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."
Such Great Heights
The Postal Service Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That the freckles in our eyes
Are mirror images
And when we kiss they're perfectly aligned
And I have to speculate
That God Himself did make
Us into corresponding shapes
And true it may seem like a stretch
But it's thoughts like this that catch
My troubled head when you're away
And when I am missing you to death
And when you are out there on the road
For several weeks of shows
And when you scan the radio
I hope this song will guide you home
They will see us waving from such great heights
Come down now, they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
Come down now but we'll stay
I tried my best to leave
This all on your machine
But the persistent beat
It sounded thin upon the sending
And that frankly will not fly
You'll hear the shrillest highs
And lowest lows with the windows down
And this is guiding you home
They will see us waving from such great heights
Come down now they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
Come down now but we'll stay
They will see us waving from such great heights
Come down now they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
Come down now but we'll stay
(They will see us waving from such great heights)
(Come down now)
They will see us waving from such great heights
(Come down now)
The lyrics to The Postal Service's song Such Great Heights are about the idea of two people being made for each other, as if they were created from the same mold. The first verse talks about the perfect alignment of the freckles in their eyes when they kiss, which seems to be a sign that they were meant to be together. The second verse expresses the feeling of missing someone so much that even the smallest connection or thought of them can bring some comfort. The line "I hope this song will guide you home" shows the power of music to bring people closer together and provide a sense of belonging.
The chorus "They will see us waving from such great heights, come down now, they'll say, but everything looks perfect from far away, come down now, but we'll stay" seems to suggest that others may not understand the depth of their relationship or the way they feel about each other, but they will continue to hold on because everything seems perfect when they are together.
The lyrics of this song are incredibly poetic but can be interpreted in different ways. Some people might identify themselves with the feeling of missing someone deeply, while others might focus on the idea of being created to be with someone. Nonetheless, the song's overall mood is hopeful and speaks to the resilience of love.
Line by Line Meaning
I am thinking it's a sign
I feel like there's a reason that we're together
That the freckles in our eyes
Our unique features and traits are what make us special
Are mirror images
We share a strong connection and are similar in many ways
And when we kiss they're perfectly aligned
Our love is so perfectly matched that even the smallest details line up
And I have to speculate
I can't help but wonder
That God Himself did make
Maybe a higher power played a role in bringing us together
Us into corresponding shapes
Our traits fit together like puzzle pieces
Like puzzle pieces from the clay
We were molded to fit together
And true it may seem like a stretch
I know this might sound far-fetched
But it's thoughts like this that catch
These kinds of ideas can get stuck in my head
My troubled head when you're away
When you're not here, I start to worry
And when I am missing you to death
I miss you so much it hurts
And when you are out there on the road
When you're traveling and far away
For several weeks of shows
Performing for weeks at a time
And when you scan the radio
Looking for something to listen to
I hope this song will guide you home
I hope this song will bring you back to me
They will see us waving from such great heights
We'll stand out and be noticed by everyone
Come down now, they'll say
They'll think we're too high up and need to come back to reality
But everything looks perfect from far away
Things can look better from a distance
Come down now but we'll stay
We'll still be here, even if we seem far away
I tried my best to leave
I attempted to convey my feelings
This all on your machine
Through a recording or message
But the persistent beat
The underlying feeling is too strong
It sounded thin upon the sending
The message lost some of its impact through technology
And that frankly will not fly
That won't be enough
You'll hear the shrillest highs
This song captures the extreme emotions we feel
And lowest lows with the windows down
We share all of our highs and lows
And this is guiding you home
This song will bring you back to me
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Ben Gibbard, Jimmy Tamborello
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@conxulala
LYRICS HERE!
I am thinking it's a sign
That the freckles in our eyes
Are mirror images
And when we kiss they're perfectly aligned
And I have to speculate
That God Himself did make
Us into corresponding shapes
Like puzzle pieces from the clay
And true it may seem like a stretch
But it's thoughts like this that catch
My troubled head when you're away
And when I am missing you to death
And when you are out there on the road
For several weeks of shows
And when you scan the radio
I hope this song will guide you home
They will see us waving from such great heights
Come down now, they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
Come down now but we'll stay
I tried my best to leave
This all on your machine
But the persistent beat
It sounded thin upon the sending
And that frankly will not fly
You'll hear the shrillest highs
And lowest lows with the windows down
And this is guiding you home
They will see us waving from such great heights
Come down now they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
Come down now but we'll stay
They will see us waving from such great heights
Come down now they'll say
But everything looks perfect from far away
Come down now but we'll stay
They will see us waving from such great heights
(Come down now)
@azuretrio8610
When my mom and I were really struggling, and we had no furniture in our place except a folding table, two chairs, and a couple of blow-up mattresses, my mom would plug some speakers into her laptop and blast this in the morning for us to dance to before I left for school. There was 6 month span in 8th grade when it was just us, and my dad was still in Costa Rica, trying to sell our house. But my mom's "morning mixes" kept every hard day starting good..... I love this song.
@myrthemeijer8507
that's so wholesome <3
@jacqueline307
Sometimes music is what can heal our soul
@jacqueline307
That’s a good idea. Sometimes the mornings are stressful I want everyone to leave happy
@sandyterrell9030
❤️
@erininal9955
She had it right.
@inphanta
One of my favourite things about YouTube is reading the comments sections of song videos and seeing other people’s memories associated with the song in question. The memories are as vast as the people who share them but speaks to the ways we can all connect with one another as people. 😊
@deepdriedinkelvin
same
@teck2002
@@deepdriedinkelvin agreed
@robsrxx
Bruh.