Nate Martinez’s Statement on “Behold, This Dreamer!”:
In some ways the story of this album began in a bookstore in Chicago when I found a book by William De La Mare titled 'Behold, This Dreamer!'. I was moved by the title and opened up the book to read more about it. I found that the subject matter mirrored topics that I had been exploring with a couple songs I had already written for the next album. The cover page reads: Of Reverie, Night, Sleep, Dream, Love-Dreams, Nightmare, Death, the Unconscious, the Imagination, Divination, the Artist, and Kindred Subjects. The topics I had been exploring in my songwriting were of ghosts, time- what it means, how we choose to spend it, and dreaming. The synchronicity of this moment had a pretty profound effect on me. I immediately bought the book but chose to never read it, only using it as a compass for my journey to complete this album. As an homage to the book and that moment I named an untitled song that I had been working on "Behold, This Dreamer! and immediately decided to name the album the same. I spent the next four months writing the remainder of the album and enlisting my close friends Dan Brantigan, Josh Kaufman and Andy Nauss to help record it.
In many ways it feels like an album that has been in the making since I picked up an electric guitar at the age of 12, possibly even earlier.
We spend our whole lives amassing various experiences... some traumatic, hopefully many more joyful. This album serves as a testament to my own.
After working for many years with other bands primarily playing guitar and other instruments I felt the need to find my own singing voice. I had always been writing and 4-tracking my own songs but I felt strong criticisms that my voice wasn't any good. So I quietly cultivated my singing while chasing a dream with my band at the time, Pela. Now I am confident saying that I have found a voice that is my own.
Behold, This Dreamer! isn't about tragedy, or about losing the girl, or small town drama. This is the story about making it out of that town, seeing the wide open road and asking yourself, what's next? Where do I want to go? Who do I want to be?
This is about listening to yourself, acting on intuition, and, most of all, awakening.
Brooklyn dream rockers, Thieving Irons, are proud to announce the release of their second LP, Behold, This Dreamer!, an ethereal, lyrical exploration of texture and sound from a group of seasoned and acclaimed musicians. The songs and themes of Behold, This Dreamer! are a nuanced study in perspective; offering, at once, a bird’s-eye-view and telescopic lens. Rarely are the songs outright declarations, but rather multi-layered awakenings; true sonic translations of a sense of awe.
Nate Martinez started Thieving Irons in late 2009 during the break-up of his band, Pela. The first album, This Midnight Hum released in 2010, was met with critical acclaim, named a “blissed-out alt-country epic” by Gothamist and an album of “beautifully textured indie folk, highlighted by Martinez’s distinctive voice” by KEXP. There is a sense of relief about Behold, This Dreamer! a musical departure discovered in re-positioning toward a new, directed path to joy.
Martinez has been involved in familiar indie staples for over a decade. He has recorded and toured with The National and was a founding member of Pela. He also had a hand in the writing and production of Pela's last album, We Are Augustines’ debut, “Rise Ye Sunken Ships”.
He has been playing music with close friends, Josh Kaufman and Andy Nauss in several other projects for the past 15 years. They met while at college in New Paltz, NY and immediately discovered a musical kinship, starting their first band 2 weeks into freshman year. Martinez met Dan Brantigan through a mutual friend at a coffee shop where Martinez worked in 2005. They immediately hit it off and Martinez asked Brantigan to play trumpet with Pela for their shows in New York. This planted the seed of collaboration between Brantigan and Martinez.
In the winter of 2011 Martinez set off to begin writing the next album in between a couple tours playing guitar for Alexi Murdoch. While in Chicago he walked into an old bookstore seeking inspiration. Inspiration he found- while combing the aisles he stumbled on a book entitled 'Behold, This Dreamer!' which ultimately became the name of the album. Throughout the spring and summer of 2011 Martinez finished writing the songs for the album and recruited Brantigan, Kaufman, and Nauss to join him for the recording. During this time Martinez met D. James Goodwin, whose in-studio talents would prove to be a perfect marriage for the songs and the group. The album was recorded mostly live in Woodstock, NY at D.James Goodwin's Isokon Studios with Martinez and Kaufman producing and D.James Goodwin engineering, mixing and mastering.
Thieving Irons is a collective of close friends navigating together through dense sonic terrain with Martinez's songs as the guides. Each one providing a sense of comfort while also implying that there is no safety net. We're all in a free fall so we might as well wake up and enjoy the ride.
So Long
Thieving Irons Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If we could walk on water,
Or bleed a... Time
The crush and the sound of the walls coming down
If I lift you up will you still be around?
If we could walk on water
Or bleed a... Time
But giving up goes away with time
So long, reflections of yesterday
So long, plastic out and get away
So long,
If we could talk to one medusa...
Sisters are brothers are neighbors...
If we could walk on water, or bleed a... Time
Wear with time
Trying everywhere to make this all better than before
Promise a new day, these moneyless pockets can't carry weight
No more they can feed on the samples... Sunrise before... Eclipses all the atmosphere
All the atmosphere.
The lyrics of "So Long" by Thieving Irons are filled with metaphorical phrases that revolve around the theme of time and evolution. The song begins with the phrase "So long, so long," which is repeated several times throughout the song. This repetition creates a sense of nostalgia and longing for the past. The singer expresses a desire to be able to walk on the water or "bleed a...Time," which represents the idea of transcending physical boundaries and time.
The second stanza introduces the idea of the walls coming down, which represents a transformation or change that is happening within the self or the world. The singer poses the rhetorical question of whether the person they are addressing will still be around if they are lifted up. This can be interpreted as a fear of abandonment or a lack of trust in the other person.
The following stanzas continue with the theme of time and evolution. The idea of being tongue-tied and twisted with birds represents the struggle to express oneself, but this is something that fades away with time. The song ends with a call to action to make things better and move forward with promise and hope for a new day.
Line by Line Meaning
So long, so long
Goodbye, goodbye
If we could walk on water, Or bleed a... Time
If we had extraordinary powers, or if we could manipulate time
The crush and the sound of the walls coming down
The destruction and noise of a collapsing structure
If I lift you up will you still be around?
If I help you, will you stay with me?
Your tongue tied and twisted with birds
You have trouble communicating due to nerves or mixed emotions
But giving up goes away with time
The desire to quit fades over time
So long, reflections of yesterday
Farewell, memories of the past
So long, plastic out and get away
Goodbye, leave behind artificiality and escape
If we could talk to one medusa...
If we could encounter a mythical creature like Medusa
Sisters are brothers are neighbors...
All people are interconnected
Wear with time
Things become worn or faded over time
Trying everywhere to make this all better than before
Attempting to improve the situation
Promise a new day, these moneyless pockets can't carry weight
Hope for a better future, but not having the resources to make it happen
No more they can feed on the samples... Sunrise before... Eclipses all the atmosphere
No longer can they survive off of small pieces of something... The new day will change everything
All the atmosphere.
The entire mood or feeling
Contributed by Aria M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
KtotheY77
This band is great. Thanks for sharing it.
MikeDel76
That's good, that's real good music.
Roberto Campos Porto
wow, i had never seen a video with no dislikes. That's fair, cause the song is amazing.
Nick Mundy
love being surprised by good music
Norman Christensen
very very cool, reminds me of the Lucy show and house of love, thanks for the great music!!!! keep it coming.
Beemer
I crave and need the song "Behold, This Dreamer to get posted to YT! :) Awesome Stuff..'So long' was a perfect fit for today's - Pick Of The Day - emo music/songs FB page...Thanks brotha from NY :)
Luke Youree
loving this and from NY too :))
Johnnie Jacques
Great vibe to this song
astian93
So cool and refreshing.
bluh
Vrienden, ik vind dit echt een mooi lied.