Wasner and Stack have been playing music together and apart in Baltimore, MD, and chose their name from the honorary state tree of Maryland. If Children is the culmination of many months of recording, polishing and perfecting to achieve what Any Given Tuesday best described as, “. .. . mingling in a room full of shoegaze, alt-country, folk, and noise, shaking hands, kissing cheeks, and making friends with everyone.” If Children is an exuberant debut – noisy and restrained in turn, Wye Oak describe their philosophy: "We'd like to think that if a song is good enough, it'll stand on its own regardless of how much noise you pile on top. On the other hand, we do like noise." Listen, and we think you will have to agree!
The droll tone and fleeting sweetness of a Yo La Tengo are cut into the more deeply textural concerns of shoegaze in the Baltimore group's work. It's an interesting alignment, given the contrast in senses of humor. But Wye Oak successfully shed tonnage from the latter without losing potency.
Hot as Day
Wye Oak Lyrics
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Stare into its light
Do not close your eyes
Let it burn into your mind
Then look left, look right
Let it make you blind
Birth, to eternal night
That someone decides each day
When the days run long and late
Darkness brings me pause
While I lie awake
Sleeping's never long enough
Lying in this heat
I forget to breathe
Oh, isn't that the way
Sun hides himself away
Still, it's hot as day
The opening lines of the song "Hot as Day" by Wye Oak sound like a warning. The singer advises that when the sun is at its brightest, one should not close their eyes, but instead stare into its light. This instruction is soon followed up by an even more unexpected line, "Let it make you blind." Thus, the singer seems to be urging listeners to confront something that is both overwhelming and potentially harmful. Nonetheless, they seem to insist that the experience of being blinded by the sun is worthwhile; the line "Let it burn into your mind" implies that this kind of blinding encounter with the natural world can have a powerful transformative effect.
The second verse of the song shifts to a more introspective tone. The singer notes that when the days are hot and long, they find themselves lying in bed unable to sleep. Darkness, which is often associated with rest, doesn't bring them the sense of pause that it normally would. Instead, they find themselves consumed with an awareness of the heat, and begin to forget to breathe. In this context, the fact that "it's hot as day" takes on an ominous connotation; even when night has fallen, the temperature refuses to abate. All of these images add up to suggest a kind of psychological and environmental pressure that is difficult to withstand.
Line by Line Meaning
When the sun is its most bright
During the time of day when the sun is shining the most intensely
Stare into its light
Keep your eyes focused on the sun's bright light
Do not close your eyes
Avoid shutting your eyelids to experience the sun's brilliance fully
Let it burn into your mind
Allow the sun's light to make a lasting impression on your psyche
Then look left, look right
After absorbing the sun's radiance, observe your surroundings to feel its aftereffects
Let it make you blind
Allow the sun's brightness to cloud your vision
Oh, isn't that a fright
Isn't it alarming how little control we have over such a fundamental aspect of our lives?
Birth, to eternal night
Our existence begins with our first breath and ends with our last, and then we move into an eternal afterlife
That someone decides each day
Every day, someone creates the rules and laws that govern our society and our lives
When the days run long and late
When the sunlight lasts longer and extends into the late hours of the day
Darkness brings me pause
The absence of sunlight serves as a momentary interruption in my daily routine
While I lie awake
During those moments of darkness, I'm forced to pause and reflect before I drift off to sleep
Sleeping's never long enough
Regardless of how much I sleep, it never seems to be enough for me
Lying in this heat
Even when I lie down, I'm still surrounded by the warmth of the day
I forget to breathe
The intensity of the heat and my exhaustion from the day makes it difficult for me to focus on my breathing
Oh, isn't that the way
Isn't it ironic how the sun can be the source of such beauty and warmth but also cause such discomfort and exhaustion?
Sun hides himself away
As night approaches, the sun disappears below the horizon, signaling the end of the day
Still, it's hot as day
Even after the sun has set and night has arrived, the heat from the day still lingers and makes it feel like it's still daytime
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JENNIFER LYNN WASNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind