The Rakes were a four piece indie rock band hailing from London. Releasing … Read Full Bio ↴The Rakes were a four piece indie rock band hailing from London. Releasing their debut album Capture/Release in 2005, The Rakes were the talk of the Reading and Leeds Festival after joining forces with indie elites such as Bloc Party and Maxïmo Park in the NME Tent.

They released their third and final album Klang in 2009 which included the singles 1989 and That's the Reason.

In October 2009, The Rakes announced that the band was to split with immediate effect: "The Rakes have always been very adamant and proud of the fact that we give 100% to every gig we’ve ever played. If we can’t give it everything then we won’t do it. That was the rule we set ourselves from day one".

Their style can be described as "lo-fi" indie and is vaguely reminiscent of early Joy Division with some catchy guitar riffs and intelligent and humorous lyrics.

Singer Alan Donahoe has a project called Champagne Campaign and drummer Lasse Peterson went on to join Wolf Gang.

Dark Clouds
The Rakes Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I found this girl, same age as me
Something 'bout her seemed so sweet
Thought one day we could both meet
And not just chat about what's on TV

Met her brother, when we were a couple
Met two others Before the trouble

Those dark clouds seemed to follow us all
Drown my girl and I started to fall
And I don't know, oh

After the suicide, my girl's brother and I
Tried to stay dry from those dark clouds.

Those dark clouds seemed to follow us all
Drown my girl and I started to fall
And I don't know, oh

Those dark clouds seemed to follow us all
Drown my girl and I started to fall
And I don't know, oh

Mum thinks that I've been doing my homework
Dad don't know I, I haven't left the house all day

We both know that the brother had to go
Held the knife

I shot and looked into my eyes so we both
know oh oh know oh oh

Overall Meaning

The Rakes's song Dark Clouds tells the story of a young man who met a girl his age that he found sweet and intriguing. The two of them bonded over their shared interests and one day hoped to meet in person. However, before they could make that happen, the young man met the girl's brother and two other people. Unfortunately, trouble soon emerged as the dark clouds seem to follow them all. The girl drowned, and the young man started to fall. The tragic event led to the brother and the young man's attempt to remain afloat and dry from those dark clouds. The young man's parents were none the wiser about his emotional turmoil, but he and the brother knew the true story of what happened. The brother had to go, and the young man was left to cope with the emotional trauma but, unfortunately, as the chorus emphasizes, he did not know how to move on.

Dark Clouds is a testament to the long-lasting impacts of tragedy and the emotional toll that lingers on long after the immediate events have passed. The reference to "those dark clouds" highlights the grim, ever-present overhang of the past as the young man struggles with the aftermath. However, the lyrics also underscore a cyclical pattern that reinforces the inescapability of emotional turmoil. The fact that the brother and the young man were attempting to "stay dry" implies that there is a possibility of slipping back into the emotional pool of sorrow at any moment. Ultimately, the haunting and poignant lyrics of Dark Clouds capture the essence of grief and the difficulties of reconciliation after horrific events.

Line by Line Meaning

I found this girl, same age as me
I met a girl who was around the same age as me.

Something 'bout her seemed so sweet
I was attracted to her kind demeanor.

Thought one day we could both meet
I hoped that we could meet in person one day instead of just chatting over technology.

And not just chat about what's on TV
I wanted to have a more meaningful conversation with her instead of just talking about television shows.

Met her brother, when we were a couple
I met her brother when we were in a romantic relationship.

Met two others Before the trouble
I met two other people before things started to go wrong in our relationship.

Those dark clouds seemed to follow us all
We faced a lot of difficulties and problems throughout our relationship.

Drown my girl and I started to fall
The challenges that we faced eventually became too much for us to handle and our relationship started to suffer.

And I don't know, oh
I was unsure about what the future held for us and our relationship.

After the suicide, my girl's brother and I
After my girlfriend's brother committed suicide, he and I were both affected by the tragedy.

Tried to stay dry from those dark clouds.
We attempted to avoid any further negative experiences and outcomes.

Mum thinks that I've been doing my homework
My mother believes that I have been focusing on schoolwork.

Dad don't know I, I haven't left the house all day
My father is unaware that I have not left the house for the entire day.

We both know that the brother had to go
Both my girlfriend and I understand that her brother's passing was inevitable.

Held the knife
Her brother committed suicide by cutting himself with a knife.

I shot and looked into my eyes so we both
As I helped my girlfriend cope with the loss of her brother, we both shared a moment of understanding and empathy.

know oh oh know oh oh
We both knew the pain of losing someone we loved and we shared a deep connection because of it.

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ALAN DONOHOE, JAMES HORN-SMITH, LASSE PETERSEN, MATTHEW SWINNERTON, MATTHEW JAMES SWINNERTON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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