Their first single "Worried About Ray" reached number 5 on the UK Singles Chart in July 2007. In October 2007, they released their debut album The Trick to Life, which reached number 1 in the album charts. The band released their second top ten album The Illusion of Safety on 16 August 2010 and was preceded by the lead single "Choices" which was released on 1 August 2010, it reached the UK Top 20.
In July 2015, bassist Martin Skarendahl left the band in what was described by the remaining members as "one of the most amicable decisions in music history".[1]
Sarajevo
The Hoosiers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A luck we soon outgrew
And now instead we drift again
How I miss Sarajevo
Oh, we were lost at sea
To pause for thought, then we
Slip beneath the foam
Good times die young
For the faraway kids on the run
Nowhere to hide the faraway kids
The faraway kids
At night my soul sets sail
In minute detail
When I wake I cry
For I've lost Sarajevo
Oh, the charges lacked all proof
And failed to light the fuse
For the Little Brutes
But I forsook Sarajevo
Good times die young
For the faraway kids on the run
Nowhere to hide faraway kids
Faraway kids
Good times die young
For the faraway kids on the run
Nowhere to hide faraway kids
Faraway kids
Faraway kids
The faraway kids
The faraway kids
The faraway kids
The faraway kids
The faraway kids
The faraway kids
Faraway kids
Faraway kids
I can't outrun
The terrible things I have done
I can't outrun faraway kids
Faraway kids
We, we were the lucky few
A luck we soon outgrew
And now instead we drift again
How I miss Sarajevo
Drift again, I miss Sarajevo
Faraway kids
Faraway kids
Faraway kids
Faraway kids
Faraway kids
Faraway kids
Faraway kids
Faraway kids
Faraway kids
Faraway kids
Faraway kids
The faraway kids, yeah
The Hoosiers' song "Sarajevo" is a melancholic tribute to the nostalgia felt by the people who survived the city's siege during the Bosnian War in the early 1990s. The lyrics are emotional and introspective, and their imagery vividly conveys a sense of loss, pain, and regret.
The song starts by acknowledging the transient nature of luck - "We were the lucky few, a luck we soon outgrew". The singer laments that they have drifted away from their past, and they yearn for the city they once knew and loved- "How I miss Sarajevo". The second verse continues this theme; the singer and their companions are lost at sea and sinking, almost as if they are drowning in their own sense of displacement. The line "good times die young" reflects the common trope of how youthful happiness is fleeting, and how the memories of those golden days of the past become even more poignant in their absence.
The chorus reinforces this sense of longing and sadness; "Faraway kids on the run" speaks to how the generation that lived through the war was forced to flee in search of sanctuary, while "Nowhere to hide" implies that no place feels like home. The third verse adds a layer of complexity to the emotions; while the singer still yearns for Sarajevo, they acknowledge that they failed to defend it, and that the war took a profound emotional toll on them. The last part of the song is a repetition of what came before, with the melody becoming more wistful and the vocals more urgent as the song builds to its tragic conclusion.
Overall, "Sarajevo" is a haunting song that speaks to how trauma can shape people's perceptions of home and belonging. The singer can't outrun the pain they've experienced, and the sense of being a "faraway kid" is deeply ingrained in their psyche.
Line by Line Meaning
We were the lucky few
Initially, we were amongst the fortunate few, but that was short-lived.
A luck we soon outgrew
Our fortunate situation was short-lived and we quickly lost it.
And now instead we drift again
Currently, we are aimless and unfocused, wandering without direction.
How I miss Sarajevo
I find myself reminiscing about the past, specifically my time in Sarajevo.
Oh, we were lost at sea
We were lost and directionless, like a ship in the middle of the ocean without a compass.
To pause for thought, then we
We stopped briefly to reflect and think about our situation, then...
Slip beneath the foam
We quickly succumbed to the challenges and hardships we faced, like sinking beneath the waves.
And fall down to the seabed
We hit rock bottom and were left feeling stuck and helpless.
Good times die young
Pleasant experiences tend to pass quickly and don't last long.
For the faraway kids on the run
For the youth trying to escape and start anew in a distant place.
Nowhere to hide the faraway kids
There is nowhere to hide for those trying to escape their problems in a far-off place.
At night my soul sets sail
In the still of the night, my mind travels far and wide, exploring my deepest thoughts and feelings.
In minute detail
Exploring every thought in the smallest detail, leaving nothing unexamined.
When I wake I cry
As I emerge from deep thought and reflection, I am left with sorrow and tears for what I have lost.
For I've lost Sarajevo
A specific place or time in the past that I can never get back and have lost forever.
Oh, the charges lacked all proof
A decision that was made lacked evidence and was based on very little.
And failed to light the fuse
Without the required evidence, a situation or plan failed to ignite or gain momentum.
For the Little Brutes
For the young and aggressive individuals who were involved in the situation or plan.
But I forsook Sarajevo
I turned my back on a place or time that was once very dear to me.
I can't outrun
There are some actions or decisions that cannot be outrun or forgotten, no matter how fast you try to move forward.
The terrible things I have done
A reference to the mistakes or negative actions that one has taken in the past and cannot forget.
The faraway kids
A specific group of youths trying to escape and create a new future somewhere distant.
Contributed by Sebastian K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.