The Hotelier formed in June 2009 when lead singer Christian Holden met Chris Hoffman, Zack Shaw, and Sam Frederick while attending high school in Dudley, Massachusetts. In 2009, the band released their first EP, titled We Are All Alone, which received little success outside of Massachusetts. At the end of the year, the band released Two Song Demo. In 2011, the band released their first album, titled It Never Goes Out, receiving some attention.
Originally named The Hotel Year, the band changed its name because they did not think the name was particularly good, and there was a band called My Hotel Year which they did not want to be confused with.
The band released their second album in 2014 titled Home, Like Noplace Is There, which brought the band to attention in the emo revival scene. After releasing the album, vocalist Christian Holden stated in a blog post on the bands Tumblr that "Our new album deals with some real dark stuff. So to all my brooding and slightly damaged friends, have your a happy album or Rugrats in Paris nearby. It’s partly about my experience with friends and loved ones in the past three years which were very complicated, toxic, and abusive. But laid within is a lot about the deconstruction of self for personal growth and transformation. I hope it helps you live and stuff. Apparently we are emo now." Home, Like Noplace Is There ranked at number 1 on the AbsolutePunk staff's top 30 albums of 2014, and number 6 on the users' top 50 albums of 2000-2015. According to Marc Snitzer, writer for the Philadelphia City Paper, The Hotelier was named one of two bands "leading the emo revival". The release of the band's sophomore album was ranked number seven on Alternative Press's list of the "12 Biggest Moments of The #EmoRevival in 2014". Leor Galil, writer for the Chicago Reader named it his favorite record of 2014. The band was also featured (for their second album) in a Boston Globe article highlighting the best music from Boston in 2014. The album was included at number 29 on Rock Sound's "Top 50 Albums of the Year" list.
The band was featured on Property of Zack's "Artists To Watch in 2015". The band performed at the 2015 Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, Spain. In the spring of 2015, the band supported La Dispute and Title Fight on their co-headlining tour.
On 15 February 2016 Christian Holden wrote a blog post on the band's Tumblr account in which they mentioned an impending album announcement for an album entitled Goodness. The album was formally announced the next day. At the same time the band released a trailer for the album set to the song Goodness Pt I, a song sold as a limited edition numbered vinyl during the band's 2015 tour.
The band premiered their second single titled "Soft Animal" on April 22, 2016. The album itself was released a little over a month later, on May 27, through Tiny Engines.
The Scope Of All Of This
The Hotelier Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
left the umbilical,
and now I carry around
this weight of broken hope.
I can't retrace,
and I lost my hold
and blame myself because that is all
I've ever known.
when your head feels the wake of the sorrow.
Swore to me that you could live without
then the beg turns to take turns to borrow.
Help me down.
I just want this out.
When you bend, when you break, when you follow
you cut me out.
Then you cut our ropes,
left the umbilical,
and now i'm lost and I can't take this path back home.
Send a birthday card.
Leave a one-way note.
I lied. I'm sorry. This isn't easy. I don't know.
And you'd ask me to "open your walls to this."
But I'm scared, fingers broken,
and ill-prepared to let this drag out.
When you forgot the words to our song.
When you can't remember names its been too long.
When you stopped asking what was wrong
all the pressure built up it was too strong.
I can't make this better.
It fell out of my hands because
I just wasn't built to hold on.
and I can't remember names its been too long.
and I can't find your face in the crowd.
I made a promise said my eyes would stay shut
through something called the scope of all of this rebuilding.
I broke when I entered. Displaced from the center,
I can't find my way around this.
My wounds healed while my fingers fixed
The Hotelier's song, "The Scope of All of This," is a deeply emotional and introspective reflection on an ended relationship, with the singer grappling with feelings of self-blame, regret, and loss. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of a relationship that has fallen apart, with the singer feeling abandoned and lost, struggling to come to terms with what has happened.
The opening lines, "You cut our ropes, left the umbilical, and now I carry around this weight of broken hope," suggest a sense of betrayal and abandonment on the part of the other person in the relationship. The singer feels unable to retrace their steps or find their way back to the way things used to be, feeling like they are shouldering the burden alone.
The chorus, "When you bend, when you break, when you follow, you cut me out," highlights the contradictions and mixed signals that have led to the relationship's breakdown. The singer is left feeling like they are no longer able to trust the other person or understand what they want.
Overall, "The Scope of All of This" is a deeply personal and affecting reflection on love, loss, and the ways in which relationships can fall apart.
Line by Line Meaning
You cut our ropes,
You ended our connection,
left the umbilical,
You severed our tie,
and now I carry around
this weight of broken hope.
I feel the burden of dashed expectations,
I can't retrace,
I can't go back to how things used to be,
and I lost my hold
and blame myself because that is all
I've ever known.
I couldn't keep it together and it's my default to blame myself.
Your face shows doubt
when your head feels the wake of the sorrow.
You look unsure and feel the effects of sadness.
Swore to me that you could live without
then the beg turns to take turns to borrow.
You promised you didn't need me, but now you're asking for favors.
Help me down.
Assist me in getting over this.
I just want this out.
I want to move on from this situation.
When you bend, when you break, when you follow
you cut me out.
You've ignored me through fluctuations.
Then you cut our ropes,
left the umbilical,
and now i'm lost and I can't take this path back home.
You terminated our relationship and now I'm directionless.
Send a birthday card.
Leave a one-way note.
A shallow attempt at communication while keeping distance.
I lied. I'm sorry. This isn't easy. I don't know.
I'm apologizing for my mistakes, but I'm struggling.
And you'd ask me to "open your walls to this."
But I'm scared, fingers broken,
and ill-prepared to let this drag out.
You want me to be emotionally vulnerable, but I'm hesitant and unprepared.
When you forgot the words to our song.
You've forgotten the memories we shared.
When you can't remember names its been too long.
Time has passed and you've lost familiarity with people and places.
When you stopped asking what was wrong
all the pressure built up it was too strong.
You neglected me and the tensions built up.
I can't make this better.
I can't fix the problem.
It fell out of my hands because
I just wasn't built to hold on.
I couldn't sustain the weight of the situation.
and I can't remember names its been too long.
I've lost familiarity with people and places.
and I can't find your face in the crowd.
I can't recognize you in a group setting.
I made a promise said my eyes would stay shut
through something called the scope of all of this rebuilding.
I vowed to stay ignorant through the process of rebuilding.
I broke when I entered. Displaced from the center,
I can't find my way around this.
I fell apart as soon as I got involved, and now I'm lost.
My wounds healed while my fingers fixed
My emotional wounds have healed, but my physical body has been preoccupied.
Contributed by Taylor F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@julie6959
You cut our ropes,
left the umbilical,
and now I carry around
this weight of broken hope.
I can't retrace,
and I lost my hold
and blame myself because that is all
I've ever known.
Your face shows doubt
when your head feels the wake of the sorrow.
Swore to me that you could live without
then the beg turns to take turns to borrow.
Help me down.
I just want this out.
When you bend, when you break, when you follow
you cut me out.
Then you cut our ropes,
left the umbilical,
and now i'm lost and I can't take this path back home.
Send a birthday card.
Leave a one-way note.
I lied. I'm sorry. This isn't easy. I don't know.
And you'd ask me to "open your walls to this."
But I'm scared, fingers broken,
and ill-prepared to let this drag out.
When you forgot the words to our song.
When you can't remember names its been too long.
When you stopped asking what was wrong
all the pressure built up it was too strong.
I can't make this better.
It fell out of my hands because
I just wasn't built to hold on.
and I can't remember names its been too long.
and I can't find your face in the crowd.
I made a promise said my eyes would stay shut
through something called the scope of all of this rebuilding.
I broke when I entered. Displaced from the center,
I can't find my way around this.
My wounds healed while my fingers fixed.
@nickanthropocene6502
You cut our ropes,
left the umbilical,
and now I carry around
this weight of broken hope.
I can't retrace,
and I lost my hold
and blame myself because that is all
I've ever known.
Your face shows doubt
when your head feels the wake of the sorrow.
Swore to me that you could live without
then the beg turns to take turns to borrow.
Help me down.
I just want this out.
When you bend, when you break, when you follow
you cut me out.
Then you cut our ropes,
left the umbilical,
and now i'm lost and I can't take this path back home.
Send a birthday card.
Leave a one-way note.
I lied. I'm sorry. This isn't easy. I don't know.
And you'd ask me to "open your walls to this."
But I'm scared, fingers broken,
and ill-prepared to let this drag out.
When you forgot the words to our song.
When you can't remember names its been too long.
When you stopped asking what was wrong
all the pressure built up it was too strong.
[I can't make this better.
It fell out of my hands because
I just wasn't built to hold on.]
and I can't remember names its been too long.
and I can't find your face in the crowd.
I made a promise said my eyes would stay shut
through something called the scope of all of this rebuilding.
I broke when I entered. Displaced from the center,
I can't find my way around this.
My wounds healed while my fingers fixed.
@mrpinguimninja
"And now I carry around this weight of broken hope" and "and blame myself 'cause this is all I ever know" hit hard as fuck
@zachry1167
Something about the cover art and the intro give me a certain type of vibe...so Nostalgic reminds me of my crazy times back in my teens and the warped tour days...take me back!
@ButtersDudez
NOW I'M LOST AND I CAN'T TAKE THIS PATH BACK HOME
@cameronwhite6928
This has to be one of my all time favorite songs!
@julie6959
You cut our ropes,
left the umbilical,
and now I carry around
this weight of broken hope.
I can't retrace,
and I lost my hold
and blame myself because that is all
I've ever known.
Your face shows doubt
when your head feels the wake of the sorrow.
Swore to me that you could live without
then the beg turns to take turns to borrow.
Help me down.
I just want this out.
When you bend, when you break, when you follow
you cut me out.
Then you cut our ropes,
left the umbilical,
and now i'm lost and I can't take this path back home.
Send a birthday card.
Leave a one-way note.
I lied. I'm sorry. This isn't easy. I don't know.
And you'd ask me to "open your walls to this."
But I'm scared, fingers broken,
and ill-prepared to let this drag out.
When you forgot the words to our song.
When you can't remember names its been too long.
When you stopped asking what was wrong
all the pressure built up it was too strong.
I can't make this better.
It fell out of my hands because
I just wasn't built to hold on.
and I can't remember names its been too long.
and I can't find your face in the crowd.
I made a promise said my eyes would stay shut
through something called the scope of all of this rebuilding.
I broke when I entered. Displaced from the center,
I can't find my way around this.
My wounds healed while my fingers fixed.
@-_redacted_
god I wish it was 8 years ago again
@ReturnDivided
"Leave a one-way note"...shit that hits hard.
@Jottez
i really want to drink a beer after hearing this
@bryanddd
Dang that is good..like Rival Schools kinda vibe. Most excellent.
@jamesparsons464
tried singing this in my car the other day and my dog starting whining from the passenger seat :/