Thievery Corporation is on the Eighteenth Street Lounge record label named after the DC club owned by Eric Hilton, but several of their singles and EP's appear on the 4AD and !K7 labels.
Formed in the summer of 1995 at D.C.’s Eighteenth Street Lounge. Rob Garza and Lounge co-owner Eric Hilton bonded over club life, dub, bossa nova and jazz records, then decided to see what would come of mixing all these in a recording studio. From this, the duo was born and their self started label Eighteenth Street Lounge Music began to emerge on an international level.
The duo caught the ears of underground DJ’s with their first two 12" offerings, Shaolin Satellite and 2001: a Spliff Odyssey. Their 1997 debut LP, Sounds from the Thievery Hi-Fi began to both define a new genre of electronic music and connect with an international community of like-minded souls. Though the terminology has varied (downtempo, chill out, left field and a myriad of other permutations), they have maintained their unique musical standards for the duration of their popularity.
In 2002, they released The Richest Man in Babylon on their ESL label. This fifteen track album is similar in sound and timbre to their earlier 2000 release, The Mirror Conspiracy, and features performances by vocalists Emiliana Torrini, Pam Bricker, and Loulou.
In 2005 they released The Cosmic Game, which has a darker, more psychedelic sound than The Richest Man in Babylon. The album also featured more high-profile guest singers on it, including Perry Farrell, David Byrne, and Wayne Coyne of The Flaming Lips.
In 2006, the group released Versions, a selection of remixes done by Thievery Corporation for other artists and toured the United States, playing at Lollapalooza.
The group released their fifth studio album, Radio Retaliation, on 23 September 2008.
The language of the group's lyrics are as diverse as English, Spanish, French, Persian, Portuguese, Romanian and Hindi. This reflects the group's global feel and collaborative structure.
They were the opening act on August 1, 2009 for Sir Paul McCartney at FedExField in Landover, Maryland.
On July 27, 2010, Babylon Central, the cinematic directorial debut of founding member Eric Hilton, was released. Set (and shot) in Washington, D.C., the film follows tripwire events in the interconnected lives of its characters, each influencing power brokers' schemes to manipulate international currencies.
In June 2011, Thievery Corporation released their sixth album, Culture of Fear.
In January 2012, Thievery Corporation launched a remixes contest in conjunction with Dubspot.
Is It Over?
Thievery Corporation Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I remember a world
That's gone astray
Close your eyes, hold your breath
Dreams severed from each other now
Are tangled in a web
His dreams are closed
Fragments remind me
Of a memory that's now broke
Shared woes and fiction
I don't understand
Do we ever really
Hope of dreams that we had
Is it over?
Is it over?
Is it over?
Say good-bye, I say good-night
Like a cloud without
The ocean tatters
Drinking in the earth
?
Stranded in the moon light
It's become a
Whole new future
Time never passing
His dreams are closed
Shared woes remind me
That a memory that's now broke
Shared woes and fiction
I can't understand
Are we ever really
In control of the dreams that we had
Is it over?
Is it over?
Is it over?
The Thievery Corporation's song "Is It Over?" is a thought-provoking piece that touches on themes of loss, memory, and the uncertainty of the future. The lyrics speak of a world that was once familiar but has since gone astray. The singer reminisces about past dreams that are now tangled in a web of confusion and uncertainty. The passing of time only serves to reinforce the feeling of loss and the impossibility of returning to the past. Despite the shared experiences and struggles of the past, the singer questions whether we ever truly understand each other or the dreams we once had.
The phrase "Is It Over?" serves as both a rhetorical question and a plea for closure. The singer seeks to move on from the past and to accept the reality of the present, however difficult that may be. The use of repetition in the chorus emphasizes the uncertainty and the need for resolution. The singer recognizes the futility of holding on to the dreams that are now broken and instead chooses to move forward, even if that means leaving the past behind.
Line by Line Meaning
Far, far away
In the distant past, I recall a world
I remember a world
I recall a world that existed in the past
That's gone astray
That has lost its way and deviated from its original path
Close your eyes, hold your breath
Block out external distractions and focus on inner thoughts
Dreams severed from each other now
Ambitions and aspirations disconnected from each other
Are tangled in a web
Entangled and complicated
Time never passes
Time seems to have stopped
His dreams are closed
He has given up on his goals and aspirations
Fragments remind me
Bits and pieces of memory recall the past
Of a memory that's now broke
Of a past that is now shattered and unrecognizable
Shared woes and fiction
Shared pain and fantasies
I don't understand
It is difficult to comprehend
Do we ever really
Is it actually possible
Hope of dreams that we had
To believe in the possibilities of the past
Is it over?
Has it come to an end?
Say good-bye, I say good-night
A farewell, the end of the evening
Like a cloud without
In the absence of something important
The ocean tatters
The vast expanse of the sea, now damaged and frayed
Drinking in the earth
Parched and dry, the earth seeks water
Stranded in the moon light
Stuck in a difficult place with no easy way out
It's become a
It has transformed into
Whole new future
A completely different and unknown path forward
Shared woes remind me
Shared difficulties bring past memories to mind
That a memory that's now broke
Remembering a past that is now irrevocably damaged
Shared woes and fiction
Together dealing with pain and fantasies
I can't understand
It's hard to make sense of it all
Are we ever really
Can we truly
In control of the dreams that we had
Have full power over our past ambitions and aspirations
Is it over?
Has it drawn to a conclusion?
Is it over?
Has it finished?
Is it over?
Has it come to an end?
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: RICHARD ERIC HILTON, ROBERTO MANUEL GARZA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@Sanmayce
Shana Halligan
Hi Shana, thank you for the precious performance, the video caught me as well.
Is it you in the background in the white silk!
Pure silk lyrics:
... do we ever really hold our dreams we thought we had?
... are we ever really in control of dreams we have?
Shana, below Giorgi gave the lyrics but I fear they are not fully correct, can you point where the right lyrics are, please?
@AdamSmith-ez4yo
There is so much in this video. These are some of my thoughts about it:
First, the eeriness... I think what is most creepy is the house itself. In the opening scene, where the camera zooms in toward the house, it looks absolutely haunted.. eerie as hell. This idea is confirmed, in a way, when the eagle-man picks up the dead dove on the stairs. The eeriness seems to be coming from the house, which seems to symbolize death. But although the house is creepy, the people attending the party don't seem to be very disturbed. The house has the appearance of luxury and quality. Everybody is rich and seem to be feeling pretty relaxed. They don't sense the eeriness that we the viewers sense when we see the house, the dead bird, and the eagle-man.
The eagle-man represents something strange and extraordinary. The people in the house do not have a clue that they're actually witnessing something extraordinary. My interpretation is that the eagle-man performs two miracles in the video: he brings the dead dove back to life and he turns the wick into a flower. The people watching think that it's a magic show, but they don't understand. It's not magic; it's real. After thinking about it a little more, I think that there might even be a third "miracle" that nobody sees: the eagle-man is not a man with an eagle-head costume, but an actual part-eagle part-man. It's all real. He is literally a bird-man. If the people knew they truth, they probably wouldn't be pleasantly surprised. They would be horrified. I can almost imagine one of the women trying to lift up the eagle mask and realize that there is no mask--and then she screams. Then the people would be horrified and would try to get out of the house immediately and try to forget all about it... Or, they would be petrified, unable to move.
In my opinion, the video is a lot about the ignorance of the people. Even if they don't understand what the eagle-man is doing, they ought to at least be amused, if nothing else, by the fact that a man with a giant eagle head is dancing and doing magic tricks at a party, but everyone acts like it's totally normal. Even the eagle-man acts like it's normal. There is also a sense of being trapped, which is most obvious with the eagle-man, but that is also more subtly true of the people at the party. The "man" is not fully man, because he doesn't have a normal man's head; meanwhile, the "eagle" is not fully eagle, because he has no wings and thus can't fly! He is trapped in an in-between reality. The people are also trapped, though it is not as obvious. The blond star is trapped with what appears to be a playboy. He's smooth, good-looking, rich, but there's a cold look in his eyes that suggests he is not loving; also there is a roughness in the way he touches her. It seems that maybe in her mind, she can imagine something better, but in her physical reality, she is trapped with him and must endure it. The other people at the party, perhaps they are trapped by their wealth or their lack of depth. Their imaginations are trapped, pinned down and unable to "take flight." Why?
The way I see this video is that the scene depicted represents a threshold. Something miraculous and extraordinary is colliding with the commonplace. The people are in the midst of a supernatural experience, but they don't know it. They are unable to recognize what's really happening because their minds are turned off or dead, in a sense. They're only expecting a kind of pleasing performance. Do they sense there is something odd happening? It's hard to say. It appears not.
@matheusalvesheinrick
Far, far away
I remember a world
That's gone astray
Close your eyes, hold your breath
Dreams severed from each other now
Are tangled in a web
Time never passes
His dreams are closed
Fragments remind me
Of a memory that's now broke
Shared woes and fiction
I don't understand
Do we ever really
Hope of dreams that we had
Is it over?
Is it over?
Is it over?
Say good-bye, I say good-night
Like a cloud without
The ocean tatters
Drinking in the earth
?
Stranded in the moon light
It's become a
Whole new future
Time never passing
His dreams are closed
Shared woes remind me
That a memory that's now broke
Shared woes and fiction
I can't understand
Are we ever really
In control of the dreams that we had
Is it over?
Is it over?
Is it over?
@ShanaHalligan
Hey all! Thanks so much for your kinds word and support of the music!
@pauldufresne3818
I did a you tube search for Shana and the Hooligans but nothing came up,where can I find your music?
@ShanaHalligan
Sorry for the delayed response, but I just saw this. Thanks for your support! You can find the music here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/get-gone-single/id869374180
@Sanmayce
Shana Halligan
Hi Shana, thank you for the precious performance, the video caught me as well.
Is it you in the background in the white silk!
Pure silk lyrics:
... do we ever really hold our dreams we thought we had?
... are we ever really in control of dreams we have?
Shana, below Giorgi gave the lyrics but I fear they are not fully correct, can you point where the right lyrics are, please?
@fredericovidovix
I guess you understand "the depth of my soul" haha. Thank you kindly, bless you.
@MrsBlaileen1
Shana...the song, the bird, everything...it still bewitches us in 2020. Hope you can perform this with Thievery in upcoming shows once the Pandemic is over!
@blinddathief
This song has always sounded like it belongs in a James Bond movie to me.
@DrSteveBrule552
You ever find a band or artist Group whatever that pretty much changes your life when it comes to music? well Thievery Corporation is that group for me
@ludwigvonn9889
I think it can happen only to people with a specially tuned soul... Thievery influenced me also, been listening to their music the last 15 years... I can't even belive i say that number... I hope they make more albums, they still got it in them i belive...
@axogMONOAURAL
Yes, me too <3