An excerpt from a Nettwerk Records press release, July 1996:
The roots of The Tear Garden extend back to 1983 when Cevin Key, on the verge of forming Skinny Puppy, struck up a trans-Atlantic correspondence with Edward Ka-Spel, the lead vocalist and driving force behind The Legendary Pink Dots. Three years later, Ka-Spel visited Vancouver for a series of three live performances with Key as sound technician, and during his visit, they recorded The Tear Garden's self-titled debut EP.
In 1987, Ka-Spel returned to open for Skinny Puppy on their North American tour, after which the duo retreated to the studio for two weeks to produce the now classic electronic-psychedelic album, Tired Eyes Slowly Burning. It was during these sessions that the project's ranks began to expand, with guest appearances by Key's fellow Puppies Dwayne Goettel and Nivek Ogre.
Four years later, the Garden bloomed again, this time growing well beyond the Key/Ka-Spel partnership to include not only Goettel, but a wide assortment of friends, including most of the Pink Dots. This fruitful month-long collaboration spawned two releases: an album called The Last Man To Fly, and a (very long) EP called Sheila Liked The Rodeo.
Another four years passed. Four years that saw literal and figurative deaths (the departure of both Skinny Puppy and LPD from their long-time labels; the subsequent break-up of SP; the tragic passing of Dwayne Goettel) and births (Edward's son, Calyxx; Download; Key's return to Nettwerk).
In late December, 1995, in the midst of this turbulence, The Tear Garden gathered once more, perhaps to attempt to trigger the dawn of a tranquil new era. The result was To Be An Angel Blind, The Crippled Soul Divide, an album of fragile and powerful beauty that digs even deeper into the psychedelic underground than its predecessors, adding a range of influences from dub bass to country slide guitar, all the while retaining the dark electronic melancholy that has become the project's signature.
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Four more years passed. Tear Garden got back together in 1999 and in 2000, Crystal Mass was released. In 2001, a "best of" collection was issued by the Russian label Brudenia, ะะปั ะขะตั , า ัะพ ะัะพะณัะปัะปัั ะัั ะก ะะพะณะฐะผะธ (which translates to "For Those Who Would Walk with the Gods") as well as an "outtakes" collection released by Cevin Key's Subconscious Communications label, Eye Spy with My Little Eye.
2007 saw the release of The Secret Experiment, once again on Subconscious Communications. This is from the "Vault 2" series but features new music.
Currently, Edward and cEvin wrapped up their sessions of 13 tracks, compiled into a brand new upcoming TG release, available through Subcon.
Discography
* Tired Eyes Slowly Burning (1987)
* Last Man to Fly (1992)
* Sheila Liked The Rodeo (1993)
* Bouquet of Black Orchids (1993)
* To Be an Angel Blind, The Crippled Soul Divide (1996)
* Crystal Mass (2000)
* Eye Spy With My Little Eye (2002)
* The Secret Experiment (2007)
http://brainwashed.com/teargarden/
A Ship Named
The Tear Garden Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Washed down by an uncaring tide
Thrown away heartlessly
Crossed out for snaring a ride
On a ship named despair
I shoot flares in the night
But nobody's there...
I don't care
My memory died
On the day I looked into your faraway eyes...
The first few lines of The Tear Garden's song A Ship Named 'Despair' seem to be talking about a person who has been abandoned and left to drift away without any hope or way to escape. The imagery of being 'washed down by an uncaring tide' and 'thrown away heartlessly' implies that the singer of the song has been betrayed and left to suffer alone. The line 'crossed out for snaring a ride' suggests that this person had somehow tried to escape their situation by hitching a ride on a ship, only to be discarded like unwanted cargo.
The chorus of the song speaks to the singer's sense of hopelessness and isolation. They shoot flares in the night, but nobody comes to rescue them. They don't care about the consequences of their actions anymore, and their memory has died. The final line of the chorus, 'on the day I looked into your faraway eyes', suggests that this person's suffering may have been caused by a failed relationship or unrequited love.
Line by Line Meaning
Stowaway, starless
Unknown and forgotten, lost and directionless
Washed down by an uncaring tide
Being swept away by a force beyond control
Thrown away heartlessly
Cast aside with no regard for emotions or feelings
Crossed out for snaring a ride
Rejected for simply looking for a way out
On a ship named despair
Trapped in a voyage of hopelessness and misery
I shoot flares in the night
Calling for help that never comes
But nobody's there...
Abandoned and alone
I don't care
No longer feeling the pain of isolation
I've no conscience
Feeling no guilt for past mistakes or decisions
My memory died
Forgetful of happier times or people
On the day I looked into your faraway eyes...
The moment of loss and realization that the love once held is gone forever
Lyrics ยฉ BMG Rights Management
Written by: Dwayne Goettel, Edward Sharp, Kevin Crompton, Martijn De Kleer, Philip Knight
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
songs481
The Last Man to Fly, in my un-humble opinion, is one of the best albums of the 90's!
Bryan Erickson
one of the best songs ever written .
Rob Kapp
What a beautiful, haunting song--I only know TG's later music; I guess I need to get better acquainted. Great job with the video.
teresa roberts
A beautiful song,two musical geniuses;Cevin key and Edward Ka Spel.
Marc Zwaneveld
The music is all Dwayne Goettel actually
Consuelo Rendon
I love this song!!
Achtungmiche111
Beautiful!
Dubhthaigh Mehen
i think this is the finest tear garden video on youtube :-) thanxxx for posting it
silverman834
The clip is from the movie 'The Call of Cthulhu', which is based on Lovecraft's story of the same name. You really should check it out, you'll love it if you're a Lovecraft fan =)
Daniel Haro
Beautiful....all Ka-Spel music it's amazing too.. keep doing this... :)