Toby used to play bass, piano, guitar and sing on Maudlin of the Well, and has worked with numerous other bands, including Asva, Tartar Lamb (originally created to play his self-written piece Sixty Metonymies), and Tartar Lamb II, and he has played onstage with Secret Chiefs 3, for instance.
His first solo album, In the L..L..Library Loft, was released on Tzadik in 2005. It was released under his name at Tzadik's preference, though most of Kayo Dot still appears on it. He composed the soundtrack to the short film The Pod (2013) and a multimedia project Ichneumonidae (2014). His second solo album, Madonnawhore, was released in 2017 (described by the artist himself as "consisting entirely of dreary ballads"); a live album, Live at Roulette, March 2017, was also given limited release in the same year.
The Scarlet Whore
Toby Driver Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Slide down from your cloud to the heavens
Let me see you as you are, let me see
All around we fall like rain
As above, so below, you are in your highest
When you are in your lowest
Love wore her crown to the queen
I am the quarry of your cunt
You cursed me through eternity
What release for all
You cursed me through eternity
One release for
I met her in an alley, she met me in the sky
I gave myself to her, she gave herself to wine
If she is sin
Then she will win
Towering before me
Angel wings below
Here in the dark, Nothing matters
Motion above me
With greed she engulfs me
Amen and amen and amen
It is finished
I am fallen
She went back to her cloud in heaven
She drew herself up
Like cigarette smoke
The lyrics to Toby Driver's song The Scarlet Whore are cryptic and open to interpretation, but some themes can be discerned. It appears to be a narrative of a sexual encounter with a woman who is referred to as "the Scarlet Whore" and "Love". The singer asks her to come down from her "haze" and show her true self. The line "As above, so below, you are in your highest when you are in your lowest" seems to suggest that the woman is at her most authentic when she's vulnerable. The line "I am the quarry of your cunt" is a disturbing and vulgar metaphor for being deeply desired and pursued.
The song's imagery is dark and sensual, evoking a sense of danger and temptation. Lines like "If she is sin, then she will win" suggest an embracing of taboo or unconventional desires. The final line "She went back to her cloud in heaven, she drew herself up like cigarette smoke" is ambiguous, but it might mean that the encounter was brief and fleeting. Overall, the lyrics paint a picture of a moment of intense passion and liberation, tempered by a sense of melancholy and self-destruction.
Line by Line Meaning
Come down, come down, from your haze
Please escape your illusionary world
Slide down from your cloud to the heavens
Come down from your imaginary land to the real world
Let me see you as you are, let me see
Reveal your true self to me
All around we fall like rain
Everyone is always changing and falling
As above, so below, you are in your highest
Your highest potential is found in your lowest moments
When you are in your lowest
Your worst moments can bring about your greatest accomplishments
Love wore her crown to the queen
Love is the most powerful emotion
Love′s trumpet at the heart
Love can capture and control your heart
I am the quarry of your cunt
I am the object of your desire
You cursed me through eternity
You have caused me pain for an indefinite amount of time
What release for all
A release from pain would benefit everyone involved
You cursed me through eternity
You have caused me pain for an indefinite amount of time
One release for
A single relief from pain
I met her in an alley, she met me in the sky
We came from different worlds but met in the middle
I gave myself to her, she gave herself to wine
I surrendered myself to her, and she surrendered herself to alcohol
If she is sin
If she is a bad influence
Then she will win
Then she will inevitably cause harm
Towering before me
Standing before me like a giant
Angel wings below
With a facade of perfection
Here in the dark, Nothing matters
In this moment, nothing else is important
Motion above me
Activity happening above me
With greed she engulfs me
She consumes me with a selfish desire
Amen and amen and amen
So be it, so be it, so be it (an expression of finality)
It is finished
Our exchange is complete
She went back to her cloud in heaven
She returned to her imaginary world
She drew herself up
She became defensive
Like cigarette smoke
She disappeared into the air
Contributed by James R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.