The Reindeer Section arose - according to Lightbody - out of a chance get-together of musicians at a Lou Barlow gig in Glasgow in 2001, at which Lightbody drunkenly laid down the challenge to others to "make an album together", to which everyone said "yeah yeah". Lightbody "went home and next day wrote the album" and later convinced Johnny Davies of Bright Star Recordings to fund a recording session and release the proposed album. The group met over three days of rehearsal and ten days of recording to produce the first album. The album, Y'All Get Scared Now, Ya Hear! was released with a mini tour, the first venue of which was Belfast's The Limelight venue.
A second album, Son of evil reindeer was released ten months after the critical acclaim of the first, with a slightly different line-up. The single, You Are My Joy appeared on US show, Grey's Anatomy, and on fourth season of US TV series Queer as Folk. The song Cartwheels appeared on "The Second Chance", an episode of The O.C.. The band's most recent gig was on 14 December 2002 at the Queen Margaret Union in Glasgow. The project has never officially split up, but from that time it has been considered in a hiatus.
Artists who contributed to the project so far are:
From Alfie: Ben Dumville, Lee Gorton and Sam Morris
From Arab Strap: Colin Macpherson, Malcolm Middleton and Aidan Moffat
From Astrid: William Campbell, Charlie Clarke, Neil Payne and Gareth Russell
From Belle & Sebastian: Richard Colburn, Mick Cooke and Bob Kildea
From Cadet: Iain Archer
From Eva: Jenny Reeve and Sarah Roberts
From Idlewild: Roddy Woomble
From Mogwai: John Cummings
From Mull Historical Society: Colin MacIntyre
From Snow Patrol: Gary Lightbody, Mark McClelland and Jonny Quinn
From Teenage Fanclub: Norman Blake
From The Vaselines: Eugene Kelly
and Michael Bannister, Roy Kerr, Paul Fox, Marcus Mackay, Gill Mills and Stacie Sievewright.
I'll Be Here
The Reindeer Section Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You shouldn't tell a single soul you know it's red
I wanna shout it out it's killing me to hold
Hold it in my head when there's barely room for me
And I say your name in the darkness like you could be there
And I miss you more when I'm coming down and I fear the door
I can't make head nor tail of this fizzing on my tongue
Both my hands are tied so I can't pick up the phone
Even if I wanted to by god I don't
And I say your name in the darkness like you could be there
And I miss you more when I'm coming down and I fear the door
The Reindeer Section's song "I'll Be Here" is a soulful and emotional tune that deals with the complexities of heartbreak and the longing for someone who is no longer there. The song's first verse begins with the lyrics "Leave my bed warm and I'll breathe in your smell" which suggest that the singer is still contending with the aftermath of being with someone else. They go on to state "You shouldn't tell a single soul you know it's red" which implies that the experience they just had was passionate but also perhaps somewhat dangerous or illicit.
The subsequent lyrics convey the singer's inner turmoil and battle to come to terms with their feelings. They state that they want to "shout it out" and express themselves freely, but are unable to do so due to the pain of holding everything in. They also mention that they often say the other person's name in the dark, and are consumed by their thoughts of that person. The chorus repeats two lines that express the singer's yearning for the other person and their fear of being without them.
The second verse of the song continues to explore the aftermath of the relationship, with lyrics such as "You leave my brain in knots that I'll never quite unfurl" emphasizing the lasting confusion and damage that has been caused. The final lines of the verse express the singer's deep desire to reach out to the other person, but their inability to do so due to their emotional state.
Line by Line Meaning
Leave my bed warm and I'll breathe in your smell
If you leave before me, I'll stay in bed and breathe in the scent of you that's still lingering
You shouldn't tell a single soul you know it's red
Don't tell anyone about the secret we share, it's too dangerous
I wanna shout it out it's killing me to hold
I wish I could shout the truth from the rooftops, but I have to keep it inside and it's tearing me up
Hold it in my head when there's barely room for me
I'm trying to keep this secret in my head, but there's barely enough space for my own thoughts
And I say your name in the darkness like you could be there
In the dark, I whisper your name as if you could be there with me
And I miss you more when I'm coming down and I fear the door
I miss you the most when I'm alone and coming down from the high, and the thought of you leaving scares me
You leave my brain in knots that I'll never quite unfurl
You mess with my head in a way that I'll never fully understand or be able to fix
I can't make head nor tail of this fizzing on my tongue
I don't understand the intense feelings I have for you, they're like a fizzy sensation in my mouth
Both my hands are tied so I can't pick up the phone
I'm unable to reach out to you and communicate because of the situation we're in
Even if I wanted to by god I don't
Even if I wanted to reach out to you, I can't and honestly, I don't want to
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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