Travis is a Scottish indie band formed in Glasgow in 1990, composed of Fran… Read Full Bio ↴Travis is a Scottish indie band formed in Glasgow in 1990, composed of Fran Healy (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Dougie Payne (bass guitar, backing vocals), Andy Dunlop (lead guitar, banjo, backing vocals) and Neil Primrose (drums, percussion). The band's name comes from the character Travis Henderson (played by Harry Dean Stanton) from the film Paris, Texas (1984).

The band released their debut album, Good Feeling (1997), to moderate success where it debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart and was later awarded a silver certification from the BPI in January 2000. The band gained greater success with their second album, The Man Who (1999), which spent nine weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart, totalling 134 weeks in the top 100 of the chart. In 2003, The Man Who was certified 9× platinum by the BPI, representing sales of over 2.68 million in the UK alone. Following this success, the band released their third effort, The Invisible Band (2001) album. The Invisible Band went on to match the success found with their previous album, where it debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and spent a total of four weeks at the top spot, fifteen weeks in the top ten, and a total of fifty-five weeks in the top 100 chart, as well as peaking at thirty-nine on the US Billboard 200 album chart, spending a duration of seven weeks in the Billboard 200 chart. A year following the release of The Invisible Band, the BPI awarded Travis with a 4× platinum certification for the album.

In recent years, the band's discography has included studio albums 12 Memories (2003), The Boy with No Name (2007), Ode to J. Smith (2008), Where You Stand (2013), Everything at Once (2016) and 10 Songs (2020). In 2004, the band released their first greatest hits album, Singles, which spent nineteen weeks in the top 100 of the UK albums chart. Travis have twice been awarded best band at the BRIT Awards and were awarded the NME Artist of the Year award at their 2000 ceremony, and in 2016 were honoured at the Scottish Music Awards for their outstanding contribution to music. The band are widely said by the media to have paved the way for other bands such as Keane and Coldplay to go on to achieve worldwide success throughout the 2000s, particularly with the success of The Man Who.

Craft Recordings celebrated the 20th anniversary of Travis' breakthrough year with two simultaneous releases: Live at Glastonbury '99, plus expanded editions of The Man Who – both of which were released on 21 June 2019.

Everyday Faces
Travis Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Everyday faces that say hello
Everyday faces that come and go
Everyday faces that stay the same
Everyday day after day

There was a day
When all everything changed
People all came

Stood in the rain
They ain't got a cent (they not the same)
Policeman walked in
The statues all waiting (???)
They wanted a change
Everyday face

Was a time all we could do was try
Was a time when we could say goodbye
Now you find you never do a thing (the same)
Does today feel the same way

Cos there was a day
When all had been changed
People all came
Danced in the rain
They ain't got a cent
And a policeman walked in
The statues all wait (??)
All the same
Everyday face

There was a day
When everything changed
The people all came
Danced in the rain
They're in pain
A policeman walked in
All the statues are waiting
They wanted a change
From an everyday face
Now you're looking at me
Like I'm so passe

I'm a disgrace
Just an everyday face

Overall Meaning

Travis's "Everyday Faces" is a song about the monotony of life and the desire for change. The lyrics portray a sense of boredom and dissatisfaction with everyday life, where people come and go, doing the same routine day after day. The song begins with the repetition of "Everyday faces that say hello/ Everyday faces that come and go/ Everyday faces that stay the same/ Everyday day after day," emphasizing the monotony of daily life. However, there is a hope for something different, a desire for change, which is reinforced throughout the lyrics, "They wanted a change/ Was a time all we could do was try/ Now you find you never do a thing/ They're in pain."

The song speaks to the collective feeling of unrest in society and the hope for change. The lyrics, "People all came/ Stood in the rain/ They ain't got a cent/ Policeman walked in," suggest a gathering of people from different walks of life. Interestingly, the lyrics suggest that the statues were waiting, evoking an image of a world frozen in time, waiting for something to happen. As the song progresses, there is a growing sense of desperation for something different, for a new beginning, "They wanted a change/ From an everyday face."

Overall, "Everyday Faces" is a powerful song that captures the essence of the human experience. It speaks to the innate desire for change and the longing for something more than just the mundane routine of everyday life.

Line by Line Meaning

Everyday faces that say hello
Regular people who greet others

Everyday faces that come and go
People who are around one day and gone the next

Everyday faces that stay the same
People who do not change

Everyday day after day
This is a daily occurrence

There was a day
There was a specific day

When all everything changed
A time when everything was different

People all came
A group of individuals arrived

Stood in the rain
They were standing outside in bad weather

They ain't got a cent (they not the same)
These people were poor and different from the norm

Policeman walked in
A law enforcement officer arrived

The statues all waiting (???)
It is unclear what this line means