Dulli and Lanegan have regularly contributed to each other's projects since 2000; of the duo's origins, Dulli said "I think Mark told a journalist we were doing it, and then the journalist called me, and I didn't know we were doing it." On Christmas Day 2003, Dulli and Lanegan began work on the collaboration, titled Saturnalia.
In July 2007, the music website Pitchfork Media announced that the duo, "two of the alt-rock era's greatest frontmen," had signed to Seattle label Sub Pop. Soon thereafter, Sub Pop reported a 4 March, 2008 release date for Saturnalia. Dulli and Lanegan plan to tour in the United States and abroad to promote the album.
On September 2, 2008, The Gutter Twins released their eight-song EP Adorata exclusively through iTunes. The EP was mostly recorded during sessions for their first album, Saturnalia. Adorata features two previously unreleased originals ("Spanish Doors" and "We Have Met Before") alongside covers of "Down the Line" (José González), "Deep Hit of Morning Sun" (Primal Scream), "Duchess" (Scott Walker), "Belles" (Vetiver), "Flow Like a River" (Eleven), and "St. James Infirmary" (traditional). A portion of the proceeds from the release of Adorata will go to the Natasha Shneider Memorial Fund. Shneider, a long-time friend of the band, was the lead singer for Eleven and a member of Queens Of The Stone Age.
Their official web presence is located at http://www.theguttertwins.com.
We Have Met Before
The Gutter Twins Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
For your kiss, for your lie
Call me back home
To your breast
To your arms
And we have met before
On these stairs
Time fades away
'till it's gone,
Midnight and dawn
Into your arms
I am yours again
Touch my cheek
I am cold
As I sleep
So I am born again
You're so deep
All is calm
All is calm
It's a masquerade in a field of gold
On a moonlit night
It's a free fall
When she took my hand on the silver court
Let me in tonight
Let the feeling grow
When you turn your head
Will I see the light
Will you take me home into paradise
She's alright, she's alright, she's alright
With me...
The lyrics of "We Have Met Before" convey a sense of longing for death and a desire to be reunited with it. The singer seems to have a familiarity with death, as they describe waiting for "your kiss, for your lie", suggesting that they have had previous experiences with the entity. The repetition of the phrase "to your breast, to your arms" indicates a desire for comfort and a return to a state of rest. Additionally, the lyrics evoke a feeling of déjà vu, with the singer acknowledging that they and death have met before "on these stairs, at this door".
The song also touches on themes of rebirth and renewal. The line "touch my cheek, I am cold, as I sleep" implies the singer is going through a transformation, while the lyric "so I am born again, you're so deep, all is calm" suggests a sense of peace and transcendence. The reference to a "masquerade in a field of gold" and "a free fall" further conveys a sense of letting go and embracing the unknown.
Overall, "We Have Met Before" is a haunting and introspective song about the cyclical nature of life and death, and the desire for rest and renewal.
Line by Line Meaning
Death, I wait tonight
The singer awaits death
For your kiss, for your lie
The singer waits for death's deceiving kiss
Call me back home
The singer wants death to bring him back home
To your breast
The singer wants to be held by death
To your arms
The singer wants to be taken by death
And we have met before
The singer has encountered death previously
On these stairs
The location of the singer's previous encounter with death
At this door
The location of the singer's previous encounter with death
Time fades away
Time disappears
'till it's gone,
Until it disappears completely
Midnight and dawn
Time of the day has no effect on the encounter with death
Into your arms
The singer is taken by death
I am yours again
The singer is once again under death's control
Touch my cheek
The singer wants to be comforted by death
I am cold
The singer is numb or lifeless
As I sleep
The singer is transitioning into death
So I am born again
The singer is metaphorically reborn into death
You're so deep
Death is all-encompassing
All is calm
In death, everything is peaceful
All is calm
In death, everything is peaceful
It's a masquerade in a field of gold
The situation is an elaborate act of deception
On a moonlit night
The scene is set at night with the moon in the sky
It's a free fall
The situation feels like falling without control
When she took my hand on the silver court
An encounter with a woman on a tennis court
Let me in tonight
The singer wants to be let into something
Let the feeling grow
The singer wants the feeling to develop
When you turn your head
When death looks away
Will I see the light
Will the singer see a glimpse of life outside of death's grasp?
Will you take me home into paradise
The singer wants death to lead him to paradise
She's alright, she's alright, she's alright
The woman on the tennis court is reassuring
With me...
Implies a shared understanding between the singer and the woman
Contributed by Jake B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@schielesmrs7648
Love you Mark. You were one of a kind. Rest in peace XX
@kylehajek3037
Did EMS for 8 years, WhenI meet death I'm going to tell them we've met before. They're a friend.
@solac7749
22.02.2022 when you took away the pain 🖤
@walterkovacsRorschach
I need this Album in Vinyl
@alfredoca687
Amazing tune.
@Vvestlana
When she took my hand On the silver chord Let me in tonight Let the feeling grow When you turn your head When I see the light Will you take me home Into Paradise? She's all right, she's all right She's all right with me How long?
@trikkimikk6916
First time hearing this song i couldn`t breathe for 5.01 minutes and died.
@schielesmrs7648
Bloody incredible isn't it?!
@mat11trick
Love this song.
@dajanavojvodic9137
Love love love