.
Hearts finish here, love decays while call girls perform
Love fades away as the young women sell themselves, bringing love to a bitter end.
He waits alone, playing roles to soothe lovers through
He is alone, pretending to be what others need, hoping to soothe their pain and heartache.
The lust and the size, the church and the dime
Religion and commerce are intertwined in a society that prioritizes greed and carnal desires over true faith.
The cryptic clientele all careening inside
The mysterious patrons engage in reckless and dangerous behavior inside.
The puzzling facade steers pure from the divine.
The facade built up around the church is a deception that strays far from true faith.
Many wishes of hunger will rot
Desires born of desperation will only lead to emptiness and decay.
But the pimp and priest thirst for a fault
Those in power crave control and will seek out any flaw to exploit it for their own gain.
All the anger from a lover's lament
The pain and heartache from a failed romantic relationship.
Force fed in the stomach of sin
The hurt and pain are consumed and digested by the society's sinful ways.
Welcome to the world.
An ironic, cynical and sarcastic welcome to the harsh truth of society and human nature.
Contributed by Aubrey C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.