The group was formed in 1988 in Winnipeg, Manitoba by vocalist Daniel Greaves, guitarist Joey Serlin, bassist Pete Loewen and drummer Sammy Kohn. Serlin was a comic fan and named the group after the DC comic. They released their debut album, McLaren Furnace Room, in 1992. (The album was named for one of the band's rehearsal spaces, the furnace room of the McLaren Hotel in Winnipeg.) The single "Cracked" garnered the band significant airplay on rock stations, but was quickly eclipsed by the anti-spousal abuse anthem "Run and Hide", which became the band's breakthrough hit.
Loewen left the band, and was replaced by Ken Tizzard. The band's 1994 album In the Trees confirmed their place in Canadian rock with the hit singles "Boneyard Tree", "All Uncovered" and "Lusitana".
Their 1996 album Brand New Day was not as well-received by critics or audiences -- "Zoom", "Incarnate" and "Shut Up" were moderately successful singles, but none achieved the kind of success that the band's earlier singles had. 1998's Silent Radar was the band's return to commercial success, with the hit singles "Stereo", "Any Day Now" and "Brighter Hell".
Their 2001 album Slomotion saw the exit of Sammy Kohn and the remaining members experimenting with more industrial textures. As if prepared for a bad reception, the band also packaged the album with a second greatest hits disc. The album was, indeed, poorly received by fans and critics, with only the single "Absolutely Anytime" gaining any radio airplay.
The band subsequently broke up. Greaves went on to form Doctor with Rob Higgins, Tizzard joined Thornley, and Serlin appeared on Ryan Malcolm's debut album before forming his own new band, Redline.
In 2009, the band reformed and started touring again.
Waste Away
The Watchmen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So what's your name you've got a couple
Eleven languages for all to see
But can you run free with your friends like me
I feel so sorry oh so sorry for your kind
We're all together all together cool in your mind
Stick my face in boiling water
What's in your annex boy will it conquer us
But can you run free from your demons like me
I feel so sorry oh so sorry for your kind
We're all together all together made up in your mind
Don't let me waste away
The Watchmen's song "Waste Away" seems to be about a sense of disconnect between the singer and the person they are addressing. The opening lines suggest that this person has been sending lots of cards, but the singer doesn't know their name. The fact that the person claims to speak eleven languages suggests that they may be trying to impress others or put up a front. The singer then contrasts this with the idea that they can run free with their friends in a way that the other person may not be able to.
The next stanza contains some darker imagery, with the suggestion that the person misdirects or manipulates others, and that the singer has to metaphorically put their face in boiling water. The mention of an annex suggests that there may be some kind of power struggle at play, with the other person attempting to conquer others. However, the singer again suggests that they are able to run free from their demons in a way that the other person maybe cannot.
Line by Line Meaning
After all the cards you're sending me
Despite all the things you're saying to me
So what's your name you've got a couple
Who are you really? You seem to have multiple identities
Eleven languages for all to see
You speak many languages, but that doesn't make you better than others
But can you run free with your friends like me
Can you truly be yourself and have fun with your friends without any pretenses like I can?
I feel so sorry oh so sorry for your kind
I pity people like you
We're all together all together cool in your mind
You think you're cool and have it all together, but it's only in your mind
Misdirects befriends a nicest kind
You befriend people for your own gain and manipulate them
Stick my face in boiling water
I would rather endure extreme pain than be like you
What's in your annex boy will it conquer us
What are your plans? Will they harm or control us?
But can you run free from your demons like me
Do you have the strength to face your inner demons and overcome them like I can?
Don't let me waste away
I don't want to lose myself or become like you
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Goddess
on Zoom
I would love to know the interpretation of this song.
I’m thinking it starts with his birth but now he is dying and he recalls how safe he was with his mother and she is smiling through the lights(in the starlight in heavens) and will carry him home because as he is on the earth her voice is a voice that he doesn’t love more(being the first loving voice he heard and will be the one that calls him to the other side or calls him home) .... calling to the other side of the river evokes the ferryman to me .....mid lyrics he said he’s done all he can met all he can and he is ready to let go