Young Galaxy formed in Vancouver, Canada, as duo including Stephen Ramsay and Catherine McCandless. Through that summer of 2005 and the spring of 2006 they recorded with appearances and contributions of friends at Jace Lasek’s Breakglass Studio. Their sound has been described as similar to the bands Slowdive, Galaxie 500 and Luna as well as Pink Floyd and Spiritualized. The band has toured in Canada, The United States and Europe, opening for Arcade Fire, The Album Leaf, The Frames, Peter, Bjorn and John, Stars and Death Cab For Cutie. They later moved to Montreal, where they recorded their self-titled debut. The album was released on April 24, 2007.
They recorded their second album Invisible Republic in Montreal at Hotel2Tango studio with Radwan Moumneh engineering (A Silver Mt. Zion, Pas Chic Chic) and at Breakglass Studios with Jace Lasek of The Besnard Lakes engineering. Invisible Republic was released independently on August 25, 2009 through Fontana North. It was mixed by Tony Doogan (Mogwai, Belle & Sebastian, Snow Patrol) in Glasgow, Scotland. It was subsequently released in July 2010 in the U.S.A. by Paper Bag Records, and received a long list nomination for the 2010 Polaris Music Prize.
The band followed up in fall 2010 with YG No Art EP, an EP comprising unreleased tracks and remixes from the Invisible Republic sessions.
Their third album, Shapeshifting, was recorded in Montreal, Canada, and was produced by Dan Lissvik of the band Studio in Gothenburg, Sweden. The band communicated with Lissvik via Skype over the nine months he spent mixing the recorded vocals.
The album, released in February 2011 on Paper Bag Records, has been described as a massive change in creative direction, eschewing their former shoegaze, dream-pop style for a more electronic pop sound. Stephen Ramsay describes the change in song composition method, "instead of picking up a guitar and finding the most brilliant melody we could, we tried to erase the shape of the songs."
Discography:
Swing Your Heartache (2006, EP)
Young Galaxy (2007)
Invisible Republic (2009)
YG No Art EP (2010)
Shapeshifting (2011)
Ultramarine (2013)
Hard To Tell
Young Galaxy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A poison in a well
A body worn from fighting wars
It may be hard to tell
I was a girl of blush and vigor
And my youth I left with summer
And marry me under its trees
Our pain we leave behind us
And our fortunes come in threes
Like a husk I shed at winter's end
I step outside this shell
My skin is new and shining
It may be hard to tell
I was a sailor grooved with tattooed blue
And I've crossed the sea for you
Bring me back to your first home
And marry me under its trees
Our pain we leave behind us
And our fortunes come in threes
Bring me back to your first home
And marry me under its trees
Our pain we leave behind us
And our fortunes come in threes
The lyrics in the song "Hard to Tell" by Young Galaxy are about transformation and growth within a relationship. The opening lines reveal a sense of toughness and resilience with the singer presenting themselves as "gangster" and "poison in a well." The imagery of a "body worn from fighting wars" adds to the idea of struggle and overcoming obstacles in life. Despite this tough exterior, the singer admits that it may be hard to tell what's truly inside them.
The following verses describe the singer's past and how they've evolved as a person. The lines "I was a girl of blush and vigor / And my youth I left with summer" suggest a sense of innocence and naivety, but also a willingness to let go and move forward. The imagery of shedding a "husk" and stepping into a new skin further reiterates the idea of transformation.
The chorus repeats the lines "Bring me back to your first home / And marry me under its trees / Our pain we leave behind us / And our fortunes come in threes," emphasizing the importance of returning to the roots of the relationship and finding happiness together.
Overall, the lyrics in "Hard to Tell" convey a sense of growth and transformation within a relationship. Though it may be tough to see at first, the singer has evolved and is willing to commit to a new future with their partner.
Line by Line Meaning
For you I am gangster
I will do anything for you, even if it means being tough and intimidating
A poison in a well
I can be harmful to others, even if I am in a place of trust and familiarity
A body worn from fighting wars
I have gone through a lot of battles and struggles in my life, and it has left me tired and exhausted
It may be hard to tell
It might not be immediately evident that I am going through all of this because I try to hide it
I was a girl of blush and vigor
I used to be young and full of life, with rosy cheeks and boundless energy
And my youth I left with summer
But now that time has passed and I have grown older, I cannot recapture that same feeling of youth and excitement
Bring me back to your first home
Take me to a place where we can be together, where we first fell in love
And marry me under its trees
Let's make a commitment to each other, in a special and meaningful location
Our pain we leave behind us
Together, we can forget about the struggles and difficulties we faced in the past
And our fortunes come in threes
The future holds promise and good things for us, in ways that we cannot yet comprehend
Like a husk I shed at winter's end
Just as a tree loses its old skin to reveal new growth, I have let go of my past and am ready for something new
I step outside this shell
I am finally free from the cocoon of my old self, and am ready to embrace change
My skin is new and shining
The new me is vibrant and full of life, like a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Catherine Anne McCandless, Stephen Ramsay, Dan Anders Lissvik
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind