Villagers are an Irish band from Dublin fronted by Conor J. O'Brien.
The… Read Full Bio ↴Villagers are an Irish band from Dublin fronted by Conor J. O'Brien.
They have performed at several music festivals and toured with Tracy Chapman, Bell X1 and Tindersticks. They have one EP, titled Hollow Kind (2009). Their debut album Becoming a Jackal was released in 2010 and was shortlisted for that year's Mercury Prize and their second album {Awayland} was released in 2013.

Conor O'Brien formed Villagers after the break-up of his previous band The Immediate. The very next day, O'Brien wrote the first song after waking up with a hangover. O'Brien's time as a guitarist in Cathy Davey's band was also critical to the development of his style as he had never before performed alongside anyone outside of The Immediate. Villagers gave their first live performance as a support act with The Chapters at a show in Whelan's in November 2008. At that point the band had previously only rehearsed together on two occasions. They had only seven songs, written by O'Brien and passed on to the rest of the band to learn.

Villagers performed on the seventh series of RTÉ Two's Other Voices television programme in 2009. The band's debut EP, titled Hollow Kind, was released in February 2009. It contained four tracks, all of which were written by O'Brien and performed by him too. The EP brought comparisons with Bright Eyes and Sparklehorse. Villagers then went on tour. They were a support act for Neil Young and toured across Europe with Tracy Chapman.

Villagers appeared at several festivals in 2009. They supported Bell X1 when they performed at Live at the Marquee in Cork on June 26, 2009. They performed at several music festivals in Ireland, including on the Sunday of Oxegen 2009, at Indie-pendence on August 2 and at Electric Picnic 2009, as well as at Latitude Festival in the UK. The Irish Times's Jim Carroll recommended their performance in the Body Soul Arena at Electric Picnic 2009 as "A must-see for those who dig ragged pop, eerie folk and heartfelt, emotional songs and sounds". They headlined Hard Working Class Heroes in 2009, with O'Brien attracting the ire of the audience when he requested some quiet during the performance. They gave a live performance at The Music Show in Dublin's RDS in October 2009.

The debut single of Villagers was "On a Sunlit Stage" and was released in October 2009.
On January 15, 2010, Villagers represented Ireland at the Eurosonic Festival in Groningen, the Netherlands. They were involved in efforts to raise funds in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. They embarked on a tour with Tindersticks in March 2010 and released the single "Becoming a Jackal" on April 17, 2010. A debut album Becoming a Jackal was released in Ireland on 14 May 2010, with a UK release in May and a US release due on 8 June 2010. The album immediately went to number one on both the Irish Albums Chart and the Irish Indie Albums Chart. It proceeded to continuously top the indie chart.

Said by Conor J. O’Brien himself:
- “Ultimately, I’ve learned that a song is not an isolated thing. You have to wash the dishes before you write a song. It should never be taken too seriously. It must be treated with joy and humour, regardless of the subject matter,” muses Conor, as he strokes his hairless chin.
- “The aim is to feel the songs out. If I don’t surprise myself, then it is a worthless endeavour. Indeed, I would apply this attitude to all aspects of this project. The songs are quite decisive, but I have no idea what I am doing, or where I am going.” Again, he strokes his chin, this time with a look of resigned confusion. “Once the songs took shape, I asked some friends of mine to help me play them to people. When they kindly agreed, I decided that we would present ourselves as ‘Villagers’ – I don’t really know why. I think I like the name because it doesn’t offend the songs.” With this, he puts his clothes back on and bids me farewell. On returning to my office, I slip on a banana peel and subsequently die.

Darling Arithmetic
Villagers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Bring down the veil
For all to see
Shake off the rain
And return to me

If ours was a dream
The phantom a sacred scheme
Then how did it end so quick

My darling arithmetic

Boxed up your clothes
Cleaned out your room
Lay in your bed
Flew to the moon

Are you hiding up here?
Did they force you to disappear?
Is it all just a dirty trick?
My darling arithmetic

And the merchants say
What they always said
And the lenders say
What they always said
But they only serve a soft reminder

That you are dead
My darling

Overall Meaning

The song "Darling Arithmetic" by Villagers is a soulful lament about loss, longing, and the inability to comprehend the mysterious nature of existence. The first lines of the song, "Bring down the veil, for all to see, shake off the rain, and return to me," can be interpreted as a request for clarity, a desire for things to be revealed in all their fullness, and a call for the return of someone who has gone away or has passed away. The singer seems to be grappling with the idea that life is but a fleeting dream, something that can disappear in the blink of an eye, and the fact that he cannot fathom why it ended so quickly.

The middle section of the song is poignant, as the singer describes putting away the belongings of someone who has gone away, wondering if they are still out there somewhere, or if they were forced to disappear. He is also questioning the sanctity of his relationship, wondering if it was all just a "dirty trick" that was played on him. The final lines of the song are a haunting commentary on the nature of death, with the realization that those who have passed on are gone forever, and that the world will continue on without them. Yet the emotional resonance of those who remain, who are left behind, persists.

Line by Line Meaning

Bring down the veil
Allow your true self to be revealed

For all to see
So that everyone can witness it

Shake off the rain
Let go of the past and move forward

And return to me
Come back to me

If ours was a dream
If our relationship was just an illusion

The phantom a sacred scheme
The idea of us together was special

Then how did it end so quick
Why did our relationship end so suddenly

My darling arithmetic
My way of understanding our relationship

Boxed up your clothes
Packed up your belongings

Cleaned out your room
Removed any trace of you

Lay in your bed
Slept in the space where you once did