Wearing their animosity on their sleeve, Birmingham, AL-based Verbena bear … Read Full Bio ↴Wearing their animosity on their sleeve, Birmingham, AL-based Verbena bear more than a slight resemblance to Nirvana with their gritty, aggressive rock and singer/guitarist Scott Bondy's soul-bearing vocals. Bondy began playing with Les Nuby (drums) and Daniel Johnston (bassist) when the three were in high school in the early '90s. Ann Marie Griffin (singer/guitarist) joined the trio, called Shallow, and shared songwriting duties with Bondy. Nuby left the group and was replaced by original Remy Zero drummer Louis Schefano. The band renamed itself Verbena and released the EP, Pilot Park, on Merge. Nuby rejoined the band a year later. Verbena's debut full-length, Souls for Sale, attracted attention from Capitol and Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, who agreed to produce the band's major-label debut, Into the Pink. In 1999, Johnston left the band, making Verbena a trio once again. It would be another four years until Verbena would rise again. In 2003, Nuby, Bondy, and Daviston resumed schedule with Capitol for their third album. Tinkering with more of a blues oriented worldbeat sound, Verbena issued La Musica Negra in May 2003.

Desert
Verbena Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'm in love with the size of a desert
Never seen it but I'd love to kiss a cactus
Got my hands on a piece of the good earth
Both my hands up inside of a new world
It's exactly by the pound
I do I do
I would never
This excitements got me down

I do I do

Desert grows to the size of a fever
Desert smiles at the feet of a new boy
Desert gets everything it ever wanted
I'm in hate with the size of a desert
This excitements got me down
I do I do
I would never do it
This excitements got me down
I do I do

I'm in love with the size of a desert
Never seen it but I'd love to kiss a cactus
Got my hands on a piece of the good earth
Both my hands up inside of a new world
This excitements got me down
I do I do
I would never do it
It's exactly by the pound
I do I do
I would never leave
This excitements got me down
I do I do
I would never leave

It's exactly by the pound
I do I do

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Verbena's song "Desert" are enigmatic and open to interpretation. But at the heart of the song is the singer's obsession with the size of the desert. The lyrics are filled with contradictions and paradoxes that create a sense of confusion, frustration, and tension. On the one hand, the singer is "in love with the size of a desert" and wants to experience it by "kissing a cactus" and "getting their hands on a piece of the good earth." But on the other hand, this excitement is getting them down and they would never do it. They are in hate with the size of the desert, yet they would never leave. The desert represents both beauty and danger, attraction and repulsion, desire and fear.

The desert imagery in the song can be read as a metaphor for the human psyche, specifically the unconscious mind. The desert is vast, barren, and mysterious, and it represents the unknown depths of our inner world. The singer's desire to explore the desert and their fear of it can be seen as a reflection of their conflicting emotions and desires. The repetition of the phrase "I do I do" creates a sense of urgency and intensity, as if the singer is trying to convince themselves of something they don't fully believe.

Overall, "Desert" is a complex and intriguing song that invites multiple interpretations. It's a testament to the power of poetic language to evoke emotions and ideas that transcend literal meaning.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm in love with the size of a desert
I am enamored with the vastness of the desert

Never seen it but I'd love to kiss a cactus
Although I have not experienced it, I am drawn to the desert and am willing to embrace its challenges and difficulties

Got my hands on a piece of the good earth
I have gained access to fertile land in this new and exciting world

Both my hands up inside of a new world
I am fully immersed in this new world, eager to explore all it has to offer

It's exactly by the pound I do I do
This new world and my experiences in it are precisely what I hoped for and expected

I would never This excitements got me down I do I do
Despite feeling overwhelmed by the excitement and newness of this world, I would never abandon it

Desert grows to the size of a fever
My obsession with the desert and its vastness intensifies to the point of a raging fever

Desert smiles at the feet of a new boy
The desert welcomes and seduces those who are new to it and willing to embrace its challenges

Desert gets everything it ever wanted
The desert achieves all it desires, including my unyielding devotion and fascination

I'm in hate with the size of a desert
My love for the desert grows to the point that I now despise its vastness, as it fuels my obsession and desire for more

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Auguste Arthur Bondy IV

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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