They were joined in 1991, by Wally Ingram and Courtney Audain. Timbuk 3 recorded several albums from 1986 to 1995; their first album, Greetings From Timbuk 3, generated their only chart hit song, "The Future's So Bright I Gotta Wear Shades". The song was featured in the 1987 film, My Best Friend is a Vampire.
Also from Greetings From Timbuk 3, "Shame On You" was played during the opening scene of Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2, released in 1986.
The group broke up in 1995, with the ex-members going on to record other music independently.
Waves Of Grain
Timbuk 3 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The gunman slipped through immigration
Like the gentle wind that swept the plain
And ruffled over waves of grain
Sailing safely out of sight
On board the next connecting flight
The gunman smiled, he felt no pain
Then someone snatched the video away
From the hands of a tourist at the gate
And soon a blast on board the plane
Sent it crashing into the waves of grain
A blown-up still told the story
Large as life in all its glory
The man's face in the 29th frame
Appeared within the waves of grain
Now the pictures have been confiscated
The tourist was incarcerated
The drugs they gave him numbed his brain
Now all he sees are waves of grain
Now rummaging through the ravaged rubble
I wonder is it worth the trouble?
Does the slightest trace of truth remain
Running through the waves of grain?
Running through the waves of grain
Running through the waves of grain
Running through the waves of grain
Running through the waves of grain
Running through the waves of grain
The lyrics to Timbuk 3's song "Waves Of Grain" tell a story of a clean assassination committed by a gunman who easily slipped through immigration like a gentle wind that swept over the waves of grain. The second verse continues the story as the gunman boarded the next connecting flight, smiling and feeling no pain. However, someone snatched a video away from a tourist at the gate, and soon after, there was a blast on the plane, sending it crashing into the waves of grain. The third verse describes how a blown-up still of the video revealed the man's face in the 29th frame, appearing within the waves of grain. Lastly, the song ends with the singer rummaging through the ravaged rubble, wondering if there is any truth running through the waves of grain.
The lyrics of "Waves Of Grain" may be interpreted in several ways, especially because of the references to assassination, videos, planes, and waves of grain. The song can be seen as a commentary on government conspiracies and cover-ups, where even video evidence cannot reveal the complete truth. The line "sailing safely out of sight" may indicate how those in power can easily disappear and never face justice for their actions. Moreover, the repeating chorus "Running through the waves of grain" may represent the singer's search for the truth amidst the chaos and destruction.
Line by Line Meaning
It was a nice clean assassination
The assassination was carried out smoothly and without any unwanted attention
The gunman slipped through immigration
The assassin was able to pass through immigration without being noticed
Like the gentle wind that swept the plain
The assassin's movements were quiet and unnoticed, much like the way wind moves across a plain
And ruffled over waves of grain
The movement of the assassin was barely noticed, much like the gentle movement of wind over wheat fields
Sailing safely out of sight
The assassin was able to escape without being seen by anyone
On board the next connecting flight
The assassin was able to leave the country by getting on the next connecting flight
The gunman smiled, he felt no pain
The assassin was satisfied with the job he had done and did not feel any remorse
So high above the waves of grain
The assassin was able to leave the scene of the crime and was now flying above the wheat fields
Then someone snatched the video away
Someone took the video of the crime away from a tourist who had filmed it at the airport
From the hands of a tourist at the gate
The tourist who had filmed the video was at the airport gate when the video was taken from them
And soon a blast on board the plane
There was an explosion on the plane that the assassin had boarded
Sent it crashing into the waves of grain
The plane crashed into the wheat fields
A blown-up still told the story
A blown up image from the video revealed the story of the assassination
Large as life in all its glory
The blown-up image revealed the details of the assassination in full detail
The man's face in the 29th frame
The image of the assassin's face was in the 29th frame of the video
Appeared within the waves of grain
The image of the assassin's face was superimposed on the background of the wheat fields
Now the pictures have been confiscated
The pictures of the blown-up image have been taken away by authorities
The tourist was incarcerated
The tourist who had filmed the video was arrested and put in jail
The drugs they gave him numbed his brain
The tourist was given drugs that affected his ability to think and remember
Now all he sees are waves of grain
The tourist now only remembers seeing the wheat fields
Now rummaging through the ravaged rubble
Someone is searching through the wreckage caused by the plane crash
I wonder is it worth the trouble?
The person searching through the wreckage wonders if they will find anything useful
Does the slightest trace of truth remain
The person searching through the wreckage wonders if any evidence of the assassination still exists
Running through the waves of grain?
The final line of the song repeats the image of running through the wheat fields
Contributed by Aaliyah K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.