History
Both Simon Katz and Sam Martin were in the band Iglu & Hartly, but after a 2011 hiatus, the two reformed with three of their long-time friends to form Youngblood Hawke. Their name is taken from the Herman Wouk novel of the same name. In October 2011 before landing a record deal with Universal Republic, Youngblood had a residency at The Satellite in Los Angeles. Aside from that, the group has performed at SXSW, playing showcases such as Comedy Central Workaholics showcase and Purevolume House . The band is based in Silverlake, Los Angeles where they are working on their debut album and have worked odd jobs on the side during the recording process. Youngblood Hawke's latest single "We Come Running", has been described by LA Weekly 's Kevin Bronson as showing the quintet's "skills at grabbing hold of the pop jugular vein".Their track "Forever" was included in Starbucks Pick of the Week for September 2012. Before that, they joined the lineup for both Echo Park Rising festival as well as Lobsterfest . Recently, Youngblood Hawke's video for their debut single "We Come Running" was featured on Rollingstone Magazine , "where they play music and scuba dive with sharks in time" in hopes to help promote the conservation of sharks. The band is currently on tour with Passion Pit.
Their music has been described as "maximalist pop."
2012 Youngblood Hawke (EP) Tour
Their eponymous 2012 release spawned the single "We Come Running," which features the West Los Angeles Children's Choir during the chorus. The song has received airplay nationwide, and has been described as "anthemic" and having "youthful spirit."
The album itself has charted in Billboard's Top 200 albums for the week of 1 September 2012, and #3 on the Heatseekers Albums chart for the same week. The week of 20 August 2012, "We Come Running" was slated as the "Single of the Week!" by iTunes.
Sleepless Streets
Youngblood Hawke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You were running to catch a train
Hand full of smoke I'd never see again
Wondering if you could take me
We could leave this car behind
Woke up in the rubble
Making do with what we had
No coming back
Wondering if you could save me
We could leave this all behind
Let go
Drive me up the highway
Far from drowning life
The sleepless streets are calling
Calling me tonight
Let's go
Drive me up the highway
Far from drowning life
The sleepless streets are calling
Calling me tonight
Some things are better off
When they're left behind
We can't keep this up
And you seem surprised
Shake it off and now we're roaming
Hypnotized in the dark and free
I followed you down
When my eyes could barely see
Made it through the waves
When we could barely breathe
No more balancing on burning bridges
Now all we got is time
Let go
Drive me up the highway
Far from drowning life
The sleepless streets are calling
Calling me tonight
Let's go
Drive me up the highway
Far from drowning life
The sleepless streets are calling
Calling me tonight
We've been taken by the night
Taken by the night
These silver streets are taking me
Let go
Drive me up the highway
Far from drowning life
The sleepless streets are calling
The sleepless streets are calling
The sleepless streets are calling
The sleepless streets are calling
The sleepless streets are calling
Calling me tonight
Calling me tonight
Calling me tonight
Calling me tonight
Calling me tonight
The song "Sleepless Streets" by Youngblood Hawke tells a story of two people who are trying to escape their current situation and find a better life together. The first verse begins with the singer seeing someone they haven't seen in a long time, who is running to catch a train and carrying "a hand full of smoke" that they will never see again. The singer wonders if this person can take them away from their current situation and leave everything behind.
In the second verse, the singer wakes up in a state of destruction but hears the sound of "Eden ringing." They continue to wonder if the person they saw earlier can save them and help them leave everything behind. The chorus urges the person to drive the singer up the highway, away from the "drowning life" and towards the freedom of the "sleepless streets," which seem to represent a new beginning and a chance for a better life.
The final verse speaks to the idea that some things in life are better off left behind. The singer encourages the person to shake off their past and wander into the unknown, where they can be hypnotized by the darkness and follow each other blindly. The two have gone through trials together, but have made it through the waves of darkness and are no longer balancing on burning bridges. All they have now is time.
Line by Line Meaning
The last time I saw you
It's been a while since we last met
You were running to catch a train
You were in a hurry to leave
Hand full of smoke I'd never see again
You were smoking something I've never seen before
Wondering if you could take me
I'm considering joining you wherever you're going
We could leave this car behind
We could leave our current situation behind
Woke up in the rubble
We found ourselves in a difficult situation
Making do with what we had
We had to make the most of what we had
The sound of Eden ringing
We found something beautiful in the midst of chaos
No coming back
We can't go back to the way things were
Wondering if you could save me
I'm looking to you for help
We could leave this all behind
We could start anew and forget our problems
Some things are better off
Some things are best left alone
When they're left behind
When we let go of the past
We can't keep this up
We can't continue living like this
And you seem surprised
You didn't expect this to happen
Shake it off and now we're roaming
We're putting our troubles aside and exploring the world around us
Hypnotized in the dark and free
We're captivated by the unknown and feel liberated
I followed you down
I trusted you and followed your lead
When my eyes could barely see
Even in difficult situations, I still had faith in you
Made it through the waves
We overcame obstacles and challenges
When we could barely breathe
When things got tough, we didn't give up
No more balancing on burning bridges
We're not going to risk our safety or future anymore
Now all we got is time
We're free to explore and do what we want with our lives
We've been taken by the night
The night has a hold on us
These silver streets are taking me
The city is drawing us in
The sleepless streets are calling
The city is alive and inviting us to join in
Calling me tonight
We can't resist its allure
Contributed by Jeremiah N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.