Van She formed when Nick Routledge [vocals, guitar], Matt Van Schie [bass], Michael Di Francesco [synths] and Tomek Archer [drums] all responded to an ad in Sydney’s Drum Media and arrived at an audition for a vocalist for a doom metal band with influences including Sepultura, Entombed, Black Skull and Phil Collins to find the whole thing was a sham. You could call it the result of Satan at work, or you could call it fate.
Since the chance meeting Van She have been playing out and about around Sydney, headlining their own shows and supporting the likes of The Presets and Wolf & Cub.
They’ve also been in the studio, the fruits of which we now see in the shape of a 6 track, self titled EP. Opener Mission acts as a gloomy but punchy entry point into the Van She world, while Kelly is like the epic, lovelorn cousin to The Presets’ Girl And The Sea. Sex City throbs and blips like a restless adolescent, and Survive is the greatest post post punk tune to make use of slap bass. Kelly Reprise blisses out for just a few seconds before Here With You brings us to a beautifully textured, melancholic close.
Memory Man
Van She Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We breath thin air
Perched on windowsill
??
In the darkness of the ages
Time stood still
Let it show you
Let him show you
??
Keeps time while we sleep
If you find him
Crying all alone
In the darkness of the ages
Time stood still
Let it show you
Show me the worlds memory man
Let him show you
The lyrics to Van She's song Memory Man are shrouded in mystery and open to interpretation. The song seems to be about a figure known as the "world's memory man" who has the power to unlock memories and reveal hidden truths. The singer seems to be instructing the listener to seek out this figure and learn from him. The opening lines suggest a sense of detachment or alienation, as if the singer is observing the world from a distance, "from her / we breathe thin air / perched on windowsill." This could symbolize a feeling of disconnection from the world and a desire to escape.
The lines, "in the darkness of the ages / time stood still," suggest a sense of timelessness and the idea that memories have the power to transport us through time. The singer implores the listener to seek out the memory man and let him show them the way. The lyrics are somewhat cryptic, but they seem to be hinting at the power of memory to shape our perceptions of the world and our place in it. Overall, the song is a contemplative meditation on the nature of memory and the importance of staying connected to our past.
Line by Line Meaning
From her ??
Starting this song from an unidentified point or place
We breath thin air
We exist in an atmosphere that feels shallow and lacking
Perched on windowsill
Sitting still, peering through a window, pondering
??
Unknown part that is missing
In the darkness of the ages
In the depths of time that have existed for too long
Time stood still
The progress of time seems to have halted
Let it show you
Allow yourself to witness it
Show me the worlds memory man
Introduce me to the person who preserves the world's memories
Let him show you
Allow the memory man to take you through time
??
Unknown part that is missing
Keeps time while we sleep
Preserves time while we are unconscious
If you find him
In case you come across him
Crying all alone
Sad and solitary existence of the memory man
In the darkness of the ages
In the depths of time that have existed for too long
Time stood still
The progress of time seems to have halted
Let it show you
Allow yourself to witness it
Show me the worlds memory man
Introduce me to the person who preserves the world's memories
Let him show you
Allow the memory man to take you through time
Contributed by Kennedy Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.