Friends since they were five, the band grew up playing music together, from early teen-age house parties in their hometown of San Francisco, to multiple world tours. Throughout their extensive travels over the past 8 years β including recent tours through China and South Korea β Two Gallants have continued to evolve, both musically and personally.
The bands' very first single, "Nothing to You" (from their 2004 debut The Throes), started off a string of cult classics that helped define their signature sound. The success of the sophomore album, What the Toll Tells (2006), delivered a few more singles, including βSteady Rollinββ and βLas Cruces Jailβ. The wistful βSeems Like Home to Meβ from The Scenery of Farewell EP (2007) and βDespite What Youβve Been Toldβ from 2007βs self-titled album, provide the framework of the bands development into The Bloom and the Blight.
After six years of constant recording and touring, Two Gallants took a hiatus starting in the summer of 2008.
About their 2012 album, The Bloom and the Blight, Adam Stephens explained: βWeβve both gone through some hard stuff personally, so this album has that element of the cathartic, of a release of tension. We had taken time off, and we did different things, played in different bands. And in doing those things, being apart and redefining ourselves in that way, we were able to come together with a fresh approach.β The album's first single was "Broken Eyes".
The Bloom and the Blight Album Trailer: http://youtu.be/qOY07eRnAgU
We Are Undone, Two Gallants' fifth studio album and second for ATO Records, was released in February 2015.
A second hiatus began in 2016.
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Nothing To You
Two Gallants Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I claim to be one of the few
But the lost cause of words walks away with my nerves
'Cause I'm gay as a choir boy for you
You got hair that recalls me of rivers
Runs softly while you dream of you
But your heart is so cold that it shivers
And I followed you into the party
That no one invited me to
But alone I made love to my 40
And played make-believe it was you
But I watched you forget your belongings
And belongings you've got quite a few
I filled up your bag with my longings
And searched through this whole, wide city for you
And we'll walk 'neath the street lamps forever
You'll say you remind me of you
It's so damn cliche that it's clever
It's so fucking false, you think that it's true
'Cause I heard that you forgot that you were (a) lover
And lovers you've got one or two
But you can't tell one from the other
Now, mama, now you're nothing to you
And it's down by the riverside (wasting away)
And it's down by the riverside (beating the clay)
The song "Nothing to You" by Two Gallants is a poignant expression of unrequited love. The singer is in love with someone who is indifferent to them, and they are struggling to come to terms with that fact. The lyrics are introspective and raw, capturing the singer's conflicting emotions and the pain they feel. The opening lines assert the singer's identity as someone from a long lineage of people, although they feel like one of few. The struggle to express themselves through language creates angst, but they express their poignant love for the person they are singing to. They describe the tangible aspects of the person in detail as well, highlighting the beauty of their hair, while acknowledging the cold nature of their heart.
The middle stanzas of the song capture the singer's frustration and longing. They follow the person they love to a party uninvited, but they are alone and have to make-believe they are with them. They watch as the person forgets their belongings, stuffing their own "longings" in with them, and start a search for them through the city, wishing they could be found. The final stanzas declare how the person they love has forgotten they were someone's lover and, at this point, is nothing to themselves or anyone else. The final lines of the song evoke a kind of melancholy acceptance, with the singer only able to waste away and beat the clay by the riverside, watching life go by.
Line by Line Meaning
Well my kind's been around forever
I belong to a group of people that has existed throughout history
And I claim to be one of the few
I am proud to be a part of this group
But the lost cause of words walks away with my nerves
I struggle to express my feelings in words
'Cause I'm gay as a choir boy for you
I am deeply in love with you
You got hair that recalls me of rivers
Your hair reminds me of the flow of a river
Runs softly while you dream of you
Your hair moves gently while you dream
But your heart is so cold that it shivers
You are emotionally distant and closed off
'Cause that I know is I'm nothing to you
You do not reciprocate my feelings
And I followed you into the party
I accompanied you to a social event
That no one invited me to
I was not invited to the event
But alone I made love to my 40
I drank alcohol by myself
And played make-believe it was you
I imagined that you were with me
But I watched you forget your belongings
I observed you leave your possessions behind
And belongings you've got quite a few
You have many possessions
I filled up your bag with my longings
I put my desires into your bag
And searched through this whole, wide city for you
I looked for you throughout the city
And we'll walk 'neath the street lamps forever
We will continue to walk under the streetlights for eternity
You'll say you remind me of you
You will tell me that I remind you of yourself
It's so damn cliche that it's clever
It is a common phrase, but it has a certain wit to it
It's so fucking false, you think that it's true
It is a dishonest sentiment that you believe
'Cause I heard that you forgot that you were (a) lover
I heard that you forgot about a past relationship
And lovers you've got one or two
You have had one or two romantic partners in the past
But you can't tell one from the other
You cannot distinguish between your various lovers
Now, mama, now you're nothing to you
You have become detached from your own emotions and desires
And it's down by the riverside (wasting away)
I am sitting by the river, unsure of what to do with myself
And it's down by the riverside (beating the clay)
I am trying to distract myself from my problems
Lyrics Β© O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jay A
One of the best live performances ive ever seen. These guys rocked!
Liam Hanlon
One of the best songs of all time π
Louis Dale
"lost cause of words walks away with my nerves". What a beautiful lyric
Alec Olsen
I can't believe how underrated these guys are. They are so fucking talented.
Silvergurl423
Not sure I understand it all the way, but there's something about this song that makes me want to replay it again and again. It speaks, somehow.
Craig Gese
I bought this album for ten bucks in the basement of a house in Colorado springs where you guys were playing. High life house. Great show and I saw you guys there again a year or two later. This would have been around 2005. Great times.
erin6462
this song is beautiful.
Antonella Spinella
Oh how I loved to suffer to this song in 2012!
jorge1234
weird thing, this guys speak of things that in a way are intimate, but at the same time of situations that repeat themselves time and time again, which makes me think, is the world such a shitty place or are they just good artists and know how to write songs really well??? I think both.
Jak Cipher
The direct inspiration to two of my own songs: The Folk Ballad and Please Don't Sue Me, Billy Joel
You touch more lives than you may think you filthy punks.