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.
Reunion Tour
The Weakerthans Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To hang up on the broken stands
The houselights lit our injuries
For crowds with plastic cups that clapped
Beneath our tender sleepy brooms
And boom, boom, boom
Boom went absent cases down the stairs
A burst of moon, a blast of air
An understanding somewhere
Between the turning signal clicks
The shiny food we found with gasoline
The daily prayers of set-lists tender jokes about
Retards, and crashes, and queers
I lost the chiming ring of keys to everything
I lost the chiming ring of keys to everything
I lost the chiming ring of keys to everything
Safe and safely locked away back home
Safe and safely locked away back home
Safe and safely locked away back home
Safe and safely locked away back home
The opening lines of The Weakerthans’s Reunion Tour describe the aftermath of a rock concert, where the band is packing up and rolling their gear through a messy set of cables, broken mic stands, and spilled beer. The injuries of the night are fully on display under the bright house lights for the departing crowd, holding their plastic cups and clapping to show their appreciation. The next few lines describe the band’s departure from the venue, as they make their way down the stairs and out into the parking lot. There is a burst of moonlight and a blast of air, seemingly signifying the band’s final goodbye to the stage and the show’s energy.
The song then shifts to a far more introspective tone, with the singer reminiscing about the moments of intimacy that they shared with their fellow band members on tour. They describe “tender sleepy brooms” and a sense of quiet understanding between them. The exact nature of this understanding is never fully spelled out, but it seems to hint at a sense of camaraderie that exists between people who have been through a lot together. There are also references to the rituals of touring - the shiny food they found with gasoline, the prayers that they recited to get through each show. The song ends on a somber note, as the singer laments their lost ring of keys and wonders what they might have been able to unlock.
Line by Line Meaning
Rolling cables slick with beer
As we move our equipment, dripping with beer, to set up our show.
To hang up on the broken stands
And place them atop broken stands in preparation.
The houselights lit our injuries
The bright stage lights exposing our vulnerabilities as performers.
For crowds with plastic cups that clapped
Who were there eagerly anticipating our set, with their plastic cups in hand, ready to cheer us on.
Beneath our tender sleepy brooms
Feeling exhausted and drained, we set up our equipment slowly and carefully.
And boom, boom, boom
And the sound of the instrument cases hitting the stairs echoes through the venue.
Boom went absent cases down the stairs
As we slowly make our way towards the parking lot out back.
Into the parking lot out back
Where we load our equipment into the van and take off into the night.
A burst of moon, a blast of air
The fresh air and bright moonlight of the nighttime feeling refreshing and invigorating.
An understanding somewhere
Between ourselves, as musicians and performers, and the world around us.
Between the turning signal clicks
As we drive through the night, the sound of the turning signal clicking fills the air.
The shiny food we found with gasoline
Stopping at a gas station on our way, we purchase some greasy fast food to satisfy our hunger.
The daily prayers of set-lists tender jokes about
As we prepare for show after show, our daily routine consists of fine-tuning our set-list and making jokes to make ourselves laugh and feel less nervous.
Retards, and crashes, and queers
Jokes that may be considered offensive or inappropriate by some, but are a part of our culture and coping mechanisms.
I lost the chiming ring of keys to everything
In the process of traveling and setting up shows, I lost the keys to everything important in my life.
Safe and safely locked away back home
But I have the comfort of knowing everything is safe and secure back home, even if I do not have access to it at the moment.
Lyrics © MOTHERSHIP MUSIC PUBLISHING
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.