US' debut album, A Picture of the Three of Us at the Gate to the Garden of Eden, was recorded by Elliott and producer David Strackany (known as Paleo)[8] in Elgin, IL, Iowa City, IA, and Washington, D.C.. The album features musical cameos by a large supporting cast[9]—notably, Saadat Awan, Dan D'Avella, Dave Hahn, and early TUS collaborator Mark Charles, now of Vandaveer.[10] Picture was mixed and mastered by Chad Clark of Beauty Pill and T.J. Lipple of Aloha at Inner Ear Studios[11] in Arlington, VA, and released on March 4, 2008. Track 'First Sight' had its UK debut on BBC Radio 6 on July 14, 2008,[12] and the album as a whole enjoyed favorable reviews from The Austin Chronicle, Alternative Press, The Village Voice, and others.[13]
Crimes, the group's second album, was recorded in Lexington, KY at Shangri-La Studios, 6 weeks after the release of Picture. It was produced and mixed by Duane Lundy, with co-production by Rob Gordon and These United States (by then composed of Elliott and full-time band members Charles, Cosenza, Craig, and Hnatow), and released on September 23, 2008.[14] Paste Magazine,[15] Pitchfork Media,[16] National Public Radio,[17] and others praised the album despite (and in many cases because of) its sonic departure from the group's debut. These United States recorded live sessions and interviews for All Things Considered,[18] Daytrotter,[19] and WOXY.com,[20] as Crimes reached No. 30 on the College Music Journal Top 200 radio chart in late 2008.
In February 2009, TUS recorded its third album, Everything Touches Everything, at Inner Ear Studios, with T.J. Lipple this time taking on the role of producer. Released September 1 of that year, the album proved TUS' most energetic and upbeat to date. SPIN Magazine sang its praises ('captures the overwhelming jolt of simply being alive...swings between a sleazy leer and a dreamy purr...deftly blurring the line between carnal and cosmic'),[21] as Jon Pareles of The New York Times weighed in on the band's live show ('superb...equally at home with quiet, morose tales and galloping punky-tonk adventures...a rambunctious alt-country band with story-songs that are both tangled and aphoristic').[22] Influential DJ and music writer Bruce Warren, of public radio station WXPN, called These United States 'one of indie-rock's -- no, make that American rock's -- best kept secrets.'[23]
For its fourth full-length album, TUS worked at Sound Mine Recording in rural eastern Pennsylvania.[24] The resulting 10 tracks, produced by Dan Wise and TUS' Justin Craig, and featuring vocals by Dawn Landes, were released on July 20, 2010, as What Lasts.[25] The accompanying album tour included supporting dates with Fruit Bats, Deer Tick, Langhorne Slim, and Bonnie Prince Billy, and continuing acclaim from The New York Times,[26] Pop Matters,[27] and The Washington Post.[28] Among its 180 live performances of the year were stops at Seattle's KEXP;[29] Daytrotter's Barn On the 4th[30] with The Walkmen, Dawes, and Justin Townes Earle; La Blogotheque's Take-Away Show;[31] and NPR's World Cafe[32] and Mountain Stage.[33]
2011 saw These United States scale back its frenetic touring pace to just 100 shows and festivals, as the band spent more time writing and recording in studios in Kentucky, New York, North Carolina, Illinois, Pennsylvania, and Ontario. In 2012, the group will release its 5th full-length album—the eponymously titled "These United States"—featuring contributions from Deer Tick, Phosphorescent, Langhorne Slim, Frontier Ruckus, The Mynabirds, Cotton Jones, Revival, Ben Sollee, Backwords, and Jukebox the Ghost, and co-produced at Shangri-La Studios by Duane Lundy, Justin Craig, and Jesse Elliott.
Honor Amongst Thieves
These United States Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Little john awoke at noon and went to find a day job
Stumbling home much later through the evening just before
Samuel Clemens saw that tie was dangling from the door
And he said I better find another place where I can sleep
Just one more hiding hole to put a secret I can keep
You know there's a certain honor amongst, an certain honor amongst thieves
There's a certain honor amongst, an certain honor amongst thieves
Discombobulated as a boxer on her last leg
Lovely Lucy lamented that she'd hate to have to beg
And though she wouldn't neccesarily mind just one simple burglary
She'd have to check if Sam was sold, he almost certainly Would be
Little John might balk at first but then he would believe
You know that rascal always had a shotgun hidden up his sleeve
Oh there's a certain honor amongst, an certain honor amongst thieves
There's a certain honor amongst, an certain honor amongst thieves
Sometimes when they journeymen would drop by unannounced
They'd crash upon the hallway floor, get drunk and make sad sounds
They swear upon their mothers grave the next time they'd pay rent
It might have been different had they even been friends
But what can you expect in a tenement building of ill repute
Plus see Lu, She had thing for one she dubbed to cute to make leave
There's that certain something again, that certain something amongst thieves
There's that certain something again, that certain something amongst thieves
Oh so watchout Samuel Clemens here comes Johnny with his jack knife
Having just left the tavern determined to take the live life
It might as well be yours you know exactly what I mean man
I don't know what he heard, oh but I sure now what he's seen man
You got to run him 'round till he's tired he'll forget she even cheats
And though he dont really mean it he is just a little peeved
And there are certain honors amongst, some certain honors amongst thieves
There are certain honors amongst, some certain honors amongst thieves
You may now be wondering what my part in all this mess is
You prefer your puzzle piece together I think that's precious
The lyrics to "Honor Amongst Thieves" by These United States tell the story of a group of friends who live in a tenement building of ill repute and have resorted to a life of thievery to make ends meet. The first verse sets the scene with Little John, who has just left the tavern and laid his tie on the door knob. Samuel Clemens sees the tie and decides to find another hiding spot. This establishes the idea of "honor amongst thieves," where even though they may be stealing from others, they have a certain code of ethics and respect for each other.
The second verse introduces Lucy, who is contemplating burglary and enlisting the help of Little John. Despite his initial hesitation, Little John agrees to help her, as he always had a shotgun hidden up his sleeve. The third verse describes the rowdy behavior of their journeymen friends who crash at their place and swear to pay rent next time, but never do. Despite this, the group still has a certain camaraderie and loyalty to each other.
In the final verse, the song takes a darker turn as Johnny determines to take someone's life after leaving the tavern. The lyrics imply that he has witnessed something he shouldn't have and is seeking revenge. The song ends with the mysterious narrator reflecting on their own role in this story and leaving it up to the listener to piece together.
Line by Line Meaning
Having first left the tavern laid a tie upone the door knob
Someone left their tie on the door knob of the tavern after leaving.
Little john awoke at noon and went to find a day job
Little John woke up late and went to look for work.
Stumbling home much later through the evening just before
Later in the evening, stumbling home.
Samuel Clemens saw that tie was dangling from the door
Samuel Clemens saw the tie on the door knob.
And he said I better find another place where I can sleep
Samuel Clemens found another place to sleep since someone was already in his usual spot.
Just one more hiding hole to put a secret I can keep
Samuel Clemens found a new spot to hide where he can keep his secrets safe.
You know there's a certain honor amongst, an certain honor amongst thieves
Thieves have their own code of conduct, and they honor it.
Discombobulated as a boxer on her last leg
Lucy was in a state of confusion or chaos, like a boxer who's about to lose their last fight.
Lovely Lucy lamented that she'd hate to have to beg
Lucy doesn't want to resort to begging even though she might consider burglary to survive.
And though she wouldn't neccesarily mind just one simple burglary
Lucy would be fine with committing one small burglary to get by.
She'd have to check if Sam was sold, he almost certainly Would be
She needs to check if Sam has already stolen the item she wants because he steals everything.
Little John might balk at first but then he would believe
Little John might resist Lucy's plan at first, but eventually he'll agree.
You know that rascal always had a shotgun hidden up his sleeve
Little John always keeps a hidden weapon, like a shotgun.
Oh there's a certain honor amongst, an certain honor amongst thieves
Thieves abide by an unwritten code of conduct and honor it.
Sometimes when they journeymen would drop by unannounced
Sometimes other thieves would visit without warning.
They'd crash upon the hallway floor, get drunk and make sad sounds
The visitors would get drunk and make noise in the hallway.
They swear upon their mothers grave the next time they'd pay rent
They lie about paying rent even though they swear on their mothers' lives.
It might have been different had they even been friends
Maybe things would have been better if they were actually friends with each other.
But what can you expect in a tenement building of ill repute
The building they live in has a reputation for being shady and rundown.
Plus see Lu, She had thing for one she dubbed to cute to make leave
Lucy had a crush on one of the visitors, so she let him stay even though he was disruptive.
There's that certain something again, that certain something amongst thieves
Once again, there's a distinct code of conduct that thieves follow.
Oh so watchout Samuel Clemens here comes Johnny with his jack knife
Samuel Clemens needs to be careful because Little John is coming with a knife.
Having just left the tavern determined to take the live life
Little John is feeling bold after leaving the tavern and wants to start taking risks.
It might as well be yours you know exactly what I mean man
You may become Little John's next victim, and you understand what that means.
I don't know what he heard, oh but I sure now what he's seen man
Little John may have heard something, but you can be sure he has seen something.
You got to run him 'round till he's tired he'll forget she even cheats
You have to distract Little John so he'll forget about Lucy's infidelity.
And though he dont really mean it he is just a little peeved
Little John isn't really serious about being mad, he's just a little annoyed.
And there are certain honors amongst, some certain honors amongst thieves
Thieves have an unwritten code of conduct that they follow and honor.
You may now be wondering what my part in all this mess is
The singer is aware that the listener may be confused about their role in the story.
You prefer your puzzle piece together I think that's precious
The singer finds it cute that the listener wants to piece together the story themselves.
Contributed by Owen C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@hekarri
Having first left the tavern, then a tie upon the door knob, Little John awoke at noon and went to find a day job. Stumbling home much later through the evening just before, Samuel Clemens saw that tie was dangling from the door, and he said:
“I better find another place where I can sleep – oh, plus, one more hiding hole to put a secret I can keep.”
There’s a certain honor amongst thieves.
Discombobulated as a boxer, on her last leg, Lovely Lucy lamented: she’d hate to have to beg. And though she wouldn’t necessarily mind just one simple burglary, she’d have to check if Sam was sold. (He almost certainly would be.) Little John might balk at first, but then he would believe. You know that rascal – always had a shotgun hidden up his sleeve! And, well, here’s a certain honor amongst thieves.
Sometimes when the journeymen would drop by, unannounced, to crash upon the hallway floor, get drunk, and make sad sounds, they’d swear – upon their mothers’ graves! – the next time they’d pay rent. And it might have all been different, had they even been friends. But now what can you expect in a tenement building of ill-repute? Plus, then, Lucy had a thing for one she’d dubbed too cute to make leave. And there’s that certain something, again…that certain something amongst thieves.
Oh, so, watch out, Samuel Clemens, here comes Johnny with his jack knife, having just left the tavern determined to take a live life. Might as well be yours – you know exactly what I mean, man. I don’t know what he heard, but I sure know what he’s seen, man! Just run him around ’til he’s tired; he’ll forget she even cheats. You know that he don’t really mean it – he is just a little peeved. Oh, and there are certain honors, you see? Some certain honors amongst us thieves…
You may by now be wondering what my part in all this mess is… You prefer your puzzle pieces together – I think that’s precious. But I may never tell, oh well. You may never know. See, I do not get dealt all the cards, but I sense which ones to show, and I bet you’d like to have a secret you could hang above me. Maybe check with Sammy, Little John, or Lovely…
Just be careful what information you seek. Yes, just be careful…
There’s a certain honor amongst thieves.
@milfrie
the bike is hilarious!! It really fits the music.
@bendawson00
Saw these guys last summer at All Good then again on fountain square in cincinnati. They killed it both times. Hope to see them swing back my way soon!
@willrich13
good show at the house party last night in winter park.. thanks again for the music
@LuckOverDose
Great stuff.
@dorotwhy
I have just been introduced to a new love. refreshing!
@rednissan96
One of my favorite songs on my playlist.
@shaaarrrp
Enjoyed your performance at 930 club last night....thanks!
@milfrie
cute video.. you guys were really good last night in Maumee.. It was nice meeting you.. don't get too cool for your own good!
@bangaway
awesome tune
@danzer74
So I'm watching a movie on HBO that I couldn't even tell you the name of right now. I'm not even sure why I watched it to the very end but I'm glad I did because this little treasure was waiting for me at the end. I love this song and I'll see you at The Rhythm Room on 8-27-12!