The band's 2003 album Up All Night reached the top five of the Australian Albums Chart, achieving double platinum status and winning four ARIA Awards in October. Two further top five albums were issued, Sun Dirt Water in 2007 and Temptation in 2011. The Waifs have three top fifty singles, "London Still" (2002), "Bridal Train" (2004) and "Sun Dirt Water". The band supported Bob Dylan on his 2003 Australian tour and then his 2003 North American tour, including a gig at the Newport Folk Festival.
The Waifs founded the independent label Jarrah Records in July 2002, co-owned with fellow musician John Butler, and their common manager Phil Stevens, which handles their Australian releases.
The Waifs formed in August 1992 in Albany, Western Australia as a folk rock band. The Simpson sisters, Donna and Vikki (now Vikki Thorn), had formed a duo, Colours, in Albany to perform cover versions of Bob Dylan and Everly Brothers at local pubs. Their father, Jimmy Simpson, was a seasonal salmon fisherman at Cosy Corner beach and had bought Donna her first guitar when she was 15. In February 1992, 20-year-old Donna and her 16-year-old sister, Vikki headed off in a Kombi van to tour the state as Colours. Josh Cunningham, a Moruya farmer's son, had started playing guitar in 1987, he was touring Australia playing bass guitar for a band.] The Simpsons met 18-year-old Cunningham while Colours were playing twelve-bar blues in Broome. After a ten-minute jam session, Donna invited Cunningham to join Colours, Cunningham later recalled, "there was a connection that Donna felt that I felt as well ... it's always felt very much like a family to me and I felt instantly welcomed into that right from the very start". Upon return to Albany, Colours changed its name to The Waifs (initially styled as The WAiFS) with Cunningham on guitars, ukulele, mandolin, dobro and vocals, Donna on vocals, guitar and tambourine, and Vikki on vocals, harmonica and guitar. The Waifs used the Kombi van from 1992 to 1996 to travel to gigs across Australia.
Discography
The Waifs (1996)
Shelter Me (1998)
Sink or Swim (2000)
Up All Night (2003)
Sun Dirt Water (2007)
Live From The Union Of Soul (2009)
Temptation (2011)
Nothing New
Waifs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'll look real pretty
For I don't know who
I'll find my own way
Around this great big city
And I'll sit at a bar
And I'm gonna have a drink
In your youthful yearnings
I know you like to visit them
From time to time
Like a thief I steal
The words you write to her
I take them to my heart
And I wish them to be mine
But this is nothin'
But it ain't nothin'
Oh this is nothin' new
But it ain't nothin'
You long for sweetness
Does mine make you sickly
Or maybe I no longer have
The sweetness you require
There's nothing sweet
About a heart so embittered
It's ugly and it's cold
And tonight it's out for hire
This is nothin' new
But it ain't nothin' here
We live through this
Day after day
Complacency's a curse
But you just can't escape it
I've arrived at a place
Where my tolerance gave way
And I struggle to hold
My head up high
The Waifs' song "Nothing New" speaks to the feeling of being stuck in a stagnant routine and trying to break free from it. The song begins with the singer deciding to dress up and go out on her own, exploring her city and taking herself to a bar. She reflects on her relationship with someone who seems to be stuck in the past, visiting romantic memories that are no longer relevant to their current lives. The singer admits that she sometimes reads the words this person writes to someone else and wishes they were meant for her. However, she acknowledges that this is "nothing new," and that she and her partner have been living in a state of complacency that can often feel suffocating.
The singer also confronts the bitterness in her heart and how it affects her ability to find happiness. She wonders if her partner is put off by her own sweetness, or if she's simply lost it altogether. But the real issue is that she feels trapped, unable to escape the monotony and dissatisfaction that comes with their current situation. The song ends with her struggling to hold her head up high and find a way forward.
Overall, "Nothing New" is a powerful song about the difficulty of breaking free from complacency and finding hope in a new direction. The lyrics are poetic and emotive, and the Waifs' folk-inspired sound lends a raw, introspective quality to the track.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm going to dress up tonight
I will put on my best clothes today
I'll look real pretty
I will enhance my beauty by grooming myself
For I don't know who
Even though I have no company for this, I am still doing it
I'll find my own way
I will navigate through this alone
Around this great big city
I will move in this grand place on my own
And I'll sit at a bar
I will go to a pub or restaurant to relax
And I'm gonna have a drink
I will drink an alcoholic beverage to ease my tension
I'll leave you to revel
I will allow you to enjoy yourself
In your youthful yearnings
In the longings of your early life
I know you like to visit them
I know you like to think about them sometimes
From time to time
Occasionally
Like a thief I steal
I secretly take something that does not belong to me
The words you write to her
The messages you compose for her
I take them to my heart
I embrace them emotionally
And I wish them to be mine
I desire them to be mine
But this is nothin'
However, this does not mean anything
But it ain't nothin'
Although it seems insignificant, it is not
Oh this is nothin' new
This is something that has happened before
But it ain't nothin'
However, it still has significance
You long for sweetness
You desire tenderness and kindness
Does mine make you sickly
Is my expression of compassion unpalatable to you?
Or maybe I no longer have
Perhaps I lack
The sweetness you require
The type of tenderness you expect
There's nothing sweet
There is no tenderness
About a heart so embittered
A heart that is filled with bitterness does not have tenderness
It's ugly and it's cold
It is unattractive and heartless
And tonight it's out for hire
This time it will be used for someone else's benefit
This is nothin' new
This is something that has happened before
But it ain't nothin' here
But it still has some value
We live through this
We have learned to cope with these situations
Day after day
Every day
Complacency's a curse
Being overly comfortable is a negative thing
But you just can't escape it
It is difficult to get out of this situation
I've arrived at a place
I am at a point where
Where my tolerance gave way
I can no longer stand what I used to tolerate
And I struggle to hold
And I find it difficult to maintain
My head up high
My confidence and self-respect
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: JOHN SHANKS, KARA DIOGUARDI, ASHLEE SIMPSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind