The principle is that we go through life in a continual straight line and that the trajectory we are on will never change unless something, or someone, hits us.
After years and years of selectively storing data and cruising down the highway of life (and a quick stint with Angle -We'll Pick Up the Pieces Next Time, 2006), Andrew Richards picks up an old battered guitar. Two of the strings were missing, but that’s how that guitar was meant to me, so she would stay that way.
The 4-string guitar is the backbone of Uniform Motion's music. Multiplied, duplicated, interlaced, and dissonant – as if there were different personalities trying to jump out of it. The vocals follow the same pattern - when strummed guitar strings become strings of words, or soft utterances that give substance to a subconscious idea. The beating of African percussion can be heard in the background, emanating from an urban soundscape, evoking a primitive nature, an imaginary journey, a calm floating sensation. The guitars hold this all together.
The Black Box
Uniform Motion Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
While a big sister in a train, says 'i am never coming back', and she cries herself awake.
A great uncle hits the screen, exit hope and all his dreams and they cry themselves awake.
Christmas comes and goes for good, the words I lost, the ones I misunderstood, I cry myself awake.
I don't know what to say.
I don't know what to say.
I don't know what to see.
An old man in a frame, throwing eyes at me in a vain, and he cries himself awake.
While a big sister in a train, says 'i am never coming back', and she cries herself awake.
A great uncle hits the screen, exit hope and all his dreams and they cry themselves awake.
Christmas comes and goes for good, the words I lost, the ones I misunderstood, I still cry myself awake.
I don't know what to say.
I don't know what to say.
In Uniform Motion's song "The Black Box," the lyrics convey a sense of loss and despair. The song is a reflection on the memories and experiences that we carry with us, and how they can haunt us in our dreams. The mention of an old man in a frame, a big sister on a train, and a great uncle on a screen all point to people or memories that are distant and perhaps no longer with the singer. The repetition of the phrase "and they cry themselves awake" suggests that these people, like the singer, are struggling with their past.
The final stanza of the song brings in the theme of communication and the difficulty of expressing oneself. The singer laments their inability to find the right words to convey their thoughts and feelings. The title "The Black Box" itself may refer to the idea that these memories and experiences are stored away, like a black box on an airplane that holds the secrets of a tragic event. The emotions and memories contained within the black box are elusive and difficult to understand, just like the singer's own feelings.
Overall, "The Black Box" is a poignant and introspective song that speaks to the human experience of grappling with the past and the difficulty of finding the right words to express oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
An old man in a frame, throwing eyes at me in a vain, and he cries himself awake.
I see an old man in a picture frame staring at me, seemingly without purpose, and he wakes up in tears.
While a big sister in a train, says 'i am never coming back', and she cries herself awake.
I witness a sister leaving on a train, announcing she will never return, and she cries as she wakes up.
A great uncle hits the screen, exit hope and all his dreams and they cry themselves awake.
A great uncle, who has lost hope and all of his dreams, appears on a screen and cries his way out of sleep.
Christmas comes and goes for good, the words I lost, the ones I misunderstood, I cry myself awake.
The holiday season passes by permanently, and I mourn the words I forgot or misinterpreted, causing me to wake up crying.
I don't know what to say.
I am at a loss for words.
I don't know what to say.
I am at a loss for words.
I don't know what to see.
I am unsure of what to observe or perceive.
Contributed by Anthony H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.