Thursday released their debut album, Waiting, in late 1999 with original guitarist Bill Henderson, who left the band in 2000 and was replaced by Steve Pedulla. The band gained popularity with the release of their second album, Full Collapse, in 2001, and released their third album and major label debut, War All the Time, in 2003, which reached number seven on the US Billboard Top 200 Albums chart. Thursday released their fourth album, A City by the Light Divided, in 2006, and two further albums, Common Existence and No Devolución, before announcing an indefinite hiatus in 2011. In a January 2013 interview, Geoff Rickly confirmed that the band had actually disbanded. However, the band announced a reunion in 2016. Their reunion would conclude with a performance at Saint Vitus in Brooklyn, NY in March 2019.
The band has been considered influential to the post-hardcore music scene in the 2000s, and is credited as one of the key bands to popularize the darker emo sound and screaming vocals which came to prominence at the time.
Tomorrow I'll Be You
Thursday Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The speakers can barely move
(This is not a test
Tune to the broadcast)
Witness the jet-lag
Look in the mirror
Adjust the v-hold
Pull out the shards (shards)
Choke on her words (words)
Caught in your throat
How long can the wheels maintain a spin at this velocity?
On every block a reminder
You can't stop this intersection
At every turn
Dead forests of tenements rise like antennas
The miles are adding up and the days are counting down
Cut the jet black from my hair
Before we're bathed in the dawn of new year's day
I will change back to myself in the flame (flame)
We burn like the paper hearts of dead presidents
But we're too lost to lose hope
Maybe the night seems so dark
Because the day is much to bright
(For us to see)
We are cured, we are cured)
(Shatter the lens, pull out the shards)
We are cured, we are cured
(Choke on her words)
Caught in your throat
That's the sound of music from another room
The piano player hangs up from piano wire
But the player piano carries on
(Sit back and tune to the broadcast)
Witness the jet lag
Shatter the lens (lens)
Pull out the shards (shards)
Choke on her words (words)
Caught in your throat
This is not a test
This is not a test
Shatter the lens (lens)
Pull out the shards (shards)
Choke on her words (words)
Caught in your throat
As the language dissolves and the sentence lifts
A slow alphabet of rain is whispering:
"Aabettipachdefg"
Since I replace the 'I' in 'live' with an 'o'
I can't remember who you are
But tomorrow I'll be you
Just pick up the phone
I'm calling from your house, in your room, in your name
Lying in your bed, following your dreams
Ii listen to your voice get caught in my throat as I sing:
"This is just a dream"
On New Year's Day
We will change back to ourselves in the flame
We are cured, we are cured, we are cured
The song "Tomorrow I'll Be You" by Thursday is a deep and introspective reflection on the self, and the constant struggle to find oneself and one's identity. The opening lines seem to suggest that there is some sort of disturbance in the airwaves, and that the singers are unable to communicate a clear message. This is not just a technical difficulty, it seems to be a metaphor for the difficulty in finding a clear sense of self and identity. The song then goes on to talk about the way that we see ourselves reflected in others, and the way that we struggle to find a sense of who we are when we are around other people.
There are references to "jet-lag" and "dead forests of tenements" which suggest a sense of displacement or disorientation. The metaphorical use of the term "jet-lag" could refer to the way that we feel out of sync with ourselves, as if we are not quite living in our own bodies. The "dead forests of tenements" could represent the way that we feel surrounded by people who are like us, yet somehow alien and distant.
The song then talks about the way that we are constantly trying to reconnect with ourselves, and to find our way back to a sense of wholeness. The line "We are cured, we are cured" suggests that there is some sort of final resolution, some way that we can find a sense of completeness and finality. However, the final lines of the song again suggest that this sense of resolution is fleeting, and that we will constantly be struggling to find our sense of self.
Line by Line Meaning
In the circuit the frequency's breaking up
The system is getting distorted due to frequency issues
The speakers can barely move
The singers are not functioning properly
(This is not a test
Tune to the broadcast)
The situation is serious, and you should pay attention
Witness the jet-lag
Experiencing symptoms of jetlag
Look in the mirror
Checking one's appearance in the mirror
Adjust the v-hold
Trying to fix the screen distortion
Shatter the lens (lens)
Breaking the lens
Pull out the shards (shards)
Removing the broken pieces of the lens
Choke on her words (words)
One is having trouble responding to what someone has said
Caught in your throat
The response is stuck within oneself
How long can the wheels maintain a spin at this velocity?
How long can this pace be sustained?
On every block a reminder
Every time one turns a corner, there is a reminder
You can't stop this intersection
This intersection cannot be stopped
At every turn
Dead forests of tenements rise like antennas
At every corner, there are decaying buildings that stand like antennas
The miles are adding up and the days are counting down
More time has passed
Cut the jet black from my hair
Removing the dark hair dye
Before we're bathed in the dawn of new year's day
Before the new year begins
I will change back to myself in the flame (flame)
The flame will cause a change back to one's original self
We burn like the paper hearts of dead presidents
We are burning just like the paper money with the faces of dead presidents on it
But we're too lost to lose hope
We're too disoriented to give up hope
Maybe the night seems so dark
Because the day is much to bright
(For us to see)
The darkness of the night might just be because the brightness of the day is blinding
(We are cured, we are cured)
(Shatter the lens, pull out the shards)
We are cured, we are cured
(Choke on her words)
Caught in your throat
We are free of our past problems, but the memory of some things still haunts us
That's the sound of music from another room
The piano player hangs up from piano wire
But the player piano carries on
(Sit back and tune to the broadcast)
Witness the jet lag
Background music is being played, even though the piano is broken. We are watching a person with jet lag
As the language dissolves and the sentence lifts
A slow alphabet of rain is whispering:
"Aabettipachdefg"
The sounds around us are slowly dissolving into a language of whispers and murmurs
Since I replace the 'I' in 'live' with an 'o'
I can't remember who you are
Since making a small mistake in spelling, I can't recall who someone is
But tomorrow I'll be you
Just pick up the phone
I'm calling from your house, in your room, in your name
Lying in your bed, following your dreams
Ii listen to your voice get caught in my throat as I sing:
"This is just a dream"
I will become someone else because I'm so taken with their life. I'm singing but cannot sing anymore because I'm choked up with emotion
On New Year's Day
We will change back to ourselves in the flame
We are cured, we are cured, we are cured
On the new year, we can start fresh as our true selves, and we will be free of our past problems
(This is not a test)
(Shatter the lens, pull out the shards)
Choke on her words
Caught in your throat
This is a warning to be aware of what is happening, remove obstacles, and speak the truth
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: III, GEOFFREY RICKLY, ROBERT KEELEY, STEVEN PEDULLA, THOMAS RULE, TIMOTHY PAYNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind