The Violet Burning - The Stor… Read Full Bio ↴Official Bio from thevioletburning.com
The Violet Burning - The Story of Our Lives:
Liebe über Alles, Black as Death and The Fantastic Machine
by Jocelyn Aucoin
It's that ache in your heart.
That place inside you where all the stuff collects and collides like junk in a drawer.
Except it's not junk. It's real and it matters and it's the matter that makes you. It’s that ache that makes you want to fight and surrender, scream and sigh. It's decaying and it's beautiful and it's full of these awkward opposites. So full that sometimes you don't understand. You can't understand.
But then someone or something comes along to give it shape, a voice. Someone whose ability to capture this space is so pure, so precise, that it springs hope within us and legs to stand on.
Something like The Violet Burning.
The Violets (affectionately called) have been making music under the direction of creative mainspring, Michael J Pritzl, since 1990. A prolific songwriter, Pritzl's story is one of endurance, endurance manifested in a plethora of albums and relentless touring throughout the US and Europe. Endurance resulting in an absolute rabid
following of fans. Though Pritzl has surrounded himself with different musicians through the years, the music has never been compromised and the fans keep coming back for the powerful, guitar-driven rock The Violets never fail to deliver. This time that rock is enlivened with the drumming virtuosity that is Lenny Beh. A stunningly emotive addition.
Nothing proves The Violets bring the rock better than their latest effort, their 9th full-length studio album, The Story of Our Lives: Liebe über Alles, Black as Death and The Fantastic Machine, an audio triptych of sorts. The album's 34 songs are divided into three parts: Liebe über Alles, Black as Death and The Fantastic Machine. Although asunder, the album rages with rock and drips with beauty, all the while shaking it's figurative fist at a digital age wherein, despite the abundance of material available, artists still feel beholden to the 10-song album format restrictions of the past.
The Violets didn't feel this restriction and because of that, The Story of Our Lives is not just an auditory experience, it is a multi-sensory aesthetic experience. These songs didn't take a week to write or two days to record. The artwork wasn't thrown together in an hour in Photoshop. This is a complete body of work that began as a spark of an idea and has now been seven years in the making. In this way, it defies the unspoken and mediocre standards of today, offering up an incredible sonic experience in addition to a riveting lyrical journey.
And the journey is a familiar one. In fact, it reads like some of the greatest novels ever written. The Fantastic Machine sets the tone for this journey as "Where It All Begins" climbs from a pensive, pretty melody to an all out blur of frantic guitars, over which "my heart and soul are wired in!" it screamed wild and breathy. It's the definition of epic, and songs like “Machine Beat Sabbatha” and “Imminent Collapse” follow suit, allowing the listener in on the chaos that's brewing in the heart of our character. “The Letting” and “Leaving” tell a quieter story, one that will course through your veins with their beautiful sadness. And in the end, our character leaves The Fantastic Machine behind, giving up on a life that has been selling him lies.
Black as Death picks up where this sadness leaves off, descending on ears like a bat out of hell--an almost mindless storm of sound and distortion. “My Name is Night” is case and point of this, heavy and teeming with Sabbath-like drumming. “Maelstorm” expands into this chaos, the entropy of its opening guitars hitting like the explosion of tides. Pritzl's delicate falsetto dancing atop the water. And then there is “Rock Is Dead”, which exists not only as the definition of pop song perfection, but shows our character gaining strength. Shivers run down your spine when he screams, "I'm going on, going on!" "In Ruin" leaves a sweet taste in our mouths with it's swirly delays, rhodes bells and sweeping cello.
Enter Liebe über Alles, The Story of Our Lives' graceful and exquisite counterpart. Our character has chosen death, but now lives to continue his journey home. A beautiful relenting, “Mon Désir” is honest in both melody and lyric as Pritzl’s broken voice sings, "All I want is you." "Arc" has a driving rhythm that climaxes with an explosion of spirited strings. "I am coming home!" The dreamy and romantic ballad, "I Caught Fire", is encased in a haze of fuzz guitar, pulsing drums and the descending piano, "…in all the songs of men and angels, if I have no love, I'm blank." And finally “through a life, blessed and cursed, love and only love goes on and on…” the true rest of “Liebe über Alles” and the final acknowledgement that our character has made it home.
This is not just another album by another band. This is a realization. A realization that this story--the struggle and the heartache, feeling lost and so alone--belongs to each one of us. It’s the way we feel when we are sad and broken and it’s the way we feel when we are so complete and content, at home and at rest within ourselves and with others and with “The Lord of Song.” It’s knowing we’re not alone in this big, messed up machine of a world. It’s the hope of “every corner of our heart and soul” being made for someone who loves us more than we will ever understand.
This is the story of our lives.
The Violet Burning is Michael J. Pritzl, Daryl Dawson and Lenny Beh. THE STORY OF OUR LIVES: Liebe über Alles, Black as Death,and TH3 FANT^5T1C MACH1N3 was written and recorded by Michael Pritzl at Nowhere, CA studios (various closets, garages, entry ways, and bedrooms in Southern California) and features Eleanor Beh on Cello and Jeff Schroeder of Smashing Pumpkins (lead guitar on 3 songs).
The Story Of Our Lives was released digitally at thevioletburning.com March 5, 2011. The triple album will be coming worldwide one part at a time via iTunes, Amazon, and other online digital resellers throughout 2011. The triple album will also be available in it’s physical, beautiful, limited edition, 80-page packaging via thevioletburning.com beginning April 4, 2011. The Violet Burning are now planning US and European tour dates.
-Jocelyn Aucoin – 2011
Eleanor Rigby
The Violet Burning Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ah look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
In the church where a wedding has been
Lives in a dream
Waits at the window, wearing the face
That she keeps in a jar by the door
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Father McKenzie, writing the words
Of a sermon that no one will hear
No one comes near
Look at him working, darning his socks
In the night when there's nobody there
What does he care
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
Ah look at all the lonely people
Ah look at all the lonely people
Eleanor Rigby, died in the church
And was buried along with her name
Nobody came
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt
From his hands as he walks from the grave
No one was saved
All the lonely people
Where do they all come from?
All the lonely people
Where do they all belong?
The song "Eleanor Rigby" by The Violet Burning is a melancholic reflection on loneliness and the isolation that can come with it. The song begins with the repeated phrase, "Ah look at all the lonely people," drawing our attention to the theme. The main character, Eleanor Rigby, is described as a woman who lives in a dream and spends her days picking up rice in the church where a wedding had taken place. She is portrayed as someone who is trapped in her own world and wears a face that she keeps in a jar by the door. This image suggests that Eleanor Rigby is someone who is hiding her true self from the world and that she is living in a fantasy rather than confronting her reality.
The second character Father McKenzie is described as working diligently on a sermon that no one will hear. He is darning his socks in the night when nobody is around. This scene portrays a man who is working hard even though he knows that there will be no recognition for his work. He is a lonely figure, who has no one but himself to rely on. The chorus then repeats, "All the lonely people, where do they all come from? Where do they all belong?" The repetitiveness of this question brings attention to the theme of the song and the struggle that many people face when it comes to loneliness.
Overall, The Violet Burning's "Eleanor Rigby" is a haunting song that reflects on the pain and isolation that can come with loneliness. It is a reminder that even though we may feel alone at times, we are not the only ones who feel this way.
Line by Line Meaning
Ah look at all the lonely people
The singer observes and points out the many individuals who are experiencing loneliness.
Eleanor Rigby, picks up the rice
Eleanor Rigby is involved in cleaning up after a wedding ceremony that has recently taken place.
In the church where a wedding has been
Eleanor Rigby performs her cleaning duties in the same church where a wedding ceremony has taken place.
Lives in a dream
Eleanor Rigby's reality is so dull and mundane that she goes through life in a dreamlike state.
Waits at the window, wearing the face
Eleanor Rigby frequently spends her time waiting at her window, wearing a mask of sorts to conceal her true emotions.
That she keeps in a jar by the door
The mask Eleanor Rigby wears at her window is something that she keeps in a jar by the door, implying that she frequently wears it.
Who is it for
The singer questions who the mask that Eleanor Rigby wears is ultimately for.
All the lonely people
The artist repeats the phrase 'all the lonely people' to emphasize the theme of loneliness that permeates the entire song.
Where do they all come from?
The artist is questioning where all the lonely people originate from and why there are so many of them.
Father McKenzie, writing the words
Father McKenzie is working on writing a sermon.
Of a sermon that no one will hear
Father McKenzie is working on writing a sermon that he believes no one will hear or take an interest in.
No one comes near
Father McKenzie is isolated from others, as it seems like no one takes an interest in his work.
Look at him working, darning his socks
Father McKenzie is depicted as a lonely man who spends his nights darning his own socks because he has no one else to do it for him.
In the night when there's nobody there
Father McKenzie spends his nights alone, in isolation, where there is nobody else around.
What does he care
The singer questions whether Father McKenzie even cares about his work or his life in general, as he seems so isolated and alone.
Eleanor Rigby, died in the church
Eleanor Rigby passed away inside the church she worked at and where she found some sense of purpose, though it is not clear what her actual cause of death was.
And was buried along with her name
Eleanor Rigby was buried with only her name, implying a total lack of personal connections and family or friends who knew her well.
Nobody came
No one came to Eleanor Rigby's funeral or burial, highlighting the theme of loneliness and isolation that runs through the song.
Father McKenzie, wiping the dirt
Father McKenzie is depicted as wiping dirt off his hands after burying Eleanor Rigby.
From his hands as he walks from the grave
This line implies that Father McKenzie was the only person present at Eleanor Rigby's funeral, and that he is walking away from the grave alone.
No one was saved
This final line is somewhat open-ended, but it implies that no one was saved from the loneliness and isolation that permeate the song.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: John Lennon, Paul Mccartney
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@davidbrucemusicvideo
Love this album and version so much!
@Yertle_Turtle
Used to listen to this CD on repeat over and over!
@DaveSlayer
I have that album on repeat a lot in my car in the summer! Classic stuff!
@JeffreyHolton
I still keep it on repeat play every year between Palm Sunday and Easter. Seems apropos.
@alanbrown7750
saw mike play this song - and more - at a bar in long beach almost sure before chosen came out 1996 - efing mind blowing just thinking about it - to share your convictions in song without cramming it down someone's throat people where floored
@amilisom
More, please.
@thomassterrett1905
Impressive for a cover of a Beetles song.
@timothymaynard5122
Who says that the devil has all the talent?