Matt and Keith together played all the instruments appearing on that album, with its name taken from 'The Hobbit' by J.R.R. Tolkien, though they both mostly played acoustic guitar. Both also contributed to writing all the songs and both sang for 'There and Back Again'. The duo toured for several years after this, mostly appearing with similar bands such as Jackopierce. By 1995, they were ready to record again. The resulting album, titled 'Running on Ice', again had Matt and Keith playing acoustic guitar and singing, but it also featured the addition of other guest musicians to play other instruments. Guests included members of Jackopierce band as well as Carter Beauford (of the Dave Matthews Band) on drums.
More touring followed, and soon Matt and Keith were joined by Ed Toth on drums. In 1997, a live album, Live Stages, was released. This featured Matt, Keith, and Ed, as well as Ryan Fisher on bass. Live Stages signaled a departure from the original acoustic guitar-based music, and featured heavy emphasis on electric guitar. Also, by this time, the band was explicit in their intent to find a major record label; band members have said that it was no accident that the first track of Live Stages opens with the sounds of a large cheering audience. Their wishes came true, and the band was signed to RCA Records.
Ryan had never intended to join the band permanently, so the three other members held auditions for a permanent bass player. Their first audition was Sean Hurley, and everyone liked him immediately. There were many more auditions, but they eventually came back to Sean, and he officially joined Vertical Horizon.
The band's major label debut, "Everything You Want", was released in 1999. The title track, released as the second single from the album, skyrocketed up the charts and ended up as one of the most played tracks on radio in 2000. One of the stand out tracks "You're A God" got on several compilation CD's and featured in the Box Office smash Bruce Almighty
The follow up to "Everything You Want", titled "Go", was delayed several times until finally being released in 2003. "I'm Still Here", the first single from Go, was released with little fanfare and faded quickly. VH ended their relationship with RCA in 2004 and re-signed with Hybrid Recordings. "Go" was re-released with an additional track in 2005. A second single, "Forever", was released prior to the re-release and received moderate airplay but did not match the earlier success of Everything You Want.
In 2005, drummer Ed Toth got what he considered the dream gig of a lifetime when he was invited to join the Doobie Brothers following the death of drummer Keith Knudsen. While Toth had hoped to juggle both bands, he quickly realized it would not be possible and announced his departure from Vertical Horizon in July 2005.
In 2007, realizing as Matt says, “there was more to do” and “thinking the timing was just right to start working on a new album,” the band began writing and recording, Burning The Days. The album is slated for release on September 22, 2009 with the first single, “Save Me From Myself” recently sent to radio. The single has been extremely well-received and is currently climbing the Hot AC charts with strong airplay in McAllen, Modesto, Monterey-Salinas, El Paso, and New Orleans.
Independent of label constraints, Burning The Days was produced by Scannell and recorded at his studio over the course of the past 2 years. For the band, it was a complete return to their beginnings of working at their own pace and “nurturing those moments of inspiration.” According to Matt, the album is “sonically as good as anything we have ever done. I take great pride in this album and feel that our renewed sense of creativity will resonate with our fans.” The album also features virtuoso drummer Neil Peart of Rush on “Save Me From Myself,” “Even Now” and “Welcome To The Bottom” as well as Richard Marx playing piano on “Here” and producing two of Matt’s lead vocal tracks.
“I’m actually in a pretty positive place right now,” says Scannell. “Of course I still have that underlying fear of everything falling apart and crumbling to the floor, but it is not the first thing on my mind, like it’s been at times in the past.” And so one of the main themes of Burning The Days is about finding balance in a journey from hardship to peacefulness – knowing that the up must follow the down, and vice versa. “It’s about being okay with things going well, and also finding strength to get through the tough times.”
The first single, “Save Me From Myself,” is about “the danger of getting so lost in your own struggles and personal demons that you can’t help the people you love, and you won’t let the people you love help you. You’re too far away in your own head to do anything but spin off in self-criticism and doubt. There’s a lot of anger and frustration in that song.” Conversely, “The Lucky One” is one of the album’s most upbeat tracks, a fact that took the song’s author a bit of time to get used to. “I’m usually wary of songs that have really upbeat messages, but this song resonated for me because I tend to be the last one to believe when things are really going well. Songs where everything is perfect and everyone’s in love make me suspicious, but this song has enough of a gray area to feel real for me.”
Other highlights on the album are “Afterglow,” “All Is Said And Done” and “The Middle Ground.”
To support the album’s September 22nd release, the band plans on doing targeted performance dates throughout the summer with a nationwide tour in the fall.
Offical web site: http://www.verticalhorizon.com
The Man Who Would Be Santa
Vertical Horizon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the hour of daylight's yet to come, but he hopes they don't wake too soon
All the presents wrapped in paper and tied with a bow
The children sleep upstairs and Santa works below
And he can hear the children dreaming
Oh, la la la, la la la
Ah, la la la, la la la
[Chorus]
And he says
All I want is for you to have
A life you love and live
Take from me all I have to give
Because you are in my heart
And the man who would be Santa tells his son to write
And to call him if he needs him in the middle of the night
Don't you worry don't you cry now you'll do just fine
Your mother and I love you
We think about you all the time
And he can see the train is leaving
Oh, la la la, la la la
Ah, la la la, la la la
[Chorus]
Now the old man sits and tells of days when time stood still
The hours always seem to fade but the memory never will
And all the love that you gave me
And all the dreams in the night
And I just want to thank you while the day's still light
But I can see the sun is setting
Oh, la la la, la la la
[Chorus: x2]
You are in my heart
The Man Who Would Be Santa by Vertical Horizon is a poignant and emotional song that captures the spirit of Christmas and the love that parents have for their children. The verses describe a man who is playing the role of Santa Claus, sneaking into his children's room to leave presents while they sleep upstairs. The song evokes a sense of innocence and magic that is associated with Christmas time, as the man listens to the children dreaming and hopes they won't wake up too soon.
The chorus of the song is a heartwarming message to his children, expressing the depth of his love for them and his desire for them to have a fulfilling life. He tells them that he is willing to give them all he has, because they are in his heart. The second verse of the song reveals that the man has a son who he encourages to call him in the middle of the night if he ever needs him. He assures his son that he and his mother love him and think about him all the time.
Overall, The Man Who Would Be Santa is a beautiful song that captures the essence of Christmas and the love that parents have for their children. The lyrics are simple yet poignant, and the melody is gentle and haunting, making it a perfect song for the holiday season.
Line by Line Meaning
And the man who would be Santa slips into the room
A man who aspires to fulfill the role of Santa Claus enters the room quietly.
And the hour of daylight's yet to come, but he hopes they don't wake too soon
It's still early in the morning, and the man hopes that the children don't wake up yet.
All the presents wrapped in paper and tied with a bow
The gifts are wrapped and decorated nicely.
The children sleep upstairs and Santa works below
The kids are sleeping upstairs, while the man works downstairs.
And he can hear the children dreaming
He can hear the kids having sweet dreams.
And he says
The man speaks up saying
All I want is for you to have
He wants the children to have
A life you love and live
To live a life filled with happiness and love
Take from me all I have to give
He's giving his all to this cause
Because you are in my heart
The children hold a special place in his heart
And the man who would be Santa tells his son to write
The man instructs his son to write something down
And to call him if he needs him in the middle of the night
His son should not hesitate to call him in the middle of the night, if needed.
Don't you worry don't you cry now you'll do just fine
He reassures his son that there's nothing to worry about and he'll do well.
Your mother and I love you
Both his father and mother love him.
We think about you all the time
They think about him constantly.
And he can see the train is leaving
He notices the train leaving.
Now the old man sits and tells of days when time stood still
The old man reminisces about the days when the world seemed to stop for a while.
The hours always seem to fade but the memory never will
Although time passes, the memories remain vivid.
And all the love that you gave me
He remembers all the love and care he received.
And all the dreams in the night
Recalling dreams he had during the night
And I just want to thank you while the day's still light
He expresses his gratitude while it's still daytime.
But I can see the sun is setting
He notices the sunset.
You are in my heart
The person is dearly loved and will always hold a special place in his heart.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MATT SCANNELL, MATTHEW B. SCANNELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind