The Tea Party is a Canadian rock band from Windsor, Ontario, with blues, pr… Read Full Bio ↴The Tea Party is a Canadian rock band from Windsor, Ontario, with blues, progressive rock and Middle Eastern influences who formed in 1990 and disbanded in October 2005. They reformed in 2011 to play some shows in Canada. They have released seven albums commercially during their time together. Guitarist and vocalist Jeff Martin, who has perfect pitch, was also producer for almost all of their albums. All three members played a range of instruments and they took up to 37 on tour with them at times in their career. They were very successful in Canada and Australia, and to a lesser extent in Europe, but never managed to crack the American market.

The band received some media criticism for Jeff Martin's Jim Morisson-like stage persona in some of its videos and their Led Zeppelin-esq riffs, although he seemed determined to be striving to create his own image and sound. His looks certainly do draw some comparison, however, to The Doors' late front man.

Their sound is hard to categorize as each album possessed different themes and influences. Splendor Solis (1993) was a more acoustic, blues-based record, while Edges of Twilight (1995) was much darker with strong Middle Eastern influences on several tracks. Transmission (1997) saw a dramatic change to a darker, more industrial-tinged sound, and it was distributed in the USA by Atlantic Records. The last three albums by the band featured various efforts to attract a wider commercial audience, with the single "Heaven Coming Down" reaching No.1 on the Canadian mainstream charts in 1999.

In 2000, Capitol Records finally released a retrospective compilation in the USA of their Canadian singles entitled Tangents after only releasing their first two albums south of the border.

The Tea Party released The Interzone Mantras in 2001, but it did not possess the singles of its predecessors.

In October 2005, a year after their final album Seven Circles was released, Jeff Martin left the band and embarked on a solo career, releasing an album in early 2006. Jeff Burrows (drummer) and Stuart Chatwood (bass/synthesiser) have also had post-Tea Party successes, the former in several projects and the latter in soundtrack composition. Burrows and Chatwood worked together on a new project called The Art Decay before Burrows joined Crash Karma in 2008.

On April 12th 2011, an official Facebook page was launched with a biography section that closed with "The band is scheduled to play a select number of dates in 2011. No other info was available at this time." The following day, the local radio station K106.3 announced the Sarnia Bayfest lineup including The Tea Party, which was later confirmed by drummer Jeff Burrows on his radio show on April 13th. Burrows further stated that a Canadian tour was also in the works.

The Tea Party performed at the Cisco Systems Bluesfest in Ottawa, Ontario on July 14th, 2011, and the band will be playing a Canadian tour commencing on November 15th, 2011 in Vancouver. The band's website and tour is called "THE TEA PARTY - No Politics... Just Rock and Roll". In September 2011, the band was reportedly approached to sell its website URL for over a million dollars by the extremely popular American political movement bearing the same name: www.teaparty.com.

Brazil
The Tea Party Lyrics

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The city's asleep, the street fires burn
Her gaze is ablaze with soft concern
The children may fall, the children may rise
All of them tears that fill her eyes
She's loved by the world, they dance at her feet
But how they forget when no one sees
The children who starve, no warmth from the flame
The lessons of lust will claim their shame

Your wealth is controlled by the few
I'm watching the world come to you
See how they want you, brazil
See how they taunt you, brazil
The world wants to steal your soul, brazil
Sister, don't lose control now
They dance through your past, they dance through your pain
Their wanderlust lost in you again
The children may fall, but see how they rise
To dry all those tears that fill your eyes
Revolt in the streets and voices that cry
Justice in truth, no compromise
If love is the law, it's so ninety-three
Brazil, will you set your children free?
Your wealth is controlled by the few
I'm watching the world come to you
See how they want you, brazil
See how they taunt you, brazil
The world wants to steal your soul, brazil
Sister, don't lose control now
Where are you missions now? Where is the gold?
Promised you everyone ages ago
Your wealth is controlled by the few
I'm watching the world come to you
Brazil
I'm watching the world come to you

Brazil
I'm watching the world come to you

Overall Meaning

The Tea Party's song Brazil evokes images of contrasts and contradictions that reflect the complexities of modern Brazil. The song speaks to the country's sometimes uneasy relationship with the rest of the world, its poverty and wealth, and the constant tension between progress and tradition.

The song opens with the singer reflecting on the city of Brazil at night, describing the fires burning in the street, and the soft concern in the gaze of a Brazilian woman. The lyrics draw attention to the contrast between the glamour and beauty of Brazil as celebrated by the rest of the world and the stark reality of poverty, as evidenced by the tears that fill the woman's eyes.

The singer goes on to address issues of social justice, lamenting the control of wealth by a few and the lack of freedom among Brazil's children. The chorus, repeating "See how they want you, Brazil," is a haunting call to arms for the country to rise up against injustice and fight for justice and equality.

Overall, the song is a powerful commentary on the social and economic issues facing Brazil. Its evocative lyrics and haunting melody have turned it into one of The Tea Party's signature songs.

Line by Line Meaning

The city's asleep, the street fires burn
The city is quiet and dark, while fires burn in the streets

Her gaze is ablaze with soft concern
She looks with intense concern, but in a gentle way

The children may fall, the children may rise / All of them tears that fill her eyes
Children may suffer or succeed, but it brings tears to her eyes either way

She's loved by the world, they dance at her feet / But how they forget when no one sees
The world loves Brazil and celebrates it, but ignores its problems when no one is paying attention

The children who starve, no warmth from the flame / The lessons of lust will claim their shame
Children go hungry and without support, while people learn about pleasure and ignore their own shame

Your wealth is controlled by the few / I'm watching the world come to you
The people in power control Brazil's resources, while others come to take advantage of them

See how they want you, brazil / See how they taunt you, brazil / The world wants to steal your soul, brazil / Sister, don't lose control now
Other countries want to take advantage of Brazil's resources and culture, but Brazil should not let them

They dance through your past, they dance through your pain / Their wanderlust lost in you again
People enjoy Brazil's history and cultural past, but ignore the pain and suffering of its people

The children may fall, but see how they rise / To dry all those tears that fill your eyes
Children may suffer, but they also persevere and help ease the pain of those around them

Revolt in the streets and voices that cry / Justice in truth, no compromise
People protest and demand justice, with no compromise on the truth

If love is the law, it's so ninety-three / Brazil, will you set your children free?
If love is what should guide society, why are there so many problems in Brazil? Will Brazil take action to improve the lives of its children?

Where are you missions now? Where is the gold? / Promised you everyone ages ago / Your wealth is controlled by the few / I'm watching the world come to you
Where are the promised missions and benefits that Brazil should have received long ago? The people in power control the country's resources, and others come to take advantage of those resources.

Brazil / I'm watching the world come to you / Brazil / I'm watching the world come to you / Brazil / I'm watching the world come to you
The world is looking at Brazil, for better or for worse.

Contributed by Jacob M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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