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.
To Be Counted Among Men
Villagers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And he asks from her a favor
He wants to know if she will tell him
If he's for Hell or he's for Heaven
If he's for Hell he'll show no sorrow
Until he's born again tomorrow
If he's for Heaven there's no reason
She says, Don't be a fool, son
There aren't any rules, son
And as she spoke
He lost his faith
He asked her name, she told him Laurie
Proceeded to give him her life story
She was a teacher and a scholar
They built a statue in her honor
Then she became a slave in ancient Athens
She doesn't know quite how it happened
Now she paints faces in the city
Making all those ugly girls look pretty
She says, Look at this town, son
Take a good luck around, son
Why should anyone here be saved?
So he says, Every crooked lane that you can see
Every open home, every hollow tree
Is a home for creatures loved by me
And oh to be counted among them
Among them
Oh to be counted among them
Among them
Oh to be counted among them
The lyrics of Villagers' song To Be Counted Among Men tells the story of Young Paul, who wants to know if he's going to Heaven or Hell in the future. He seeks the help of a woman named Laurie, who tells him that there are no rules to determine his fate. Young Paul loses his faith upon hearing this, but he still asks Laurie about her life story. She tells him that she was a teacher and a scholar who was honored with a statue, but she later became a slave in ancient Athens. Now, Laurie paints faces in the city and questions why anyone should be saved in such a town.
The song highlights the theme of fate and how one's actions can change it. Young Paul is worried about his fate, and he seeks validation from Laurie. However, Laurie's response is not what he expects, and he loses his faith. This also shows how even the most seemingly wise and experienced people can have different viewpoints and ways of thinking, which can affect others' faith and beliefs. The song also emphasizes the importance of accepting and loving all creatures and beings, regardless of their appearance or status.
Line by Line Meaning
Young Paul decides upon a future
The young man named Paul is thinking about his future.
And he asks from her a favor
He asks a certain person for a favor.
He wants to know if she will tell him
Paul wants to know something specific from this person.
If he's for Hell or he's for Heaven
Paul wants to know whether he's going to end up in Heaven or Hell after he dies.
If he's for Hell he'll show no sorrow
If he's going to Hell, Paul won't be sad about it.
Until he's born again tomorrow
He will feel better about it once he's born again.
If he's for Heaven there's no reason
If he's going to Heaven, there's no cause for sadness.
To lament the passing season
There's no reason to be upset about the passage of time.
She says, Don't be a fool, son
The person Paul asked for help warns him not to be foolish.
There aren't any rules, son
She tells Paul there are no definitive rules about who goes to Heaven or Hell.
And as she spoke
While she was speaking,
He lost his faith
Paul began to lose his confidence.
He asked her name, she told him Laurie
Paul asked the person's name, which is Laurie.
Proceeded to give him her life story
Laurie then told Paul about her life.
She was a teacher and a scholar
Laurie was both an educator and a scholar.
They built a statue in her honor
Laurie was so respected that they built a monument to her.
Then she became a slave in ancient Athens
At some point, Laurie was enslaved in Ancient Athens.
She doesn't know quite how it happened
Laurie doesn't fully understand how she became a slave.
Now she paints faces in the city
Nowadays, Laurie paints the faces of people in the city.
Making all those ugly girls look pretty
She helps make the less attractive ladies look beautiful.
She says, Look at this town, son
Laurie tells Paul to look around the town they are in.
Take a good luck around, son
She wants him to really observe everything.
Why should anyone here be saved?
Laurie suggests that it's worth questioning whether anyone in the town should be saved.
So he says, Every crooked lane that you can see
Paul then responds to Laurie by talking about the whole town.
Every open home, every hollow tree
He's referring to every place in the town.
Is a home for creatures loved by me
To Paul, all creatures are worthy of love regardless of their circumstance.
And oh to be counted among them
Paul wishes to be counted among those creatures.
Among them
Paul repeats his desire to be among those creatures.
Oh to be counted among them
Once more, he wishes to be counted among the creatures he mentioned.
Among them
Paul repeats this phrase again.
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dominorecordco
Villagers’ new album ‘The Art of Pretending to Swim’ is out now on Domino Record Co. Listen & buy here: http://smarturl.it/TheArtOfPretending
More from Villagers on YouTube: http://smarturl.it/BestOfVillagers
@Tripthon
Listening this song every month 1 time 8 years. Thank you.
@walkr7998
I’m with you
@tullsongs
this guy is a major talent
@walkr7998
one of the best songs ever written
@DeclanStylofone
I just finished listening to Side 3 of "Becoming a Jackal", and came looking for videos to share and this is so much greater than I expected!
@KristinaThePeter
oh my god! it's great! thank you!
@josephinecouzin6548
So...perfect