The band started life as a side project for singer Ben Gibbard of Death Cab For Cutie and producer Jimmy Tamborello of Dntel, Headset and Figurine. The group formed, in 2001, after Gibbard contributed vocals for a song on Dntel's album Life Is Full Of Possibilities called (This Is) The Dream Of Evan And Chan.
The band released their debut album Give Up on 18 February 2003 on the Sub Pop label. The album was certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and is the second best-selling record in the history of Sub Pop Records after Bleach by Nirvana.
Several songs on this album feature guest vocals from Jenny Lewis, the lead singer of Rilo Kiley, a band which was once on the same label as Death Cab (Barsuk Records) and vocals from Jen Wood, an indie rock solo artist. Chris Walla recorded some of the songs and played the piano on Nothing Better. Lewis' membership in the band was unclear during the "Give Up"-era, although she appeared with Tamberello and Gibbard in the music video for "We Will Become Silhouettes". By the time of their 2013 reunion, Lewis had become a permanent third member of the group.
The group's name comes from the manner in which their songs were written, due to the fact that the two of them lived too far away to be able to work together in person. Tamborello would create beats and mail them to singer and lyricist Gibbard, who would then edit them and put his melodies over the tracks and mail them back. Gibbard didn't write any of the lyrics until the tracks were completely finished.
In August 2003, the United States Postal Service sent the band a cease and desist letter, citing its trademark on the phrase "postal service". After negotiations, the USPS relented, allowing the band use of the trademark in exchange for promotional efforts on behalf of the USPS and a performance at its annual National Executive Conference. Additionally, at one point the USPS website sold the band's CDs. In 2007, "Such Great Heights" appeared in the background of the "Whiteboard" advertising campaign for one of the federal establishment's private competitors, the United Parcel Service.
The album's most notable single was Such Great Heights that has been featured in various television commercials, series, and movie trailers also remixed by John Tejada.
The Postal Service contributed a cover of Against All Odds to the soundtrack to the 2004 motion picture Wicker Park, and the band has worked on several remixes of other artists, including Do You Realize?? (Postal Service remix) (from Yoshimi Battles The Pink Robots) and Little Girl Blue (Postal Service remix) (from Verve Remixed 3) and Mushaboom (Postal Service remix). Gibbard doesn't sing on these remixes (except for Feist's Mushaboom), and it is likely that he granted Jimmy Tamborello permission to work alone under the name The Postal Service.
Second album
On June 22, 2007, it was revealed that The Postal Service had begun work on a new album, though the specifics of the release date were ambiguous. Gibbard stated, "We're slowly starting. We're crawling right now, and whether that crawl turns into a walk remains to be seen. But we'll know more towards the end of the year. I've just been touring so much and trying to find time to make it happen and make our schedules line up." Tamborello added, "We're talking about wanting to finish an album by sometime next year, because we have to work with Death Cab's schedule and stuff. I definitely want to do another one."
On February 29, 2008, Spinner released an article stating that The Postal Service may not release a new album. Ben Gibbard stated, "Jimmy and I are still throwing ideas back and forth, but as time goes on, we find ourselves busy with our own music. ... We have some stuff, but it's been difficult to find the time and the drive to do the record. I'd love to finish it at some point and maybe even do some performances. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be."
In a December 2008 interview with Rolling Stone, Gibbard laughed off suggestions that The Postal Service's long overdue follow-up to their 2003 hit Give Up is an indie version of Guns N' Roses' Chinese Democracy. Gibbard said that both he and Tamborello do not see it as a priority in light of their main projects, Death Cab for Cutie and Dntel. He said, "The anticipation of the second record has been a far bigger deal for everybody except the two of us... I don't know about it being the indie-rock Chinese Democracy, but now that Chinese Democracy has come out, I guess it just becomes the second Postal Service record that will never come out. There never really was a plan to do a second album. We work from time to time together but we have other things that take up all of our time."
2013 Reunion
As of November 2012, Ben Gibbard posted on his Twitter account that there are "no plans" to produce another Postal Service record. He did not cite any specific reason for this statement, other than the fact that multiple fans questioned if there was going to be a second album.
In January 2013 Postal Service updated their website to read "The Postal Service 2013," reigniting speculation that the band would play shows, or possibly release a new album. It was later confirmed that the image on the band's site portended that the band's debut, Give Up, would receive a ten year anniversary re-issue featuring a 15-song disc of rarities, including two new songs with Jenny Lewis.
In February 2013, The Postal Service announced it would officially reunite for twelve tour dates including the 2013 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April, the Primavera Sound Festival 2013 in Barcelona, Sasquatch! Festival in Washington, and Lollapalooza 2013 in Chicago. The band played a Lollapalooza aftershow on August 4, 2013 to 1,200 people at Wrigleyville's Metro, in which Ben Gibbard prefaced the night's second rendition of "Such Great Heights" by saying "not only is this the last song of the tour, this is the last show we will ever do." At the song's conclusion, Gibbard stated that "The Postal Service is closed."
In 2023, the band reunited once again to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of "Give Up" in a co-headlining tour with Death Cab for Cutie for the 20th Anniversary of "Transatlanticism."
Be Still My Heart
The Postal Service Lyrics
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So I didn't change my shirt
The evening's drinks left a lingering taste in my mouth
And when I left you were fast asleep
Tangled in the sheets
And on the bus I could have sworn
It was all a dream
And it didn't happen to me
And then I felt the scrapes
From the slippery subway grate
Oh, how you laughed
At my complete lack of grace
But I could not recall
A more perfect fall
'Cause when I looked up into your eyes
It didn't hurt at all
And I thought, be still my heart
This could be a brand new start with you
And it will be clear
If I wake up and you're still here
With me in the morning
And I thought, be still my heart
This could be a brand new start with you
And it will be clear
If I wake up and you're still here
With me in the morning
Be still my heart
This could be a brand new start with you
And it will be clear
If I wake up and you're still here
With me in the morning
In The Postal Service's song "Be Still My Heart," the singer recounts a late night that ended in a romantic encounter. He wakes up the next morning, still basking in the afterglow, but unsure if the events of the previous night were real or a dream. As he makes his way to work, he feels the physical effects of the escapade, such as the lingering taste of alcohol and scrapes from a fall. Although he remembers feeling embarrassed, he also recalls the way his partner looked at him with love and adoration. He says, "when I looked up into your eyes / It didn't hurt at all."
The singer then considers the possibility of a new beginning with this person, urging his heart to "be still" and not get carried away with hope. He wonders if they will still be together in the morning, and if they are, he believes it could be a meaningful start to a relationship. The song perfectly captures the feeling of waking up next to someone you feel a connection with and the hope that it might lead to something more.
Line by Line Meaning
I was running late for work
I didn't have time to change my shirt
So I didn't change my shirt
I didn't have enough time to get ready for work
The evening's drinks left a lingering taste in my mouth
I still tasted the drinks from last night
And when I left you were fast asleep
You were asleep when I left in the morning
Tangled in the sheets
You were tangled in the blankets
And on the bus I could have sworn
I thought it was a dream while on the bus
It was all a dream
I thought the night with you was too good to be true
And it didn't happen to me
I couldn't believe it was real
And then I felt the scrapes
I got scraped on the subway grate
From the slippery subway grate
The subway grate was slippery and caused me to fall
Oh, how you laughed
You laughed at me when I fell
At my complete lack of grace
You thought it was funny how clumsy I was
But I could not recall
I couldn't remember
A more perfect fall
A fall that felt better
'Cause when I looked up into your eyes
When I saw you looking at me
It didn't hurt at all
The fall didn't matter because I was happy to see you
And I thought, be still my heart
I was overwhelmed by my emotions for you
This could be a brand new start with you
Our relationship could start over fresh
And it will be clear
It will be obvious
If I wake up and you're still here
If you're still with me in the morning
With me in the morning
When I wake up tomorrow
Be still my heart
My heart should calm down
This could be a brand new start with you
Our relationship could start over fresh
And it will be clear
It will be obvious
If I wake up and you're still here
If you're still with me in the morning
With me in the morning
When I wake up tomorrow
Be still my heart
My heart should calm down
This could be a brand new start with you
Our relationship could start over fresh
And it will be clear
It will be obvious
If I wake up and you're still here
If you're still with me in the morning
With me in the morning
When I wake up tomorrow
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: BENJAMIN D GIBBARD, JIMMY TAMBORELLO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind