The band's blend of punk-inflected folk rock with literate, witty, introspective lyrics have made them one of the most popular bands on the Canadian music scene.
Hailing from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, The Weakerthans have produced four full albums with a variety of unusual subjects; a couple of songs are sung from the point of view of John's cat Virtute (Ver-tu-tay). The Weakerthans are popular in their home city of Winnipeg; their song "One Great City!" expresses their love/hate relationship with the problems and attitude of Winnipeg. No matter their methods, though, one thing is clear: The Weakerthans are not afraid to venture into lyrical styles uncharted by their contemporaries. On their third album, Reconstruction Site, Samson penned three songs, "(Manifest)", "(Hospital Vespers)", and "(Past Due)", in Shakespearean sonnet form.
One origin story for the band's name, as quoted in the liner notes of Fallow, is a line from the 1992 film The Lover: "Go ahead, I'm weaker than you can possibly imagine." The band's name may also refer to a Ralph Chaplin quote from "Solidarity Forever": "What force on Earth can be weaker than the feeble strength of one?" The band alludes to this line in the song "Pamphleteer" from the album Left and Leaving.
The band last released an album, Live at the Burton Cummings Theatre, in 2010.
Since 2015, the band has been on hiatus.
Benediction
The Weakerthans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Martyrs never last this long
Guess I'll never be the one
To defeat desire in song
Here's a marker
Here's my naked skin
Our Exhibit A
All the actors broke their legs
And it's too late to postpone
The producer's getting high
And the audience went home
Smile and take your awkward bow
Turn and stumble off the stage
Let the rain be your applause
And every encore soothe your rage
Squint with one eye
Hum a show-tune, and wait
For your ride to say
"Oh, that's where you must have lost your way"
Megaphones in helicopters squeal
"Hey, are you okay?"
As searchlights circle
Where we lost our way
All our accidents went purposeful and fell
Stripped of providence or any way to tell
That our intentions were intangible and sweet
Sick with simple math and shy discoveries
Piled up against our impending defeat
In The Weakerthans' song "Benediction," the singer accepts that they will never achieve sainthood or overcome their desires completely. The opening lines express disappointment at this realization, acknowledging that martyrs do not endure for long. The singer resigns themselves to not being able to defeat desire through song, suggesting that perhaps it is impossible to do so. The next stanza presents a metaphorical exercise of self-examination, with the marker and naked skin representing vulnerability and self-exposure. The small X serves as a physical marker for where the singer believes they went astray, though this may be an acknowledgment that life is full of such moments and that it can be difficult to discern which specific ones have led to our current state.
The second verse describes a failed performance, with all the actors breaking their legs and the producer becoming incapable of putting on the show. In this chaotic moment, the singer takes solace in the rain, which serves as both applause and catharsis for their struggles. In the final stanza, the singer recounts a search and rescue mission, with megaphones and searchlights utilized to locate where they went off track. The accidents are described as "purposeful and fell," indicating that they were intentional yet still led to the singer's defeat. The ending lines suggest that the singer has come to terms with this failure and seeks to make peace with their shy discoveries, even though they may have contributed to their impending defeat.
Line by Line Meaning
So you don't get to be a saint
You cannot be a holy person
Martyrs never last this long
People who suffer for their beliefs do not endure it for long
Guess I'll never be the one
I know I will never achieve what I aspire to be
To defeat desire in song
I cannot overcome my desires through music
Here's a marker
This is a symbol that represents something
Here's my naked skin
This is my exposed body
Our Exhibit A
This is evidence A
Put a small X where I lost my way
Mark the spot where I became lost
All the actors broke their legs
Everyone failed
And it's too late to postpone
It is now impossible to delay
The producer's getting high
The person in charge is becoming inebriated
And the audience went home
The people watching are gone
Smile and take your awkward bow
Put on a happy face and acknowledge the audience’s response
Turn and stumble off the stage
Step away from the platform in a clumsy manner
Let the rain be your applause
Use the downpour as a compliment
And every encore soothe your rage
Each repetition of the performance will comfort your fury
Squint with one eye
Narrow your gaze to just one eye
Hum a show-tune, and wait
Sing a song from a musical and be patient
For your ride to say
Wait until your ride tells you
"Oh, that's where you must have lost your way"
That's the location where you most likely became lost
Megaphones in helicopters squeal
Loudspeakers in aircraft make high-pitched noises
"Hey, are you okay?"
Is everything alright?
As searchlights circle
As the beams from the searching lights spin
Where we lost our way
The spot where we became lost
All our accidents went purposeful and fell
All our unsuccessful endeavors had a specific goal and ended abruptly
Stripped of providence or any way to tell
Devoid of divine guidance or any means of determining what to do
That our intentions were intangible and sweet
Our motives were unattainable and pleasant
Sick with simple math and shy discoveries
We are nauseous from elementary calculations and modest discoveries
Piled up against our impending defeat
We have accumulated against our inevitable failure
Lyrics © CCS RIGHTS MANAGEMENT CORP
Written by: John K Samson, Jason Tait, Stephen Allan Carroll, John Paul Sutton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gryffin
on Virtute the Cat Explains Her Departure
It had something to do with the rain
It was a rainy day when Virtute left
Leaching loamy dirt
The dirt becoming muddy and wet due to the rain.
And the way the back lane came alive
The rain bringing life to the back alley and making it more vibrant.
Half moon whispered go
Personification of the half-moon; Virtute believed it told her to leave
For a while I heard you
The cat heard its owner's footsteps for a brief period.
Missing steps in the street
The owner was upset and confused, stumbling while walking in the street, looking for her.
And your anger pleading
The owner's anger begging for something; perhaps Virtute's return
In an uncertain key
The owner's tone being unsure and lacking confidence.
Singing the sound that you found for me
Virtute's owner is calling out her name in an attempt to find her
When the winter took the tips of my ears
In winter, Virtute lost the tips of her ears to the cold
Found this noisy home
The cat found a new place to live.
Full of pigeons and places to hide
The new place was abundant in pigeons and had many good hiding spots.
And when the voices died
When everything became silent.
I emerged to watch abandoned machines
The cat came out of hiding to look at the machines that had been abandoned.
Waiting for their men
The machines were waiting for someone to come and use them.
To return, I remember the way
The cat remembers how the owner would look for her and she misses him.
I would wait for you
The cat used to wait for her owner to come back.
To arrive with kibble
The owner used to bring kibble for the cat to eat.
And a box full of beer
The owner used to have beer with him when he came back home.
How I'd scratch the empties
The cat remembers how she used to scratch the empty beer cans and bottles for hours to entertain herself.
Desperate to hear
The cat was desperate to hear the familiar sounds of her owner's presence.
You make the sound that you found for me
Virtute longed to hear her owner say her name, to be acknowledged by the person who left her alone for so long.
After scrapping with the ferals and the tabby
After fighting with other cats in the area.
Let you brush my matted fur
Allowed the owner to groom her matted fur.
How I'd knead into your chest while you were sleeping
The cat remembers how she used to knead into her owner's chest while he slept.
Shallow breathing made me purr
The cat would purr while feeling her owner's shallow breathing and being comforted by it.
But I can't remember the sound that you found for me
The cat can no longer remember the name her owner gave her, and it makes her sad and confused.
I can't remember the sound that you found for me
Reinforcing the fact that the cat can no longer remember her name.
I can't remember the sound
The cat can't seem to remember anything about the owner's voice and it vexes her.