In fact, while VOTG owe a debt to the images of Leone and the soundscapes of Morricone, they are in truth more aligned with the works of Alejandro Jordorowsky (El Topo), delivering an array of music that is far more skewed than it is traditional. But then nothing about this "supergroup"—the loose knit combo is comprised of members of Broken Social Scene, Shalabi Effect, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Strawberry, and Do Make Say Think--is traditional. Hell, on paper the album looks more like an EP than a full-length, that is until you realize that the bulk of the eight tracks included all exceed 6-minutes (one is an epic even 10-minutes!). And with a rotating cast of 12 musicians, it's more like a mini-orchestra than an indie rock ensemble.
The album packaging itself is highly indicative of the aural array to be found on the disc itself. Rendered in a somewhat washed-out sepia tone, the stark image of Monument Valley brings to mind the wondrous images of John Ford, while the black ink spatters of the band's name hints at the eclectic "chaos" that they will be throwing into the collective images of the Wild West. To wit, the lead-off track, "Claudia & Klaus," is a sprawling instrumental that owes as much to the folk ways of Appalachia as it does to the windswept desert plains of yore. Built around a careening, atonal fiddle riff, the song builds with bits of ragged acoustic guitar—strums, pickings, and gentle rhythms that quietly layer themselves over the hypnotic drone.
While "Claudia & Klaus" definitely sets the tone, it's "Westworld" that is the most epic inclusion on the album. Apparantly written after the core group of musicians enjoyed a home viewing of Michael Crichton's cult classic film, this song alone is worth the price of admission, its all-too-brief 6-minutes and 26-seconds bringing more emotional intensity than some artist's entire albums. Once again the song mines the depths of melancholic terrain, laying down a foundation that consists of wandering guitar, a simplistic bass lumber, and a detached snare drum beat. The coup d'grace comes in the form of Deirdre Smith's somewhat aloof and altogether breathless vocalizations. Her voice literally drifts and hovers above the sparse instrumentation, providing the song with a glowing sense of bittersweet bliss. That it continues to build in both intensity and emotion further adds to the mystique, making it the type of song that will not only linger, but will simultaneously sends chills up your spine and tears streaming down your cheeks. Beautiful. Haunting. Memorable beyond all description.
If Valley of the Giants only output had consisted of the aforementioned "Westworld," they still would have been a great one-off group with a great body of work to their credit. Yet they crafted more tunes, none of which really equal the emotional breadth exhibited throughout the duration of "Westworld," but all of them worth your continued attention. "Cantara Sin Guitara" is a multi-culti waltz of sorts that mixes bits of klezmer, military marching band music, and Spanish horns into a sprawling, instrumental soundtrack from a forgotten spaghetti western epic. The humble quietude of crickets sucks you into the at-first minimal piano pounding that augments "Beyond the Valley." The tune quickly delves into schismatic Doctor Who-crossed with-The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly sounding electronic wurgle. The combined effect is both eerie and whimsical. The track takes a serious turn for the ominous about 4-minutes in, however, slinking into cymbal wavers and rankling shards of guitar, with bits of free jazz influenced bass burbling almost indistinctly underneath, giving it a Dario Argento Goblin-esque giallo vibe.
With "Waiting to Catch a Bullett," the band reaches their zenith, at least in terms of time constraint. This track, beginning with violin ambiance and acoustic guitar interplay, is a 10-minute opus of free-form detachment. Revolving predominantly around the screeching minimalism of the violin and sparse guitar, it's like a long lost Grateful Dead studio version of their classic "Space" jam, albeit filtered through the dust and horse dander of some forgotten ghost town.
The album makes a bizarre shift from the aural visage of the long lost Wild West to the far reaches of the North with "Whaling Tale." Essentially the story of a penguin caught up in the throws of the bloody Scandinavian whaling trade, the song is the sparsest inclusion on the entire album, consisting of a mellow drone over which Captain John E.R. Seck recalls his glory days of being a seaman. While somewhat out of context with the rest of the album, it's still a captivating inclusion that will have you hanging on every one of Seck's thick accented words.
Valley of the Giants culminates with a pair of instrumentals. "Back to God's Country" starts out slowly and then quickly escalates into a scathing blend of guitars and searing tonal whiteness. It's like being caught in a heat wave on the open plain, immediately followed by a searing thunder storm equipped with whipping, lashing wind. The song takes a brief reprieve about midway through, as trumpets flounder and collide, then it's back to chugging guitar riffage and intense rhythms. "Bata Bay Inn" brings Ms. Smith back into the fold to deliver more of her luminous vocals over a stripped down music bed that brings to mind the sounds of the morning after the devastating storm of the previous track, with perhaps the exception of the repeated choral refrain of "if you smoke that sh!t, you better get your mind right." Regardless of the ultimate lyrical intentions, the song itself provides a fitting, down-tuned honky-tonk conclusion to an album that is incredibly immersive, both in rich visual and sonic imagery.
Whaling Tale
Valley of the Giants Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a small penguin not a king penguin
You can see thousands of them breeding
When the warm season starts
And they only lay one egg at a time
And if you take one away they lay another egg but no more
But i want to tell this story really about one incident one day
It was a gray misty day with the wind blowing hard
And the whale factory was pitching and yawing
Not really a very good day to pick up the whales over the stern of the factory ship
There were one or two dead whales at the stern of the vessel
And the whale cathcers where coming in with their whales
And in the distance you could see the icebergs
Quite a number of them
And the men were trying to get ready to pull the whales over the stern of the vessel
There was a pack of killer whales around
Which came tearing towards the factory ship
And they tore chunks out of the whales
There were a number of men at the stern of the veesssel with guns shooting at the killer whales
The minute they hit a killer whale the rest of the pack went after him and tore him to pieces
But lets get back to the story of the penguin
I'd say there were about 6 or 7 whales some of them blue some of them fin
At the stern of the vessel
And there was that small rock penguin sitting on top of the whale back
And as we were pulling up the whales one after another over the stern of the vessel
It was rather difficult with the heavy swell running
The penguin hopped from one whale to another
The killer whales were all around the dead whales
They were tearing into them and the sea was red with blood
And by that time there was a number of men from the whale factory coming astern and watching the penguin at the back of the whale
And the men where shooting as fast as they could to stop the killer whale from getting getting the penguin
Which was sitting trying to hold on to the back of the whale
But as the whale was pulled up the chute
It was difficult for the winchman to regulate
And he had to watch very carefully not to
With the swell of the vessel
With the swell of the sea running and the vessel moving
To stop the penguin from slipping off its back
The chute was quite steep it was about i would say 30 degrees
And the little penguin climbed close to the tail of the whale
From which the whale was pulled up the chute
And the men were all standing around and watching and hoping that that penguin would finally get up get up on deck
It took a long time to heave that last whale up
If there was a swell the winchman up on top had to watch and be as careful as possible not to jerk and increase the movement
So that the little penguin could stay on top
We got him to the stern of the chute at the beginning of the chute
And we got the
We kept on
We kept on slowly pulling and as we pulled the little penguin
Slowly but surely went along the back of the whale from the tail of from the tail to the middle of to the middle of the back
But at that time the sea was running heavy and the movement at the stern was rather erratic
Finally when we got him up about 3/4 of the way
I dont think there was a man working on the stern of the factory
They were all watching and hoping too that the little penguin would get up on top
As the killer whales were just waiting down below and just watching
And the men were shooting and trying to kill these killer whales
They were afraid that the little penguin might slip in the water
Finally when we got it really all the way up
Everybody started to breathe a sigh of relief
But there was a heavy heavy swell which came under the factory
And rolled the whale on the side and the little penguin slipped off
And as it went down the chute the killer whales got it
Most of the men were not happy that day
There were also ... there's millions of penguins
That was one of the sights which i did not care to see again
But thats the way in antarctic
Theres no give and take
Its a hard hard place to be in
But
C'est la vie
The Valley of the Giants song "Whaling Tale" tells a story about a small rock penguin and a group of killer whales during a whale hunt. The song describes the penguin's struggle to survive as it hops from whale to whale while the killer whales tear into them. The men on the whale factory ship try to shoot the killer whales to save the penguin, and they eventually manage to pull the little bird up the chute to safety. However, a heavy swell causes the whale to roll over, and the penguin falls off the whale's back and is taken by the killer whales. The song's lyrics are a reminder of the brutal reality of life in the Antarctic, where survival is a constant struggle against the harsh environment and the natural instincts of wild animals.
Line by Line Meaning
The story is about a rock penguin
This story is about a small rock penguin that becomes involved in a life-threatening situation.
It's a small penguin not a king penguin
This penguin is small in size and not comparable to a larger king penguin.
You can see thousands of them breeding
Thousands of these small penguins can be found breeding during the warm season.
When the warm season starts
These penguins breed when the weather is warm.
And they only lay one egg at a time
These penguins lay one egg at a time.
And if you take one away they lay another egg but no more
If one egg is taken away, the penguin will lay another egg but no more.
But i want to tell this story really about one incident one day
This story is about one specific incident that occurred.
It was a gray misty day with the wind blowing hard
The weather was not good that day as there was a grey mist and strong winds.
And there was a heavy swell running
Waves were heavy that day, with a strong swell.
And the whale factory was pitching and yawing
The whale factory was rocking back and forth due to the strong waves.
Not really a very good day to pick up the whales over the stern of the factory ship
It was not a good day to be lifting whales over the back of the factory ship due to the difficult weather.
There were one or two dead whales at the stern of the vessel
A few dead whales were present at the back of the ship.
And the whale cathcers where coming in with their whales
The whale catchers were arriving with more whales to be transported.
And in the distance you could see the icebergs
Icebergs could be seen in the distance.
Quite a number of them
There were several icebergs in view.
And the men were trying to get ready to pull the whales over the stern of the vessel
The men were preparing to lift the whales onto the ship's back.
There was a pack of killer whales around
A group of killer whales were swimming nearby.
Which came tearing towards the factory ship
The pack of killer whales started swimming aggressively towards the factory ship.
And they tore chunks out of the whales
The killer whales began attacking and taking bites out of the nearby whales.
There were a number of men at the stern of the vessel with guns shooting at the killer whales
Several men with guns were firing at the killer whales to protect the whales and the ship.
The minute they hit a killer whale the rest of the pack went after him and tore him to pieces
Once a killer whale was shot and killed, the rest of the pack would attack and tear it to pieces.
But lets get back to the story of the penguin
Returning to the original story of the small rock penguin.
I'd say there were about 6 or 7 whales some of them blue some of them fin
There were around 6 or 7 whales, some blue and some fin, near the back of the ship.
At the stern of the vessel
The whales were located at the back of the ship.
And there was that small rock penguin sitting on top of the whale back
The small penguin was sitting on the back of one of the whales.
And as we were pulling up the whales one after another over the stern of the vessel
The crew was lifting the whales one by one over the back of the ship.
It was rather difficult with the heavy swell running
Lifting the whales was challenging due to the strong, heavy waves.
The penguin hopped from one whale to another
The small penguin hopped from one whale to the next as the crew lifted them.
The killer whales were all around the dead whales
The killer whales were circling the dead whales nearby.
They were tearing into them and the sea was red with blood
The killer whales were tearing the dead whales apart and causing the surrounding water to turn red with blood.
And by that time there was a number of men from the whale factory coming astern and watching the penguin at the back of the whale
Several men from the factory had come to the back of the ship to watch the small penguin sitting on the back of a whale.
And the men where shooting as fast as they could to stop the killer whale from getting getting the penguin
The men were firing their guns rapidly to scare off the killer whales that were trying to attack the small penguin.
Which was sitting trying to hold on to the back of the whale
The small penguin was clinging onto the back of the whale as they lifted it up.
But as the whale was pulled up the chute
As the whale was moved up the ship's lift, which was at an angle of around 30 degrees.
It was difficult for the winchman to regulate
The winchman found it challenging to control the movement of the whale.
And he had to watch very carefully not to
The winchman had to be attentive and watchful to ensure the safety of the small penguin.
With the swell of the vessel
The winchman had to navigate with the up-and-down movement of the ship.
With the swell of the sea running and the vessel moving
He had to account for the motion of the ship and the waves while lifting the whale.
To stop the penguin from slipping off its back
It was important to make sure that the penguin did not fall off the whale's back.
The chute was quite steep it was about i would say 30 degrees
The lift was at a steep angle of around 30 degrees.
And the little penguin climbed close to the tail of the whale
The small penguin moved closer to the tail of the whale as it was lifted up.
From which the whale was pulled up the chute
The whale was lifted up the ship's lift that was at a steep angle.
And the men were all standing around and watching and hoping that that penguin would finally get up get up on deck
All of the men were gathered around, watching and hoping that the penguin would make it safely onto the deck of the ship.
It took a long time to heave that last whale up
It took a significant amount of time to move the last whale up to the deck of the ship.
If there was a swell the winchman up on top had to watch and be as careful as possible not to jerk and increase the movement
The winchman had to be cautious when the waves were strong, so as to prevent any sudden movements that could harm the penguin.
So that the little penguin could stay on top
The crew worked carefully to ensure that the penguin remained on the back of the whale.
We got him to the stern of the chute at the beginning of the chute
The penguin had made it safely to the beginning of the lift's chute at the back of the ship.
And we got the
The crew continued lifting the whale and penguin up the lift.
We kept on
The crew continued working to lift the whale up to the ship's deck.
We kept on slowly pulling and as we pulled the little penguin
As the crew slowly lifted the whale, they also steadily brought the penguin closer to the ship's deck.
Slowly but surely went along the back of the whale from the tail of from the tail to the middle of to the middle of the back
The penguin continued to move slowly up the back of the whale, from the tail to the middle of its back.
But at that time the sea was running heavy and the movement at the stern was rather erratic
The heavy seas made the movement of the ship and the lift irregular and erratic.
Finally when we got him up about 3/4 of the way
The penguin had made it up to around 3/4 of the way up the whale's back.
I dont think there was a man working on the stern of the factory
By this point, all of the men at the back of the ship were focused on watching the penguin and making sure it made it safely to the deck.
They were all watching and hoping too that the little penguin would get up on deck
Everyone present was hoping that the penguin would successfully get onto the deck.
As the killer whales were just waiting down below and just watching
The killer whales were waiting beneath the ship, watching for a chance to attack.
And the men were shooting and trying to kill these killer whales
The men fired their guns at the killer whales to try and fend them off.
They were afraid that the little penguin might slip in the water
The men were scared that the penguin might fall off the whale's back and into the water.
Finally when we got it really all the way up
When the whale and penguin had finally made it to the deck of the ship.
Everybody started to breathe a sigh of relief
Everyone present expressed their relief and satisfaction that the penguin had made it to the deck.
But there was a heavy heavy swell which came under the factory
A massive wave came under the factory ship.
And rolled the whale on the side and the little penguin slipped off
This wave caused the whale to roll over, and in doing so, the small penguin fell off its back.
And as it went down the chute the killer whales got it
As the penguin slid back down the lift's chute to the back of the ship, the killer whales were able to attack and kill it.
Most of the men were not happy that day
The men present were unhappy due to the distressing events that occurred.
There were also ... there's millions of penguins
Even though many penguins exist in the world, this incident was still a sad loss.
That was one of the sights which i did not care to see again
The person retelling the story expressed their dislike and discomfort with this situation.
But thats the way in antarctic
This is a commonplace occurrence in the Antarctic.
Theres no give and take
The Antarctic is a harsh and unforgiving place that does not allow for compromise.
Its a hard hard place to be in
The Antarctic is a challenging and difficult region to work in.
But
Nevertheless,
C'est la vie
This is life.
Contributed by Jordyn J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Landerino
This song is absolutely incredible to have as background noise when I'm focusing on art, but once I actually listened to the words it kinda bummed me out. Poor penguin.
HuMuSuX
I always fall asleep when listening to the album and this "song" wakes me up
Kyle Carrick
very nice, i like your deduction. id also say that i agree. or blinded by the harshness of their job? they view whales as something they kill daily.. a penguin is a different (and maybe rare) case.
hamfranky
Reminds me of captain Nemo of Jules Vernes's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. At one point he forbids the killing of black whales, and a moment later, when a group of sperm whales attack the black whales, he commands his men to slaughter all the sperm whales. He probably did this because he felt like the other whales were opressed, maybe the same thing overcame the whalers in this man's tale.
dasbakon
Why would you describe this song as "amusing?" Did you not actually listen to it?
ot63
cool story, bro
doommullet
Seriously, who finds this song "amusing"?
Mister Monkeyman
The orca did
Andrea Gear
@shanttamazian a simple fact well put
Susan bass
This song is an enormous metaphor. Not amusing.