Judging by the boldness of their choices, you’d never guess the Trews are 1… Read Full Bio ↴Judging by the boldness of their choices, you’d never guess the Trews are 10 years, five studio albums and thousands of gigs into their highly celebrated career. Clearly, someone forgot to tell them that bands are supposed to become more predictable as the years go by, not less so.
And yet, evidence of a stubborn refusal to play it safe abounds, most notably in the East Coast-bred, Toronto-based rock squad’s eponymous, electrifying new disc, The Trews. It tallies so many firsts that even band members Colin MacDonald, John-Angus MacDonald, Sean Dalton and Jack Syperek cop to being a smidge flabbergasted by their own achievements, 14 Top 10 Canadian radio singles (including two #1s) notwithstanding.
There is, first and foremost, the assured manner in which it was written (through the lens of real life), underwritten (by fan support) and recorded (super-fast alongside marquee producer Gavin Brown). Guests bring flourish – witness Serena Ryder’s smoky vocals on ‘In the Morning,’ a contemplative almost-ballad with lyrics co-written by singer/guitarist Colin MacDonald and his pal, songwriting dynamo Simon Wilcox and buoyed by cellist Anne Bourne’s melancholic accompaniment.
Add in the fact that of late the Trews have been piling up the accolades touring acoustically despite being certified rock brawlers and the net result is something you just don’t see every day: proverbial old dogs issuing some seriously new tricks.
“I think with every record, you are kind of re-applying for the job,” chuckles guitarist John-Angus MacDonald. “There are so many bands out there, so many good ones, the fact that we get to keep going is a privilege. And as much as you get better and wiser with your craft, you still have to be ear-to-the-ground competitive. There is pressure in that.”
There are also wicked-cool rewards in that, none greater than the Trews’ daring and wildly successful PledgeMusic campaign which offered their loyal fans coveted and highly unique access to the band and its recording process in exchange for financial backing.
Everything from Skype chats to drum lessons, lifetime guest list privileges to adding vocals and hand-claps in-studio to songs like ‘New King,’ ‘The Sentimentalist,’ ‘Age of Miracles,’ and ‘Under The Sun’ was snatched up by supporters during the roughly year-long PledgeMusic drive.
“It was so much fun bringing fans into the studio, putting 20 people around a microphone,” Colin MacDonald enthuses. “This whole campaign was a great way to have an even deeper connection with the people who have been supporting us all these years.”
Adds John-Angus MacDonald, “I’d be lying if I said we didn’t have some trepidation at the onset. But it was all about the fan experience. We got to tailor those pledges to what we thought our fans might like, and at the end of it, we got to make a record for fans while giving them access they couldn’t possibly have had otherwise.”
Of course, the whole PledgeMusic exercise would be academic if the Trews weren’t making freaking phenomenal rock and roll full of the hairpin stylistic turns you’d expect from four guys who’ve been playing together daily pretty much all their adult lives.
Take the new album’s blazing first single, ‘What's Fair Is Fair’ which Colin MacDonald describes as “A song I wrote about a relationship falling apart. Sometimes when you cross a line you can't come back.”
And then there is the quaking, spit-drenched ‘New King,’ a biting indictment of bullies on digital pulpits. “We were pissed off and we wrote a song about it. I mean, if you can’t use your rock and roll to tell somebody to go shove it,” John-Angus MacDonald howls, “what the hell good is it?”
At the other end of the sonic spectrum is ‘65 Roses,’ a song inspired by former Trews booking agent Paul Gourlie, who succumbed to Cystic Fibrosis last May at age 37. It is, says John-Angus MacDonald, an illustration of the band feeling comfortable turning the volume down thanks to their acoustic touring, and an example of the impact producer Gavin Brown (see Metric, the Tragically Hip, Billy Talent) had on the new disc.
“The song ‘65 Roses’ was originally presented as an upbeat and rollicking song but the subject matter is quite sad,” the guitarist confirms. “Gavin was really insistent on that song being played as an acoustic number without drums. He saw us performing at Paul’s memorial and I don’t think he would even consider it being anything else.”
Indeed, Brown brought a whole new way of working to bear when he gathered with the Trews – including long-time keyboardist Jeff Heisholt - last fall in their rehearsal space for pre-production before moving the show to Toronto’s Noble Street Studios for “a concentrated two-and-half week session with some additional recording in November, mixing in December and mastering in January,” Colin MacDonald recalls.
“Gavin takes awesome bands and makes them awesome-r,” the singer cracks playfully. “And I think with our band, self-production would be a one-way ticket to divorce. We all respect each other but it’s always good to have that sounding board. Gavin is a giant personality who works quickly with such precision. So we entered that orbit and it made for a really interesting time. I’d do it again tomorrow.”
“For us, working quickly is a function of having our material together,” John-Angus adds, noting that the group amassed some 30 songs between January and May 2013 despite all members “doing a lot of other things. Life was being lived, we were traveling, but I think that fed the writing.
“From there we went about arranging it and making it sound great in the studio which, in my opinion, is much easier than songwriting. With Hope & Ruin” – the Trews’ chart-topping 2011 release cut with Hip bassist Gord Sinclair – “we were writing and recording at the same time and that record took seven months. Taking a kind of church and state approach to writing and recording this time worked really well.”
“I think we are getting better at pinpointing when a song is good and when it’s not,” Colin MacDonald says. “That’s what happens when you make five albums and tour all the time – you can tell a timeless idea from one that rocks hard but gets old fast. If I have to sing these songs 200 nights a year,” he smiles, doubtless envisioning the Trews’ itinerary for the foreseeable, “I want them to be good.”

End Of The Line
The Trews Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

War in the living room,
We swore we weren't like that.
Once we went down that road,
There was no turning back.

Anger and jealousy
And distorted fact,
Left this pale shadow

Of a life we once had.

How could you love and then
Change just like that?
You give your whole heart away
Then take it all back.

[Chorus]
This is the end of the line tonight
We can't defend
what we know ain't right.
It's over, it's over, it's over,
This love we should let die.
This is the end of the line.

Broken down promises
Linger on in my head.
The scars and the blemishes
That time could not mend.

How can you live losing
All we once had?
Come on now, little girl,
It ain't quite that bad.

[Chorus]

Nothing but love gets you
So hypnotized.
Nothing but love brings
Them tears to your eyes.

Nothing but love takes
Away all your pride.
Nothing but love eats
You away inside.

This is the end of the line tonight.

We can't defend what we know ain't right.

Two worlds amend, oh ya and
Two worlds collide.

It's over, it's over, it's Over
This love we should let die.
It's been coming for some time.
So goodnight and goodbye.

This is the end

This is the end
This is the end of the line.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to The Trews's song "End of the Line" explores the pain of a failing relationship. The first verse introduces a couple engaged in a war. They were not supposed to be like that, but they ended up on the wrong path, and there is no coming back. The lines "How could you love and then change just like that? You give your whole heart away, then take it all back" highlights that the singer is disappointed in his partner's inconsistency and lack of commitment.

The chorus of the song functions as a lamentation of the past relationship. The couple cannot defend their toxic relationship. They have to accept that it is over despite the sweet moments they shared. The second verse laments the broken promises that still linger in the singer's memory. The scars and the blemishes that time could not heal. The lyric "Come on now, little girl, it ain't quite that bad" suggests that the singer is trying to console his partner and is well aware that things might not be as bad as they seem.

The last verse emphasizes that nothing but love could consume a person so much that it hypnotized them. It steals people's pride and eats them away inside. The singer concludes by saying goodnight and goodbye, implying that the relationship had been coming to an end for some time. The song explores the pain, disappointment, and disillusionment that can result from a failed relationship.

Line by Line Meaning

War in the living room,
A conflict occurring within the walls of a dwelling, causing emotional distress.

We swore we weren't like that.
We promised ourselves that we would not become like those who fight in their living spaces.

Once we went down that road,
Once we started fighting, we could not stop.

There was no turning back.
We have reached a point of no return now.

Anger and jealousy
Emotions that often arise from a fight, distorting reason and reality.

And distorted fact,
When emotions run high, truth and reality often get twisted.

Left this pale shadow
A sad, weakened version of the life we used to have.

Of a life we once had.
The peaceful and happy life we had before the fight deteriorated into something sad and miserable.

How could you love and then
How could you care for someone and then,

Change just like that?
abruptly become different?

You give your whole heart away
You put all your love, trust, and emotions into someone.

Then take it all back.
Only to withdraw it all later, leaving the other person hurt and confused.

This is the end of the line tonight
The end of this relationship is happening tonight.

We can't defend
We cannot justify

what we know ain't right.
our actions, which we know to be wrong.

Broken down promises
Promises that were made and then broken.

Linger on in my head.
I can't stop thinking about them and the disappointment that they bring.

The scars and the blemishes
Emotional wounds and flaws

That time could not mend.
Time has not been able to heal these wounds.

How can you live losing
How can you bear the pain of losing

All we once had?
Everything that we shared in the past is gone now.

Come on now, little girl,
Hey, my love,

It ain't quite that bad.
Things are not as bad as they seem.

Nothing but love gets you
Only love can make you

So hypnotized.
Completely immersed and affected by it.

Nothing but love brings
Only love can cause

Them tears to your eyes.
Those tears to roll down your cheeks.

Nothing but love takes
Only love can cause you to lose

Away all your pride.
Every ounce of your self-respect.

Nothing but love eats
Only love can consume

You away inside.
Your insides until there's nothing left.

Two worlds amend, oh ya and
Two different versions of love attempt to reconcile, oh yeah and

Two worlds collide.
Two different views on love or ways of loving abruptly clash.

It's been coming for some time.
The breakup has been gradually approaching for a while now.

So goodnight and goodbye.
It's time to say our final farewells.

This is the end
This is the final chapter,

This is the end
It can't continue any longer,

This is the end of the line.
It's the termination of our relationship.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: TOBIAS ANDER, DANIEL KVIST, LINUS OLSSON, KRISTOFFER WIREBJER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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