White Denim is a bluesy, jazzy, garage-rock trio, hailing from Austin, Texa… Read Full Bio ↴White Denim is a bluesy, jazzy, garage-rock trio, hailing from Austin, Texas USA. According to vocalist/guitarist James Petralli, White Denim’s songs are the musical manifestations of abstract paintings or philosophical tracts. He explained to UK music magazine the NME: "The things that I like to read are generally abstract. I like patterns, I like reading poetry and avant-garde prose and I'm more interested in musical patterns in literature than I am in long-form narratives. I look at paintings and try to visualise an object or image, then assimilate how that makes me feel into a series of phrases and try to make it musical."
River To Cross Songfacts
http://www.whitedenimmusic.com/

In March 2005, the two bands Parque Touch (Josh Block, James Petralli, Lucas Anderson) and Peach Train (Steve Terebecki) played a show together at Beerland in Austin, Texas. After the show Steve was asked to play bass for Parque Touch and the band became four, playing under the pseudonyms Byshop Massive (Lucas), Bop English (James), Nicholas Mallard (Josh), and Terry Beckins (Steve); however, in February 2006, Lucas moved to Russia and the resulting power trio changed its name to White Denim. The new line-up began playing the local Austin circuit while recording punk-infused, psychedelic blues-rock in Block's 1940s Spartan trailer.

In 2007, the band self-released its first EP entitled Let's Talk About It on 7" only, but later these tracks became available on iTunes. While on tour in 2007, the band recorded its second album and sold copies as a nine-song "tour EP" entitled Workout Holiday, which was only sold at shows. Workout Holiday caught the ear of new record label RCRD LBL (an online record label releasing exclusive and completely free music from emerging and established artists), and the band signed on to re-record three of the songs from Workout Holiday. These songs were exclusively released as the RCRD LBL EP, one Mp3 track at a time over the course of the first few months of 2008.

Since these releases, the band has toured extensively, playing shows including SXSW and CMJ Music Marathon, and also received the award of "Best New Band" at the 2008 Austin Music Awards. In order to reach European listeners, the band signed to U.K. record label Full Time Hobby (home to The Hold Steady and Viva Voce) for an overseas release.[8] The first release on Full Time Hobby was the single "Let’s Talk About It" b/w "Darksided Computer Mouth". One June 23, 2008, the band released its debut album, the Workout Holiday LP, which consists of re-recorded songs from the band's first two self-released EPs along with some new tracks.

White Denim have also finished recording their debut U.S. full-length LP, which will be entitled Exposion. Originally sold during their Spring 2008 tour as a CDR with the title 11 Songs, the album is planned to be released by the summer of 2008. The new album will be self-released much like the Let's Talk About EP (on vinyl and digital format only), reporting that "CDs seem pretty worthless to us".

Members:

* James Petralli: Vocals, guitar
* Joshua Block: Drums
* Steve Terebecki: Vocals, bass

I'd Have It Just The Way We Were
White Denim Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Wouldn't cha know it
Wouldn't cha know
You're hardly the guessing
Hardly the guessing kind

I'm guessing you knew just how I thought of you all along
Now you're here again with me
I can't believe

If it's just something if we do

In spite of efforts to be true
Making time for ourselves and of ourselves isn't love if we are selfishly prude
I'd have it just the way we were
I'd have it just the way we were again

Wouldn't cha know it
Wouldn't cha know
You're hardly the guessing
Hardly the guessing kind

I'm guessing you knew just how I thought of you all along
Why would you want to spite
If the someone wants to smile
Making time for ourselves in and of ourselves isn't love if we are selfish

I'm guessing you

Overall Meaning

White Denim's "I'd Have It Just The Way We Were" is a contemplative song about the intricacies of relationships and how people can change over time. The opening lines "Wouldn't cha know it / Wouldn't cha know / You're hardly the guessing / Hardly the guessing kind" set the tone for the rest of the song, as the singer reflects on their partner and how they seem to have a solid understanding of who they are.

As the song continues, the singer admits that they have been thinking about their partner for a long time, and now that they are together again, they can hardly believe it. However, the singer also acknowledges that relationships can be complicated, and even though they want to maintain the past, it might not be possible. The line "In spite of efforts to be true / Making time for ourselves and of ourselves isn't love if we are selfishly prude" suggests that the singer wants to keep things the way they were, but they are unsure if that is what their partner wants as well.

Despite the uncertainties, the singer reiterates that they would have it just the way they were, showing their longing for the past and the connection they once had. The final lines, "Why would you want to spite / If the someone wants to smile / Making time for ourselves in and of ourselves isn't love if we are selfish" highlight the importance of communication and compromise in relationships.

Overall, "I'd Have It Just The Way We Were" is a reflective and emotional song that delves into the complexity of relationships and how they can evolve over time.

Line by Line Meaning

Wouldn't cha know it
It's no surprise to me

Wouldn't cha know
That you already knew my feelings

You're hardly the guessing
So why would you purposely hurt me

Hardly the guessing kind
If someone wants to be happy

I'm guessing you knew just how I thought of you all along
I'm guessing you already knew my heart

Now you're here again with me
And now that we're back together

I can't believe
I can't even believe

If it's just something if we do
If it's just a temporary thing we're doing

In spite of efforts to be true
Despite trying to be true to each other

Making time for ourselves and of ourselves isn't love if we are selfishly prude
We can't truly love if we prioritize ourselves over our relationship

I'd have it just the way we were
But I wouldn't want it any other way