Members of the Lawrence Arms have also played in The Broadways, Slapstick, Tricky Dick and Baxter.
The three musicians came together to form the Lawrence Arms in 1999. Although punk rock bands in their infancy generally start out by releasing EPs and 7" vinyl singles, the band members used their existing relationship with Asian Man Records to immediately begin recording a full-length album, a guided tour of chicago, which was released later that year. A second album, ghost stories, followed in 2000. Both albums focused heavily on the members' own stories of growing up and living in Chicago.
The band's next two releases were split EPs with other bands. The first, a split with Shady View Terrace, was released in 2000 and was their first release to be recorded by Matt Allison, who would continue to record and produce all of their subsequent releases. A second EP, Present Day Memories, was released in 2001 and was a split with The Chinkees.
The band's records and touring schedule had brought them to the attention of Fat Mike of NOFX, who signed them to his label Fat Wreck Chords in late 2001. Their first release on the label was a 7" vinyl single, part of the label's "Fat Club" series of 7" records. This was followed by the full-length album apathy and exhaustion, released in 2002. The album spawned the band's first music video, for the song porno and snuff films and they toured extensively with NOFX and other bands from the label.
Their next album was 2003's the greatest story ever told. Arguably their most ambitious album to date, it demonstrated the band members' continued growth as musicians and songwriters and included extensive footnotes to the lyrics detailing their many references to history, literature and pop culture. It also showed an evolution in the band's vocal style. Kelly had sung most of the vocals on their first album, while on subsequent releases he and McCaughan had split vocal duties almost equally from one song to the next, with Kelly's voice tending to sound more harsh and urgent while McCaughan's sounds more relaxed and melodic. With this release, however, the two began to move towards more of a duet style of singing which would feature prominently on their next album. Extensive touring following the album's release saw the band on the road for much of 2003 and 2004. They also contributed a song to the Fat Wreck Chords Rock Against Bush, Volume 2 compilation, leading up to the 2004 presidential election and became involved with the Punk Voter campaign.
In December of 2004 Kelly and Hennessy joined with fellow Chicago natives Dan Andriano of Alkaline Trio (who had played with Kelly in Slapstick) and Todd Mohney, formerly of Rise Against, to form The Falcon, and released an EP on Red Scare. Meanwhile, with interest in the Lawrence Arms increasing and their EPs out of print, Asian Man Records planned a CD release of the band's EP tracks. The resulting compilation album, Cocktails & Dreams, was released on Asian Man in June of 2005 and included their songs from both EPs along with nearly all of their compilation tracks, rare songs and b-sides.
The Lawrence Arms re-entered the studio in October and November of 2005 and recorded the album oh! calcutta!, which was released on Fat Wreck Chords in March of 2006. It had an overall faster and more urgent feel to it than their previous album, and demonstrated another step in the development of their singing as Kelly and McCaughan shared vocals in a duet style on nearly every song. They filmed a music video for the song the devil's takin' names.
The Lawrence Arms spent most of 2006 touring extensively alongside bands such as NOFX, Alkaline Trio, The Draft, Lagwagon, and A Wilhelm Scream. The full-length debut by the Falcon was released that fall on Red Scare. In December, the Lawrence Arms embarked on their first headlining tour of Australia, also playing supporting shows with Frenzal Rhomb.
In March of 2007, guitarist Chris McCaughan released the debut album from his acoustic side project Sundowner, entitled four one five two.
The band toured again in 2007, with their side projects The Falcon and Sundowner as openers along with the recently reunited American Steel.
The 2010s saw minimal studio activity by the band, but for one album. 2014's Metropole was received well, and marked the band's first full-length in eight years. The band took another extended break in between albums again, taking six years before releasing their seventh album Skeleton Coast in 2020.
Beautiful Things
The Lawrence Arms Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Typing to the rhythm of a century on the???
We were out smoking on the sidewalks
We were lovers drinking to another song on the jukebox
Don't kill all the beautiful things
I was searching for truth,in the dust of my days
I was so lost,and I was so young
Cinematic,I was cynical on the city bus
Literary wrote lyrics like I thought I was
We were sleeping ,racing for the future
Bicycle tires ,spinning revolution
Don't kill all the beautiful things
I was searching for truth,in the dust of my days
I was so lost,and I was so young
The city was sweating in the summer heat
I wrote melodies of regret to a def and empty street
I was so lonely it started to rain
The lightning and thunder were singing my name
I thought those songs could save me
I thought those songs could save me
Don't kill all the beautiful things
I was searching for truth,in the dust of my days
I was so lost,and I was so young
We were so lost and we were so young
Don't kill all the beautiful things
The Lawrence Arms's song Beautiful Things is a melancholic reflection on the nostalgia of youth and the desperate search for truth and beauty in the world. The song opens with the image of a typewriter, tapping out a rhythm that echoes the passing of time. The singer is smoking on the sidewalks with their lover, drinking to the music on the jukebox, and desperately seeking something to hold onto. The repetition of the refrain "Don't kill all the beautiful things" echoes the desperation of their search for meaning and beauty in a world that seems to offer little of either.
The following verses paint a vivid picture of a lost and lonely young person searching for something to cling to. The singer references their own creative output, from writing lyrics to spinning "revolution" on their bicycle tires. But even as they try to create beauty in the world, the singer can't help but feel cynical and disillusioned. The city around them is sweltering in the summer heat, and the singer's music seems to be falling on deaf ears.
In the final verse, the loneliness and despair reaches a climax as the singer is caught in a thunderstorm, feeling as though the lightning and thunder are singing their name. The repetition of the final refrain "We were so lost and we were so young / Don't kill all the beautiful things" feels almost like a plea, a desperate cry for something to hold onto in a world that is so often hostile to beauty and truth.
Line by Line Meaning
Typewriter tell me what year it was
Asking a typewriter (a symbol of the past) to take him back in time
Typing to the rhythm of a century on the???
As he goes back in time, he is typing to the beat of an entire era
We were out smoking on the sidewalks
He was spending time with others while smoking outdoors
We were lovers drinking to another song on the jukebox
He was with his partner, enjoying drinks and music on a jukebox
Don't kill all the beautiful things
A plea to preserve beauty in the world
I was searching for truth,in the dust of my days
He was trying to find his way in life, amidst the dull routine of his existence
I was so lost,and I was so young
He was young and struggling to find his place in the world
Cinematic,I was cynical on the city bus
He was feeling detached and unimpressed while riding the city bus
Literary wrote lyrics like I thought I was
He was attempting to write moving and poetic lyrics
We were sleeping ,racing for the future
He was dreaming and looking ahead to the future
Bicycle tires ,spinning revolution
A metaphor for life moving forward at a rapid pace
The city was sweating in the summer heat
Personifying the city as sweating and uncomfortable during summer
I wrote melodies of regret to a def and empty street
He wrote songs about regret, but no one was listening or paying attention
I was so lonely it started to rain
He felt overwhelmingly lonely that it began to rain, possibly a metaphor for his emotions overflowing
The lightning and thunder were singing my name
Taking a moment of isolation and turning it into an epic and dramatic scene
I thought those songs could save me
He believed that writing songs would provide an escape and offer him salvation
We were so lost and we were so young
He and others around him were still figuring out their lives and themselves
Don't kill all the beautiful things
Once again urging to not eliminate beauty in the world
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Charles T Harmon, Claude Kelly
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Michael Rose
this whole album is amazing. I seem to go on a binge, one song at a time. I'm on this one now.
Seph Nuguid
i think this is the best song in the album! got mine mailed a couple of days ago and just blasting it over and over. good job as always larry arms
taste_the_painbow
there is always that one song on the album..this is it
Aaron Grierson
More instant classic Lawrence Arms. They never grow stale and they always stay just as bitter as they need to.
Seal with Wifi Connection
I can always relate to Chris' lyrics. It's awesome how this hasn't changed from the early Larry Arms to now.
JohnnyBrasco01
Actively in LOVE with this song!
R. B.
this song is so damn nice :)
Andrea Jimenez
This song makes me wanna cry
Psyche
Same. Shit slaps hard.
Tyson Evarard
Me too