The Gaslight Anthem’s music embraces many elements of blues, classic rock, and punk rock. The band has described their sound as “Bruce Springsteen singing for a Cure cover band, with a tinge more aggression.” The group’s fondness for Springsteen, a significant influence on their music, is celebrated by fans and critics alike. Representative of such views, one critic wrote, “The Gaslight Anthem are like something out of speculative fiction: this is what pop music would be if Springsteen hadn’t listened to his producer, let the Ramones record ‘Hungry Heart,’ and launched the C.B.G.B.’ers into megastardom.”
The band released its first LP, Sink or Swim, in 2007 through XOXO Records, and toured with many reputable bands, including Against Me!, The Draft, Dead to Me, and Fake Problems.
The Gaslight Anthem’s second release, a 4-song EP entitled Señor and the Queen, was released on January 29th, 2008 by Sabot Productions.
Their second full-length, The ‘59 Sound, was released on August 19, 2008 on Side One Dummy Records. The album debuted at #70 on the Billboard top 200. It was produced by Ted Hutt, who has produced albums for The Bouncing Souls, Flogging Molly, and MxPx.
On August 6, 2008 they became the first band to ever appear on the cover of Kerrang! magazine without the publication having previously written a single word about them.
In Fall 2008, the band toured with Rise Against, Alkaline Trio, and Thrice.
On December 9, 2008, the Gaslight Anthem made their television debut on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, performing the song the “The ‘59 Sound.” On January 30, 2009, they appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman, again playing “The ‘59 Sound.”
Their third full-length, American Slang, was released on June 15, 2010, on Side One Dummy Records. The Bring It On Songfacts reports that it finds the band moving away from the fictional lyrics and '50s-inspired sound of their previous records.
In 2010 they appeared on the main stage at the Reading and Leeds festivals in the UK along with Arcade Fire, The Libertines and Modest Mouse.
Their fourth full-length, Handwritten was released on July 23, 2012 in the UK, and on July 24 in the US. The lead single, "45", was aired for the first time worldwide as Zane Lowe's Hottest Record in the World on April 30, 2012 on BBC Radio 1 and was released on iTunes on May 8, 2012. Handwritten was called by The Rolling Stone their "biggest sounding, most straightforward album"
Blue Jeans
The Gaslight Anthem Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We are the heart of Saturday night
We drink from the fountains off the fireworks
Sweat and bone for a better life
We like our choruses sung together
We like our arms in our brothers' arms
Call every girl we ever met Maria
Still we sing with our heroes, 33 rounds per minute
We're never going home until the sun says we're finished
I'll love you forever if I ever love at all
Wild hearts, blue jeans, & white t-shirts
Some things baby never told you
Some things papa done ain't right
Spent a lifetime just to get over
You always said my mama tried
Still we sing with our heroes, 33 rounds per minute
We're never going home until the sun says we're finished
I'll love you forever if I ever love at all
With wild hearts, blue jeans, & white t-shirts
So tonight I'll call you from a Fourth Street payphone
We'll sleep on the beach if we ain't got a ride
Someday I'll buy you that house on Cookman
We could sleep on the beach all night
Sleep on the beach if we ain't got a ride
Sleep on the beach all night
Sleep on the beach all night
Sleep on the beach if we ain't got a ride
The Gaslight Anthem's song "Blue Jeans" is a nostalgic anthem that celebrates the youth culture of Little Eden, a place where the boys like to have fun, sing choruses together and hang out with each other. They live for Saturday nights, drinking from fountains off the fireworks, sweating and working for a better life. They refer to the girls they meet as Maria, but the singer admits that he only loves Virginia's heart, which is an indication of his deeper feelings for someone special.
The song has a theme of aging and reminiscing about the past. The singer mentions that there are things that he hasn't told his partner and there are things that his father has done that aren't right. He has had to spend a lifetime trying to get over these things. Nonetheless, he and his friends still sing with their heroes, 33 rounds per minute, and they won't be going home until the sun says they're finished. They have wild hearts, blue jeans, and white t-shirts as they enjoy their youth.
Towards the end of the song, the singer talks about calling his partner from a payphone on Fourth Street and sleeping on the beach if they don't have a ride. He promises that someday he will buy her a house on Cookman, where they could sleep on the beach all night. The song is a beautiful appreciation of the carefree spirit of youth, while also acknowledging the struggles and hardships that come with growing up.
Line by Line Meaning
We are the boys from Little Eden
We are a group of people from a small town called Little Eden.
We are the heart of Saturday night
We are the life and soul of the party on a Saturday night.
We drink from the fountains off the fireworks
We enjoy the excitement and thrill of life, living in the moment.
Sweat and bone for a better life
We work hard physically and mentally to achieve the lifestyle we want.
We like our choruses sung together
We enjoy singing along in harmony with our friends.
We like our arms in our brothers' arms
We are a tight-knit group of friends who are physically affectionate with each other.
Call every girl we ever met Maria
We have a habit of using the name Maria to refer to girls we meet.
But I only love Virginia's heart
Out of all the girls I've met, I only have genuine feelings for Virginia.
Still we sing with our heroes, 33 rounds per minute
We are inspired by our musical heroes and sing along with their songs at a fast pace.
We're never going home until the sun says we're finished
We will party all night until the sun comes up or until we physically can't anymore.
I'll love you forever if I ever love at all
If I find true love, it will last forever.
Wild hearts, blue jeans, & white t-shirts
Our signature style is wearing blue jeans and white t-shirts with our wild personalities shining through.
Some things baby never told you
There are some things I haven't shared with you yet.
Some things papa done ain't right
Some things my dad did weren't morally right.
Spent a lifetime just to get over
It took me a long time to emotionally recover from my past experiences.
You always said my mama tried
You have always praised my mother for her effort.
So tonight I'll call you from a Fourth Street payphone
I'll make a call to you from a payphone located on Fourth Street tonight.
We'll sleep on the beach if we ain't got a ride
If we can't find transportation, we'll sleep on the beach.
Someday I'll buy you that house on Cookman
Someday I will buy you a house located on Cookman street.
We could sleep on the beach all night
We are willing to sleep on the beach all night if we don't have a place to stay.
Sleep on the beach if we ain't got a ride
Same as before, if we can't find a ride, we'll sleep on the beach.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BRIAN FALLON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@NE_One1
This guy has written the soundtrack to the last 15 years of my life
@savemyian
+Harry Brown well that`s funny, because I think they wrote it all for me :D
@jeremyweyant7360
Destyan Eka Prasetya no,me!
@bretthenry6723
Just for me
@ColeReynolz
This guy just gets us man.
@h0pesfall
You did wear blue jeans and white t-shirts the last 15 years? xD
@tomanderson6306
Gaslight is one of the few bands that when listening, I get the chills.
@christophecarpentier9797
I love how, every time I watch this song live, he smiles when people sing the high-pitched backing vocals at 0:56. :)
@RuRocksMySocks
If you just watch the video, it seems that he's just singing casually. Then, if you look closer, you can see the emotion in his face, as if he's reminiscing at the same time. Truly brilliant.
@Agt.Kraemer
it‘s beyond words this one...