Without even seeing a performance by The Dears it was easy to recognize the group in Montreal's haunts in the late nineties. Dressed in black suits and white shirts, they would descend on bars like the minor legends they were. At that time, The Dears were like an unconfirmed rumour of ardour; they were full of possibility, and propelled by passion, alienation, and alcohol. Their precious name and the crooning vocals of charismatic front man Murray Lightburn, defined their clean, symphonic pop style. Yet the band’s onstage intensity and quiet defiance defied easy categorization. Already, at that early stage, their sophisticated content and attitude set them at odds with the music scene of the day.
End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story, their 2000 debut album, immediately established The Dears as a unique and powerful presence. With a stylized and cinematic scope, the record fused narratives, orchestral arrangements and pop in a way that was praised for ambitious grandiosity. The Dears, now Lightburn with keyboardist Natalia Yanchak and joined by drummer George Donoso III and bassist Martin Pelland, exhausted themselves on a seemingly endless schedule of grueling tours. Kids from Sudbury to Vancouver bought tickets and T-shirts and came out from winter’s shadow to experience the band live. They toured more. Band members quit and replacements were found. They endured their initiation into the divided and limited realities of national critical success and kept to themselves.
By 2001 The Dears ceased to be a rumour; they were real and dark -- almost too real and too dark for a Canadian music scene that banked on fluffy love songs and slick indie hits. The 2001 EP, Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique, seamlessly melded Lightburn’s neoromantic songwriting to an imaginary film noir soundtrack. And in the EP’s ironically titled “Autotomy,” a bleak lover’s dirge that describes Montreal’s decrepit physical, economic and political landscape, The Dears fashioned the greatest love song to the city ever written.
The second EP, Summer of Protest, released in 2002, expanded the apocryphal vision seeded on Orchestral Pop Noir Romantique. Lightburn’s white shirt and black suit were long gone, replaced for a military helmet and loudspeaker. Music writer Stuart Berman’s synopsis of SOP as “a harrowing mini-concept album that rolled operatic hysteria, ominous post-punk rumbling and cosmic Christmas music into a soundtrack to the end of the world” could not be more accurate. Little can be added to Berman’s description, except that while the 2001 Quebec G8 summit protests and the events of 9/11 had barely registered thematically in indie-rock, The Dears, it appeared, were not content with catchy love songs.
The Dears’ performances evolved into part nihilistic Charlie Brown special and part Brechtian theatre. The drama of their live shows forced audiences to examine the dark forces at work in their nations and hearts. Bizarre, hopeless, entropic and devastating were the only words one could use to describe hearing and seeing The Dears onstage in 2002. You didn’t watch or listen so much as get assaulted by music. You had to be in the right headspace: you had to be either completely inebriated or sickeningly sober. It was uncomfortable and simultaneously beautiful in its plain and painful truth. In 2002, with Lightburn barking revolutionary orders into a megaphone, it was easy to believe that The Dears were the most artful, revolutionary pop band in Canada. It was becoming a challenge to see the future path of their commercial success.
With the 2003 release of No Cities Left, The Dears gained the success that End of a Hollywood Bedtime Story had promised. The album was rife with The Dears’ dystopic world view, but was also curiously luxuriant, poppy and brimming with hope: “Our love, don’t mess with our love,” the male and female warn, playfully, in the album’s single, “Lost in the Plot.” The doom and gloom that pervaded their earlier work was traded for optimism evident in songs like the ironically lighthearted “Don’t Lose the Faith” and “Never Destroy Us.” No Cities Left brought Lightburn’s finely crafted songwriting to the forefront and was exulted for both its commercial and artistic appeal.
The Dears were nominated for Best New Group at the 2004 Canadian Juno Awards, acclaim followed by New Musical Express’ naming The Dears as “Probably the Best New Band in the World.” Soon after, NME cited NCL as the 10th best album and the band found itself on several Best New Band features in music magazines from Rolling Stone to Stuff to Spin. After invitations to open for Morrissey in Toronto and Los Angeles, The Dears played Glastonbury (UK) in 2005, and British fans and critics welcomed the band’s mercurial implosion into their music scene with open arms.
When they came home, to Montreal, in the summer of 2005, Natalia Yanchak and Murray Lightburn were married, a gesture that formalized their decade-long partnership. Despite the stresses and upheavals of the music industry the tight-knit band -- whose lineup of Murray Lightburn, Natalia Yanchak, George Donoso III, Martin Pelland with flautist and keyboardist Valerie Jodoin-Keaton and guitarist Patrick Krief -- had always been close. Now it was official: The Dears were family.
Moving from grinding guitar solos to ethereal vocals, there is no other way to describe Gang of Losers than as a celebration of beautiful losers. The theme of ostracization, at all levels of society, dominates this eclectic yet thematically cohesive album. It’s impossible to miss Lightburn’s slick references to white-liberal guilt. Barely disguised in the song “Whites Only Party,” with its cabaret casualness, the thorny subject of race resurfaces, full-blown, in the jazzy, rootsy, epic finale, “Find Our Way to Freedom.”
Social class and indie rock cool are also a pre-occupation in Gang of Losers: “I hang out with all the pariahs,” Lightburn drawls in the jumpy “Ticket to Immortality.” Bluesy and ballad-laden, with rolling pianos and horns, the album features the seductive fusion of Lightburn’s onstage vocal range and studio precision. Recorded without punch-ins or edits, the band played every song from beginning to end in order to capture the technical unity of their live shows.
Gang of Losers is a classic Dears album in terms of its complex musical and thematic range, veering from instant pop hits to oppressive ballads to lullaby show tunes. But what’s most remarkable about Gang of Losers is that within the complicated lyrical and musical scheme, Lightburn’s humour and humanity shine through the heavy-handed themes. In the end, forgiveness, of the self and the other, wins. “I need this song,” Lightburn wails in “Find Our Way to Freedom,” relenting, as he exchanges hate for love and mercy. And we need these songs, this album, too: if only to counter the world’s indifference, and soothe the inner loser that thrives on all our worst fears.
We Can Have It
The Dears Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Things in life
Start through my dreams and
I just want to shine it up
Shine it down or shine off
Going where we lost it all
Yet things before are with us now
It takes a choice
It brings no light
It brings no love
And what we want most
Is no where to be found
Some people care
They're going long
They're going deep
Still it's nowhere to be found
We're looking far
We're searching wide
Still it's nowhere to be found
We're looking far
We're searching wide
Still it's nowhere to be found
What we want is gone for good
It's simply nowhere to be found
Somewhere is the one that never will
Burn out
They're looking for a heart
Looking for a home
Looking for a hand
This broken head
You're not alone
You're not alone
You're not alone
You're not alone
You're not alone
And you never said I'd see you again
You never said I will
You never said I'd see you again
You never said I will
I will
I will
I will
My love
Someone somewhere says they've got it all
But that's not even what we want
Not even close
Not even close
It won't ever be what we want
It won't ever be what we want
It won't ever be what we want
It won't ever be what we want
It won't ever be what we want
It won't ever be what we want
It won't ever be what we want
The Dears' "We Can Have It" is a song that expresses the frustration of searching for something that is seemingly impossible to find. The opening lines describe a restless night where all of life's woes seep into one's subconscious, causing a desire to "shine it up" or somehow make things better. The chorus repeats the phrase "nowhere to be found" several times, emphasizing the theme of searching for something that seems unattainable.
The verses of the song highlight the pain that comes with searching for what one wants. The lyrics mention losing everything and feeling the absence of light and love. The line "It takes a choice" suggests that the search for what one wants requires effort and sacrifice. Despite searching far and wide, the thing they want is "gone for good" and "simply nowhere to be found."
The song ends with the repetition of the line "It won't ever be what we want." This repetition is a powerful statement that speaks to the pain and ultimately the acceptance of not finding what one desires. While the song may be about a specific personal experience for the writer, the theme of searching for something unattainable is universal and relatable.
Line by Line Meaning
Last night all the horrible
All the bad things in life plagued me in my dreams last night
Things in life
The hardships and struggles that we face in our lives
Start through my dreams and
Manifest in my subconscious mind as I sleep
I just want to shine it up
I want to find a way to improve the situation
Shine it down or shine off
Whether it means overcoming it or letting it go
Going where we lost it all
Traveling down the path of our past mistakes
Yet things before are with us now
The repercussions of those past mistakes are still affecting us
It hurts it kills
The pain caused by those mistakes can be excruciating
It takes a choice
We have to make a decision to either move forward or dwell in the past
It brings no light
The situation doesn't bring any positives or solutions
It brings no love
The situation isn't remedied by love or affection
And what we want most
Our deepest desires
Is no where to be found
Are currently unattainable
Some people care
There are people who care about our struggles
They're going long
They're putting effort and time into trying to help
They're going deep
Those people are truly invested in the situation
Still it's nowhere to be found
Despite their efforts, the solution to our struggles is still out of reach
We're looking far
We're actively searching for answers
We're searching wide
We're exploring different avenues to attain our desires
What we want is gone for good
Our desires may never be fulfilled
It's simply nowhere to be found
The solution to our problems is currently unavailable
Somewhere is the one that never will
There is always someone that won't give up
Burn out
Lose their passion or drive
They're looking for a heart
They are searching for something meaningful to believe in
Looking for a home
They want to find a place where they feel they belong
Looking for a hand
They desire someone to help them in their journey
You're not alone
A reminder that there are others who share in the struggle
You never said I'd see you again
We were unaware that we would face this struggle again
You never said I will
We were never guaranteed an easy life
I will
The determination to stand strong despite struggles
My love
An expression of love despite hardships
Someone somewhere says they've got it all
There are those who claim to have everything together
But that's not even what we want
Our desires go beyond material possessions or appearances
Not even close
Our wants are much deeper and more profound
It won't ever be what we want
No matter what happens, our desires may never be fulfilled
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Murray Lightburn
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind