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, Для Тех, Ҡто Прогулялся Бьі С Богами (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/
Crying from Outside
The Tear Garden Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take your sacrifical knife and cut.
This lamb was born to slaughter
but I'm lying on your altar,
stilll I stare at you
with big brown sheepy eyes.
I'd like to blow a kiss goodbye.
Can you help me?
So I kicked away my chains and
threw a line out to the crowd
shouting "Pull me in, please take me in..."
I'll try to understand.
I'll keep my questions in a can
and my hands inside my pocket -
if you like you can lock it.
I won't look you in the eye -
will you help me?
But they pulled away...
And now I'm floating in a box without a window
so I try leaning on the wall but it crumbles.
So I stumble to the floor but it liquifies,
transforms itself into nothing.
I want nothing.
Is that so very much to ask?
But she pulls away....
The Tear Garden's "Crying from Outside" is an enthralling song with lyrics that exquisitely capture the feeling of being at the mercy of someone else's whims. At the beginning of the song, we hear the singer offering their heart up to their lover, indicating their vulnerability and willingness to sacrifice everything for them. They wish to blow a kiss goodbye, but their plea is met with rejection, and they find themselves trapped and bound by their chains. Despite their desire to gain their partner's affection and help, the singer is left powerless and stuck in a vicious cycle of love and rejection.
As the song progresses, the singer's emotions spiral out of control, and they begin to question their understanding of love and relationships. They seek the help and comfort of others, but are continuously met with rejection and abandonment. They find themselves floating in a box without a window, yearning for the release of nothingness. The song's final lines convey the singer's acceptance of their fate as their lover "pulls away" once more, leaving them lost and alone.
In summary, "Crying from Outside" explores the pain and desperation that can come with unrequited love and the struggle to find one's place in the world. The stunning lyrics beautifully convey the singer's powerlessness and despair, as they are left alone to grapple with their inner turmoil.
Line by Line Meaning
This beating heart is yours to break.
My heart belongs to you and you have the power to break it as you wish.
Take your sacrificial knife and cut.
You have the right to hurt me as you want, as if it were a sacrifice.
This lamb was born to slaughter but I'm lying on your altar, still I stare at you with big brown sheepy eyes.
I know you will hurt me, and I'm ready to take the pain, even when I look at you with innocent eyes, like a lamb lying helpless on your altar.
I'd like to blow a kiss goodbye. Can you help me?
I want to leave you, and I'm asking for your help to do it with a simple goodbye kiss.
But you pulled away...
You rejected my offer to leave you, which brings me more pain.
So I kicked away my chains and threw a line out to the crowd shouting 'Pull me in, please take me in...'
I decided to free myself from my emotional chains and ask for help to the people around me to try to find a way out of this situation.
I'll try to understand. I'll keep my questions in a can and my hands inside my pocket - if you like you can lock it.
I'll do my best to reach an understanding with you, and I'll keep my doubts and curiosities under control. If you want, you can even lock them away.
I won't look you in the eye - will you help me?
I'm asking for your help, but I cannot bear to face you directly, because it's too painful for me.
But they pulled away...
The people I asked for help also rejected me or ignored me, which leaves me alone and lost.
And now I'm floating in a box without a window so I try leaning on the wall but it crumbles. So I stumble to the floor but it liquifies, transforms itself into nothing.
I feel trapped in a lifeless box, unable to see what's around me. When I try to find a way out, the walls crumble down, and the floor dissolves into nothingness.
I want nothing. Is that so very much to ask? But she pulls away...
I don't want anything from you or anyone else. It's a simple and honest request, but still, I get rejected again.
Contributed by Nicholas I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.