The band's core members - Andy Poliakoff, lead vocals, guitar; Paul Ottinger, keyboards, percussion, guitar, vocals and Jarrett Nicolay, bass, guitar, banjo, vocals – have always delighted fans with their ability to confound expectations. On previous albums, their songs often featured arrangements that veered off in unanticipated directions moving from funk to rock, from go go to soul. “It'‟s good being eclectic,” says Poliakoff, the band's main lyricist and frequent spokesperson. “It keeps you on your toes musically, and it's fun, but we wanted to get back to some serious songwriting. In the past few years, we were writing for the live shows, endless groove things that are far from what we wrote when we were starting out. We wanted to get back to that original creative impulse and focus on our songwriting.”
The band ventured cross country to California and got to work, challenging themselves to find a more emotionally intense means of expression. “There's a value to the time you put into a project,” Poliakoff explains. “We didn‟t allow ourselves to be satisfied with the first, or even third version of a song. We're getting older, and we wanted more than bombast. We wanted to look outside ourselves and find something more reflective, more truthful, more universal, to open a new chapter in the band‟s songwriting history.” For the first time, they collaborated with other songwriters, including Brooklyn folk-rocker Ari Hest, New Orleans-based bluesman Anders Osborne, Maia Sharp who wrote “A Home” for the Dixie Chicks, and the album‟s Producer, Marshall Altman (Marc Broussard, Matt Nathanson).
“Marshall is a phenomenal musician,” Poliakoff says. “His ability to tweak the arrangements and get us deeper into the music and our emotions was outstanding. He was there the whole time, pushing us to do better.” Ottinger adds his praise: “He‟s a strong songwriter and arranger. Every time you'd pick up a guitar and sing, he'd get down to every hook, every chord, every lyric. "Is that a strong emotion?" "Is that what you really want to say?" He helped us blend all our influences into a voice that‟s new, but still reflects our past.”
The songs on Home This Year showcase the band‟s remarkable growth as both musicians and songwriters. The title track is a tale of the loneliness and yearning that haunts the road. “Being on the road away from your family and friends for a long period can be tangibly painful," sites Poliakoff, "'Home This Year' embodies that sentiment and how singing about it can help make you feel closer to home." “Sing Along,” written with Altman, is an uplifting, anthemic song, on which Poliakoff delivers one of his most soulful vocals, both tender and passionate. It is also the first tune they've ever cut with a string section. “It was written with a conscious desire to connect with the audience,” Poliakoff explains. “We play music, but we're not different from our audience. We don‟t want people to idolize us, we want to get people to have a sense of togetherness.”
Long-time Virginia Coalition fans may be surprised by the group's evolution from "spontaneous anything goes" band to introspective, soul-searching songwriters, but it's a change the band welcomes. “We've known each other for 15 years now, and while the music is still getting better, we don't want to keep writing the same song over and over,” Poliakoff states firmly. “I'm proud to be part of a group of three friends who have gone from the basement and garage to maturity and making music that speaks from the heart. It's a struggle to make a great album, but we welcomed the opportunity to reinvent ourselves while staying true to the core of what we do.”
Virginia Coalition started building a buzz in their hometown of Alexandria, Virginia in the late '90s, releasing their first album, The Colors of the Sound, in 1998. But the three principals are life long friends who have known each other since high school, and in the case of Ottinger and Nicolay, since junior high. Ottinger wanted to be in a band since he was five years old, when his mother let him paint his face like Paul Stanley of Kiss and play air guitar with a tennis racket. Poliakoff had a guitar-playing cousin, who inspired him in the 4th grade. When he was 14, his mother was struck with cancer and eventually died; music and singing provided him with an emotional release. Nicolay's father played classical guitar. Although he was intimidated, he‟d sneak away from the family and pick out melodies on his own.
Their 2008 album "Home This Year" was critically well received, including a four-and-a-half star rating from AllMusic. They have not released new music since 2008, but as of 2018 are still actively touring, especially in the Washington DC area.
Last Goodbye
Virginia Coalition Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You can feel
You know it's never gonna be the same
Paralyzed
By the size
Of all the things we did not intend
Say goodbye
It's alright
Measured words
Takin' turns
With all your silent answers
When you think things over
Are you leaving her to cry
Born in New Jersey you're ridin' through
New Hampshire
Could this be our last goodbye
Strangers searchin' for '80s on the stereo
Kiss her and go you were born to ride
She arrived
In the night
You are more beautiful than country side
Paralyzed
By your eyes
I want to be what you did not intend
Make me laugh
You're bad ass
If you're arrested you can give me a call
All the times
Coincide
Like all the feelings in a tear with a smile
When you think things over
Are you leaving her to cry
Born in New Jersey you're ridin' through
New Hampshire
Could this be our last goodbye
Strangers searchin' for '80s on the stereo
Kiss her and go you were born to ride
She devised
In the night
A magnificent plan deep inside
Something real
And so right
It'll take all of our friends to survive
In the end
Will it mend
And will I be with her for years of my life
Think too much
And it's gone
While the smell of her hair lingers on
Say goodbye
Make it right
Spread her out lookin' deep in her eyes
What went on
In these days
Paint in words as wind to remind us
When you think things over
Are you leaving her to cry
Born in New Jersey you're ridin' through
New Hampshire
Could this be our last goodbye
Strangers searchin' for '80s on the stereo
Kiss her and go you were born to ride
Born to ride
Strangers searchin' for '80s on the stereo
n' I fuckin' love her and they were born to ride
The song "Last Goodbye" by Virginia Coalition is about the end of a relationship and the uncertainty that comes with it, as well as the memories that will last. The opening lines suggest that there has been a significant shift or change within the relationship, which has caused a sense of stagnation or paralysis. The singer says goodbye to their partner, knowing that things will never be the same again, but they are unsure if they will ever see them again. The song then goes on to describe moments from the past, describing how the couple have arrived at this point.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of nostalgia and longing for what once was, as well as confusion and doubt about the future. There is a repeated reference to being born to ride, which could suggest that the singer feels destined to move on and continue their journey alone. The closing lines of the song suggest that the memories will linger, but ultimately the relationship may not survive. The lyrics are paired with a driving guitar riff and a catchy chorus that emphasizes the uncertainty and emotion of the situation.
Line by Line Meaning
Things've changed
The situation has evolved into something different from what it used to be
You can feel
The changes are palpable and can be sensed
You know it's never gonna be the same
It is clear that things will never revert to how they were before
Paralyzed
Feeling unable to act or move forward
By the size
Due to the magnitude or scope
Of all the things we did not intend
About all the unintended consequences and outcomes of our actions
Say goodbye
Bid farewell
It's alright
It is acceptable or permissible
But am I ever gonna see you again
Wondering whether there will be another chance to meet
Measured words
Choosing one's words carefully with precision and calculation
Takin' turns
Alternate responding and reacting
With all your silent answers
Despite the lack of verbal replies
When you think things over
Reflecting and contemplating
Are you leaving her to cry
Will you abandon her and make her weep?
Born in New Jersey you're ridin' through
Traveling through New Hampshire, having been born in New Jersey
New Hampshire
A state in the New England region of the northeastern United States
Could this be our last goodbye
Perhaps this is the final goodbye
Strangers searchin' for '80s on the stereo
Unfamiliar people looking for 80s music on the car radio
Kiss her and go you were born to ride
Embrace her and depart, for you were made to travel
She arrived
She came
In the night
During the evening or overnight
You are more beautiful than country side
You are stunning, surpassing the natural scenery
Paralyzed
Feeling frozen or incapacitated
By your eyes
Overwhelmed or transfixed by the way you look
I want to be what you did not intend
I aspire to be something that was unintended by you
Make me laugh
Amuse me
You're bad ass
You're tough and impressive
If you're arrested you can give me a call
Contact me if you need help after being apprehended
All the times
On all occasions
Coincide
Occur simultaneously or correspond
Like all the feelings in a tear with a smile
Resembling how joy and sadness can coexist within a tear drop and a smile
Born in New Jersey you're ridin' through
Traveling through New Hampshire, having been born in New Jersey
Strangers searchin' for '80s on the stereo
Unfamiliar people looking for 80s music on the car radio
Kiss her and go you were born to ride
Embrace her and depart, for you were made to travel
She devised
She came up with or created
In the night
During the evening or overnight
A magnificent plan deep inside
An impressive strategy that's deeply rooted within her
Something real
Something genuine or authentic
And so right
Perfectly fitting or appropriate
It'll take all of our friends to survive
We'll need the support of all our pals to make it through
In the end
Ultimately or eventually
Will it mend
Will it fix or heal
And will I be with her for years of my life
And will I spend many years of my life with her by my side
Think too much
Overanalyze or ruminate excessively
And it's gone
And the opportunity or moment is lost or vanished
While the smell of her hair lingers on
Despite the moment's passing, the memory of her hair's fragrance remains
Say goodbye
Bid farewell
Make it right
Conclude things appropriately and satisfactorily
Spread her out lookin' deep in her eyes
Gaze intently into her eyes while embracing her
What went on
What took place or occurred
In these days
During this period of time
Paint in words as wind to remind us
Recount verbally in a manner as fleeting and ephemeral as the wind to jog our memories
Born in New Jersey you're ridin' through
Traveling through New Hampshire, having been born in New Jersey
Strangers searchin' for '80s on the stereo
Unfamiliar people looking for 80s music on the car radio
Kiss her and go you were born to ride
Embrace her and depart, for you were made to travel
Born to ride
Having an innate desire or ability to travel
Strangers searchin' for '80s on the stereo
Unfamiliar people looking for 80s music on the car radio
n' I fuckin' love her and they were born to ride
And I truly adore her, and they were also meant to travel and wander
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Jeffery Buckley
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind