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.
pieces
Villagers Lyrics
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I've been in pieces
In the corner of a room
In an endless afternoon
For a long long time
I've been in pieces
For a long long time
I've been in pieces
I've been in pieces
There is a way down
That I wish I had not found
You just split yourself in two
One for them and one for you
One for them and one for you
For a long long time
I've been in pieces
All the words I mean to say
They never come out the right way
And there are things that I could tell you
But they'll never come out the right way
And there are sides that I could show you
But they'll never come out the right way
Never come out the right way
Never come out the right way
Never come out the right way
Cause I've been in pieces
I've been in pieces
I've been in pieces
I've been in pieces
I've been in pieces
I've been in pieces
In the song "Pieces" by Villagers, it appears that the singer has been in pieces for a long time. The beginning lines suggest that the character is in a state of disarray, as if scattered all over the place. The monotony of the afternoon seems to add to the character's sense of helplessness. The conversation in the head is about the scars or the wounds that the character has, which have turned him into a collection of disjointed pieces.
The chorus that repeats multiple times with slight variations seems to indicate that this isn't new, that the character has been "in pieces" for a very long time. The line "There is a way down that I wish I had not found" could be interpreted in several ways. Perhaps it's a reference to a path taken in the past that led to the disorientation the character feels. Alternatively, this could signify a depression or a mental health struggle that the character had faced at some point in their past.
The verses' final lines suggest the character's challenges in communicating effectively, not being able to convey what the character actually wants to say or reveal themselves. It could also be a statement on how the character has been presenting different versions of themselves to different people, rather than being their authentic self. In conclusion, the song is a powerful and emotional introspective piece about overcoming past traumas and finding one's true identity.
Line by Line Meaning
For a long long time
The feeling of being in pieces has been going on for a long time
I've been in pieces
Feeling broken and fragmented
In the corner of a room
Like a discarded object, hidden away in solitude
In an endless afternoon
Time is slow and dragging, making the feeling of being in pieces even more unbearable
There is a way down
There is a path to feeling even worse
That I wish I had not found
Regretting the discovery of the way down
You just split yourself in two
Compromising one's own identity to satisfy the needs of others
One for them and one for you
Dividing oneself to try to please both them and oneself
All the words I mean to say
Expressing regret that communication is difficult
They never come out the right way
Feeling frustrated that one is not able to fully articulate oneself
And there are things that I could tell you
Knowing there are things that need to be said
But they'll never come out the right way
Feeling defeated that the words will never be sufficient
And there are sides that I could show you
Knowing there are parts of oneself that need to be shared
But they'll never come out the right way
Feeling helpless that those parts will never be fully understood
Cause I've been in pieces
The root of the difficulty in communication is the feeling of being in pieces
I've been in pieces
Reiterating the state of feeling broken
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MICHAEL O'BRIEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind