Latin rockers Tito and Tarantula are headlined by singer/guitarist Tito Larriva, previously best known for founding the seminal Los Angeles punk band the Plugz. Larriva was born in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico but spent his early years living outside Fairbanks, AK; his family later relocated to El Paso, TX, where he studied violin and flute as a member of his school orchestra. After high school he flirted with attending Yale University before landing in L.A. during the mid-1970s; there Larriva formed the Plugz, which in 1979 released their debut LP Electrify Me, the first album to emerge from the city's thriving punk scene. Shortly after scoring Alex Cox's 1984 cult classic Repo Man, the Plugz were rechristened the Cruzados, signing to Arista to release a self-titled 1985 LP; After Dark followed two years later, and the group disbanded in 1990. From there Larriva continued writing film music, also turning to acting; with guitarist Peter Atanasoff and a host of other L.A. session vets he eventually formed Tito and Tarantula, which quickly emerged as a major favorite on the local club scene. Among their most vocal supporters was filmmaker Robert Rodriguez, who not only enlisted the group to contribute material to his movies Desperado and From Dusk till Dawn but also found small roles for Larriva in both; Rodriguez additionally helped produce 1997's Tarantism, released on the band's own Cockroach label.
Since the release of Andalucia, Tito & Tarantula have made numerous personnel changes, starting with the departure of drummer Johnny "Vatos" Hernandez. Achim Farber was hired in his place, but left the band later on as well. One of the most notable changes, however, was the loss of the band's valuable founding member Peter Atanasoff. Little is known about his departure, but on the band's myspace blog, it says, "...So if ever you find yourself in Switzerland you want to make your way to the Moonwalker and say hello to Peter..." Io Perry quit the band to pursue a solo career, but stayed in business with Larriva by having him produce her first solo album. Along with Atanasoff, Perry, and Hernandez, the band lost multi-instrumentalist Marcus Praed, eventually leaving Larriva and Steven Hufsteter as the only remaining members who had played on the last album. Dominique Davalos (who had played bass on Little Bitch) took over on bass and Rafael Gayol took over on drums. The only members from the previous line-up were Larriva and Hufsteter. With this new "fab four" incarnation, they toured Europe thoroughly. At some point in mid-2007, Davalos left the band, and was replaced by Caroline "Lucy" Rippy. With her, the band has continued to tour its usual areas in western Europe.
In late 2006, the band promised an album out in early 2007 on their myspace blog. In early 2008, the band finally announced the approaching arrival of their next album, titled Back Into The Darkness. The album was released on April 18, 2008.
Discography:
*Tarantism (1997)
*Hungry Sally and other Killer Lullabies (1999)
*Little Bitch (2000)
*Andalucia (2002)
*Back Into The Darkness (2008)
Flying in My Sleep
Tito & Tarantula Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Swept me over the sea
Across the Atlantic I found
Myself headed
Towards Paris
I held on the ropes for
Dear life
It was cold enough to freeze
To fall then I woke suddenly
The very next night I saw
Some whales swim
Santa Monica bay
I flew down to great them
I watched them play
In my nakedness I swam
And she spoke in her
Singingsonic way
The mother of them all took
My hate them all took
My hate then
Sent me on my way
Flying in my sleep
Oh I'm flying in my sleep
I visit you almost every night
I float over your bed
You lay there with open
Eyes as your husband
Sleeps in your arms
I can see that you're
Thinking of me
I made a mistake
I should have stayed
I slide between
The both of you one kiss
I'll be on my way
Flying in my sleep
They say it's a gift but
It's a curse for me
Flying and I see broken
Dreams and tragedy
If I could I would stay
With you forever
In a dream world
That's complete
I've got my life and
You've got yours
But in the night
We meet
I can't wait till the sun goes
Down and lay
Myself to sleep
I forget about the real life in
A dream world incomplete
I fall through my mattress
Up through the clouds
High above the Earth
I find myself looking for you
Through this
Wonderful Universe
Flying in my sleep
They say it's a gift but
It's a curse for me
Flying and I see broken
Dreams and tragedy
The song "Flying in My Sleep" by Tito & Tarantula is a dreamy and introspective track that explores the idea of floating through different worlds, both real and imagined. The verses tell different stories of the singer's dream journeys, starting with a surreal ride in a silver balloon over the Atlantic towards Paris. The vivid imagery of holding on to ropes for dear life and the sudden awakening when the balloon bursts creates a sense of tension and release, akin to the peaks and valleys of a dream sequence. The next night, the singer witnesses whales swimming in Santa Monica Bay, and the experience turns into a mystical encounter with the "mother of them all" who takes away the singer's hate and sets them free. The last verse takes a more personal turn, with the singer revealing their attraction to someone who sleeps beside their husband. The internal conflict of wanting to stay and yet having to leave encapsulates the bittersweet nature of recurring dreams, where familiar faces and scenarios coexist with an underlying sense of emptiness.
Overall, "Flying in My Sleep" is a song about longing, escapism, and the uneasy relationship between dream life and waking life. The idea of flying represents a desire for transcendence, but it also comes with a cost of seeing "broken dreams and tragedy" and feeling like an outsider. The chorus repeats the lines "They say it's a gift but it's a curse for me / Flying and I see broken dreams and tragedy" as a mantra that captures the song's ambivalence towards the power of the imagination.
Line by Line Meaning
One night a silver balloon
I once dreamt I was on a silver balloon floating in the air.
Swept me over the sea
The balloon took me over the sea, moving me far away from where I was before.
Across the Atlantic I found
The balloon took me to the Atlantic Ocean.
Myself headed
I found myself on the way
Towards Paris
The balloon was taking me towards Paris.
I held on the ropes for
I clung to the ropes, trying to avoid falling off the balloon.
Dear life
I held on for dear life, afraid I might die.
It was cold enough to freeze
It was so cold that my body was freezing.
The balloon burst I started
Suddenly, the balloon burst and I started to fall.
To fall then I woke suddenly
After falling, I abruptly woke up from the dream.
The very next night I saw
The very next night, I dreamt that I saw
Some whales swim
Whales swimming in the ocean.
Santa Monica bay
I was dreaming about Santa Monica bay.
I flew down to great them
I flew down to greet the whales.
I watched them play
I enjoyed watching them play.
In my nakedness I swam
I was swimming naked with the whales.
And she spoke in her
One of the whales spoke to me
Singingsonic way
In a singing and musical manner.
The mother of them all took
The mother whale took control of the situation.
My hate them all took
She took away my hate and anger towards them.
Sent me on my way
Then, she sent me away.
Flying in my sleep
I am flying in my sleep, dreaming.
Oh I'm flying in my sleep
I'm still flying in my sleep and experiencing a dream.
I visit you almost every night
I dream of visiting someone almost every night.
I float over your bed
I dream that I am floating above someone's bed.
You lay there with open
The person is lying in bed with their eyes open.
Eyes as your husband
Their husband is sleeping beside them.
Sleeps in your arms
Their husband is sleeping with their arms around them.
I can see that you're
I realize that the person is
Thinking of me
Thinking about me in their thoughts.
I made a mistake
I did something wrong before.
I should have stayed
I regret leaving them.
I slide between
I slip myself between both of them while they sleep.
The both of you one kiss
I give them one kiss before leaving.
I'll be on my way
Then, I leave.
They say it's a gift but
People say that it's a gift when someone can fly in their sleep, but
It's a curse for me
To me, it's a curse because it brings me heartache and pain.
Flying and I see broken
When I'm flying, I see broken
Dreams and tragedy
Dreams that end in tragedy.
If I could I would stay
If I could, I would stay in that dream world forever.
With you forever
I would stay with that person forever in the dream world.
In a dream world
I am living in a world of dreams.
That's complete
A world that is perfect and fully-realized.
I've got my life and
In real life, I have my own life and
You've got yours
The other person has their own life.
But in the night
At night, in our dreams
We meet
We meet and escape into each other's dreams.
I can't wait till the sun goes
I am eagerly waiting for the sun to set and night to come.
Down and lay
So that I can go to sleep and
Myself to sleep
Fall asleep and dream again.
I forget about the real life in
In my dreams, I forget about my real life, my real problems and
A dream world incomplete
The dream world is never fully satisfying or complete.
I fall through my mattress
I feel like I am falling through my mattress as I start dreaming again.
Up through the clouds
I start to fly up through the clouds.
High above the Earth
I am flying high in the sky, far above the earth.
I find myself looking for you
I continue to search for the other person, my dream companion.
Through this
As I fly through the universe in my dream,
Wonderful Universe
I am in awe of the amazing universe that I have found myself in.
Contributed by Molly V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.