Their seventh CD, Last Days of Wonder (June. 2006) was one of Mojo’s top ten American Albums for 2006 and called “an unqualified triumph” by Uncut. Of their sixth CD, Singing Bones, The UK’s Independent wrote, “Rarely, even in the fatalistic world of country music, has the precarious mystery of mortality been captured with such poetic grace as on Singing Bones.”
They have appeared in the movie, I’m Your Man (2005), a tribute to Leonard Cohen as well as Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (2004). In 2004, a reader's poll in Mojo named The Handsome Family's third CD, Through the Trees one of the ten essential Americana records.
Last Days of Wonder is a collection of love songs sung in airports, garbage dumps, drive-thru windows and shark-infested waters. The CD celebrates the little miraculous moments of beauty found in everyday life: a golf course shining in the rain, hanging lights bouncing in the breeze, pigeons singing from billboards, trees blooming in squares of dirt. The songs linger on those moments when we’re pulled from the ordinary to feel awed by mystery, bewildered by beauty, terrified by the vast unknowable around us (whether we wander through shady groves or crowded parking lots).
Brett Sparks, who writes the music, draws from medieval melody, country-politan string arrangements, tin-pan alley crooners, and dusty hillbilly records to weave together the fabric of this record. Rennie Sparks, who writes the lyrics, makes magical realism from polar adventure stories, pagan hunting songs and her own time spent (like most people) riding up elevators, staring out hotel room windows, and driving interstate highways. The entire album was recorded over a year's time in the converted garage studio at the back of the Sparks' Albuquerque house. Brett recorded it all on a Mac and a whole mess of wires, microphones and little metal boxes. Alongside the usual guitar, bass and drums you will hear mellotrons, ukulele, banjo, bowed wine glasses, and trombone.
Brett and Rennie (The Handsome Family) have been married for 18 years. In their live performances The Handsome Family are sometimes up to a six-piece band and sometimes just Brett and Rennie with (or without) a laptop computer.
Caterpillars
The Handsome Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
While reading in bed one night
She'd left the window open
And the storm caught her by surprise
For days she lay as still as stone
Hooked to pumps and tubes
Then out her window the street lights flashed
And at last a finger moved
She awoke to a cacophony of electric and radio waves
Pulsing rays of energy falling from outer space
High in swaying towers
Down in basements full of dust
She could not escape the static
Or the sixty-cycle hum
She wore dark-tinted spectacles
Several fur-lined capes
Three pairs of velvet gloves
A veil of dotted swiss
But all the earth's vibrations
Still pounded through her ears
So she packed a steamer trunk
And flew a prop plane to Belize
From there a log raft took her
Over raging waterfalls
Deep within uncharted jungle
Where giant caterpillars crawl
They spun their silk around her
A cocoon beneath the trees
And still she hangs there swaying
Deep within the dripping leaves
Keeping time with every rumble
Every quiver of the earth
And she slowly changes shape
With the turning of the world
The Handsome Family's song, Caterpillars, tells the bizarre story of Sylvia, a woman who was struck by lightning while reading in bed one night. The lightning came in through the open window and caught her by surprise. As a result, she lay in a hospital bed for days, hooked up to pumps and tubes. When she finally woke up, she found that she had developed a unique ability to sense all of the earth's vibrations, including electric and radio waves.
Sylvia tries everything to escape the constant static and hum that she hears, including wearing dark-tinted spectacles, fur-lined capes, velvet gloves, and a veil of dotted swiss. But no matter what she does, the earth's vibrations continue to pound through her ears. Eventually, she packs a steamer trunk and flies a prop plane to Belize. From there, she travels to an uncharted jungle, where she encounters giant caterpillars. The caterpillars spin their silk around her, creating a cocoon beneath the trees where Sylvia hangs, swaying with every rumble and quiver of the earth. She slowly changes shape with the turning of the world.
The song's lyrics are imaginative and unconventional, capturing the listener's attention with its strange and surreal imagery. By combining the themes of nature, mysticism, and human experience, the Handsome Family creates a unique story that is both haunting and captivating.
Line by Line Meaning
Sylvia was struck by lightning
Sylvia was hit by a bolt of electricity from the sky
While reading in bed one night
She was reading in bed when it happened
She'd left the window open
The window was open and allowed the lightning to hit her
And the storm caught her by surprise
She wasn't expecting a storm to happen
For days she lay as still as stone
She couldn't move for many days
Hooked to pumps and tubes
She needed machines to help her stay alive
Then out her window the street lights flashed
She saw the flashing street lights from her window
And at last a finger moved
She was finally able to move her finger
High in swaying towers
There were tall buildings that moved back and forth
Down in basements full of dust
There were dark, dirty spaces underground
She could not escape the static
She was unable to get away from the electricity in the air
Or the sixty-cycle hum
The constant sound of electricity was always present
She wore dark-tinted spectacles
She wore glasses that made everything dark
Several fur-lined capes
She had many coats made of animal fur
Three pairs of velvet gloves
She had several gloves made of a soft fabric called velvet
A veil of dotted swiss
She covered her face with a thin fabric that had polka dots on it
But all the earth's vibrations
The movement of the planet affected her
Still pounded through her ears
She could still hear the vibrations
So she packed a steamer trunk
She put her things in a big box made for traveling
And flew a prop plane to Belize
She took a small airplane with a spinning blade to a country called Belize
From there a log raft took her
She got on a raft made of wood
Over raging waterfalls
The water was moving very fast and violently
Deep within uncharted jungle
She traveled into a forest that had not been explored
Where giant caterpillars crawl
There were very large worms that moved on the ground
They spun their silk around her
The worms created a soft material around her
A cocoon beneath the trees
She was wrapped up in a covering made by the worms while still outside
And still she hangs there swaying
She is still wrapped up and moving back and forth
Deep within the dripping leaves
She is in a place with lots of water and plants
Keeping time with every rumble
She moves along with every loud sound
Every quiver of the earth
Every time the ground shakes, she moves
And she slowly changes shape
Her body is becoming different
With the turning of the world
As the planet moves, she changes too
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BRETT SPARKS, RENNIE S SPARKS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
KIFLA
pillar"
Sylvia was struck by lightning while reading in bed one night
She’d left the window open, the storm caught her by surprise
For days she lay still as stone hooked to pumps and tubes
Then out her window the street lights flashed and at last a finger moved
She awoke to a cacophony of electric and radio waves
Pulsing rays of energy falling from outer space
High in swaying towers, down in basements full of dust
She could not escape the static, the sixty cycle hum
She wore dark-tinted spectacles, several fur-lined capes
Three pairs of velvet gloves, a veil of dotted swiss
But all the Earth’s vibrations still pounded through her ears
So she packed a steamer trunk, flew a prop plane to Belize
From there a log raft took her over raging waterfalls
Deep within uncharted jungle where giant caterpillars crawl
They spun their silk around her, a cocoon beneath the trees
And still she hangs there swaying, deep within the dripping leaves
Keeping time with every rumble, every quiver of the Earth
And she slowly changes shape with the turning of the world
wubbie4
Awesome, unclassifiable music
that_1_guy
Cool mellow song with vivid lyrics.
scifiNotSyfyFan
I sometimes listen to a band called Auctioneer. This Handsome Family album seems to be really mellow. Auctioneer tends to have a mellow sound as well. It would be interesting to see the two bands tour together.
Jorge Romero
Awesome!!
rocio Riquelme
Es muy extraño ver esto en el 2020
june ninkasi
I'm in loveeeeee
Mustafa Kemal Güneş
cildirmamak eldemi