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.
The Meaning of the Ritual
Villagers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I bet that yours is too
What is this peculiar word called truth
My love is selfish
Ad it cares not who it hurts
It will cut you out to satisfy its thirst
For the meaning of a ritual so habitual and cursed
My love is selfish
How it separates the earth
It takes every shiny stone but leaves the dirt
For the cowards in the corner who just don't know what they're worth
They've been twisted by a hollow kind of pain
Oh I can see it in their eyes but I ignore it every day
But my love is selfish
And remembers everything
Like the first time it was moved enough to sing
How it dangled on that stage just like a puppet on a string
The meaning of a ritual
The meaning of a ritual
The meaning of a ritual
The meaning of a ritual
The meaning of a ritual
Oh the meaning of a ritual
The song “The Meaning of the Ritual” by Villagers depicts the selfish nature of love and how it hurts not only the person receiving it but the person giving it as well. The singer compares their love to the love of their partner, and admits that both are selfish in nature. The song then delves into the concept of truth and how it’s a peculiar word. The lyrics suggest that people are always searching for the truth within their own selfish love.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the importance of a ritual and how it has a deep meaning. The ritual, in this context, may refer to a religious ceremony or a tradition that holds significance for the individual. However, the lyrics suggest that this ritual has been cursed by one’s own selfish love. The song highlights how love separates people from each other and how it can make people forget their worth. Finally, the song speaks to how one’s love is moved by the memories of the past and how it remembers everything.
Overall, the song is a reflection of the complicated and often selfish nature of love. It underscores how love can be both healing and destructive, and how it can be influenced by our past experiences and inner thoughts.
Line by Line Meaning
My love is selfish
My affection only cares about its own needs and desires
And I bet that yours is too
I assume that your love is also self-centered and focused on personal gain
What is this peculiar word called truth
I question the concept of truth and its actual existence
My love is selfish
My devotion feels no empathy for others and will cause harm without regard
And it cares not who it hurts
It will not hesitate to cause pain, regardless of who is affected
It will cut you out to satisfy its thirst
If necessary, my love will sever our relationship to fulfill its own desires
For the meaning of a ritual so habitual and cursed
It craves the significance of a tradition that is commonplace yet detrimental
My love is selfish
My emotions are self-absorbed and disregard the world around me
How it separates the earth
It creates divisions and disparities among people and communities
It takes every shiny stone but leaves the dirt
It only values material possessions and disregards anything viewed as inferior or unworthy
For the cowards in the corner who just don't know what they're worth
It exploits those who do not realize their true value and allows them to be taken advantage of
They've been twisted by a hollow kind of pain
Those who have been exploited have experienced a profound yet unfulfilling level of suffering
Oh I can see it in their eyes but I ignore it every day
Although I recognize the pain of others, I choose to look the other way and not address it
But my love is selfish
My devotion prioritizes its own needs over anything else
And remembers everything
I hold onto every memory and experience, especially those that reinforce my own desires
Like the first time it was moved enough to sing
One particular memory stands out, in which my love was so strong that it caused me to express it through song
How it dangled on that stage just like a puppet on a string
During that moment, my love felt both powerful and manipulated at the same time
The meaning of a ritual
The significance of a repeated action or event
Oh the meaning of a ritual
The importance of a tradition or practice that may have detrimental effects
The meaning of a ritual
The weight and impact of certain actions that are so habitually performed
The meaning of a ritual
The gravity and significance of actions that may be detrimental or harmful to oneself or others
The meaning of a ritual
The deeper implications and consequences of common practices and traditions
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
VillagersTV
Villagers’ new album ‘The Art of Pretending to Swim’ will be released 21st August 2018 on Domino Record Co. Pre-order here: http://smarturl.it/ArtOfPretendingMart
More from Villagers on YouTube: http://smarturl.it/BestOfVillagers
Brit Weisbecker
I saw this live over10 years ago and it was my alarm to wake up every morning :)
Zopfmuster
best voice I've heard in ages, unbelievably beautiful
Shitstain Knobknocker
Just heard this for the first time, on the end credits for a Irish crime movie called 'Broken Law' (2020)
Nice track.
Amber Henry
'My love is selfish and it remembers everything. Like the first time it was moved enough to sing' Gave me shiver, that did... And managed to put a smile right on my face. Doing both of those things to me at the same time means it's a DAMN good song :)
rainjustice38
Wow. Rare to find art like this these days. Thank you.
Patrick Loftus
This deserves more views.
Asheli
This is a wonderfully done video. Every video I watch by Conor is impressing more each time.
mattyp7318
I've just sat and watched the performance on Later with Jools Holland, and my god it was amazing. So much raw emotion and passion. Beautiful.
Christine Kamp
It is amazing, isn't it? But couldn't find the Jools Holland video anywhere anymore.