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.
Hymn of the Medical Oddity
The Weakerthans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Those doctors wrote on me
Swell up and from their syllable
Won't let me get to sleep
The sun will start late and clock out early
And I'll drive around and wait for it
Emptied of every memory
Under a sheet of silence and unmarked snow
Then idle in some parking lot
Smoke half a smoke and ask
St. Boniface and St. Vital
Preserve me from my past
Repair our potholes, prevent plant closures
And if they remember me at all
Make them remember me
As more than a queer experiment
More than a diagram in their quarterly
Make them remember me
The lyrics of The Weakerthans's song Hymn of the Medical Oddity reflect the struggles of the singer, who appears to have undergone medical examinations and procedures that have left him with a sense of alienation and inability to rest. The first verse speaks of the "words I should not know" that "doctors wrote" on him, suggesting that the singer's medical condition has brought him close to knowledge that is either too technical or too painful to bear. The use of the phrase "swell up" implies that the words themselves are physical, causing discomfort and distress. This anxiety extends to the inability to "get to sleep," suggesting that the singer's condition is both physical and psychological, limiting his ability to rest or escape his thoughts.
The second verse introduces a sense of isolation and emptiness, as the singer drives around familiar roads that are "emptied of every memory" and covered in "a sheet of silence and unmarked snow." The sense of unease is heightened by the need to wait for the sun to start and clock out early, suggesting a sense of temporal disorientation. The singer then idles in a parking lot, smoking half a cigarette and calling on the saints to "preserve" him from his past, suggesting a sense of guilt or shame that he associates with his condition.
The final lines of the song express a desire to be remembered as more than a "queer experiment" or a "diagram in their quarterly." This suggests that the singer's condition has been the subject of medical study or experimentation, further highlighting the objectification and dehumanization he has experienced. In expressing this desire to be remembered as more than an oddity, the singer reclaims his humanity and asserts his desire to be seen as a complex, multifaceted individual.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, all the words I should not know
The singer is burdened by the medical terminology that has been used to describe their condition, which feels overwhelming.
Those doctors wrote on me
The singer has been subjected to medical treatment and scrutiny.
Swell up and from their syllable
The words evoke strong emotions and create imagery within the singer.
Won't let me get to sleep
The anxiety caused by the artist's medical condition keeps them from being able to find rest.
The sun will start late and clock out early
The artist is feeling down and perhaps disoriented.
And I'll drive around and wait for it
The singer engages in aimless behavior as a coping mechanism.
Follow familiar roads
The singer seeks comfort in routine and familiarity.
Emptied of every memory
The artist is experiencing a sense of detachment and disconnection from their surroundings.
Under a sheet of silence and unmarked snow
The landscape is cold and quiet, perhaps resembling the artist's inner turmoil.
Then idle in some parking lot
The artist is not actively pursuing a destination or purpose.
Smoke half a smoke and ask
The singer takes a break and turns to a spiritual source for guidance and protection.
St. Boniface and St. Vital
These saints are invoked as a means of finding solace and safety.
Preserve me from my past
The singer is trying to break free from the painful memories associated with their medical history.
Repair our potholes, prevent plant closures
The singer longs for stability and security in their community and in their own life.
And if they remember me at all
The singer is grappling with the idea of being remembered in a certain way after they are gone.
Make them remember me
The artist wants to be regarded as a person with a full and significant life, rather than being reduced to a scientific specimen.
Lyrics ยฉ O/B/O CAPASSO
Written by: John K Samson, Jason Tait, Greg Scott Smith, Stephen Allan Carroll
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.