The band was originally conceived as a side project. The Weiss brothers and Kleinberg were playing together in another band called The Operation (who released one album, 2001's There Is Hope for a Tree Cut Down, on Takehold Records), but Aaron wanted to start another band to experiment with new sounds. After picking up Rick Mazzotta on drums and Ray Tadeo on bass, Kleinberg and the Weiss brothers released their first EP (I Never Said That I Was Brave) in 2001 and shortly thereafter signed to Tooth & Nail Records after a show at Cornerstone Festival the same year. An even earlier six song demo EP called Blood Enough For Us All has also surfaced, apparently having been recorded in 2000.
Around this time Tadeo had moved on, Daniel Pishock picked up as the bass player, and The Operation disbanded soon afterward. mewithoutYou's debut full-length album, A→B: Life, was released in 2002. The band garnered more attention for their sophomore release, 2004's Catch for Us the Foxes, which was produced by Brad Wood (Smashing Pumpkins, Fire Theft). In December of 2004 Pishock had made a decision to retire as the bassist for the band and former Operation frontman, Greg Jehanian, was selected to replace him. In 2005, mewithoutYou won mtvU's "Left Field" award for most original artist. Their third album, Brother, Sister, again produced by Wood, was released on September 26th, 2006. Their fourth album, it's all crazy! it's all false! it's all a dream! it's alright, produced by Dan Smith of Danielson, was released May 19th, 2009. Their fifth album Ten Stories, produced again by Dan Smith of Danielson, was independently released May 15th, 2012. Their sixth LP is set to be released in 2015 on Run for Cover Records.
mewithoutYou has released videos for "January 1979" and "Paper Hanger", from Catch for Us the Foxes, with the help of Red Van Pictures this past year, and one for "Bullet to Binary" from A→B: Life. They have recently released a video for "Nice and Blue, Pt. 2" from Brother, Sister, directed by Shane Drake. A video for "The Fox, the Crow and the Cookie" from It's All Crazy! has recently been released.
mewithoutYou is:
Aaron Weiss - Lead Vocals
Michael Weiss - Guitar
Brandon Beaver - 2nd Guitar
Greg Jehanian - Bass Guitar
Richard Mazzotta - Drums
Official homepage: http://www.mewithoutyou.com
http://www.myspace.com/mewithoutyou
Fox's Dream of the Log Flume
mewithoutYou Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Mistook sign for signified
And so since I’ve often cried
To run them off a cliff like
Gadarene swine
Inside my wardrobe seem anchor bent,
Wondering whether we were
Somewhat better than
And what better means to our inevitable end?
You know, I don't know if I know
Though some, with certainty insist
No certainty exists!
Well I'm certain of this, in the past 14 years,
There's only one girl I've kissed!
In the blistering heat of the Asbury pier
We sat quiet as monks on the Ferris wheel looking down at the water
Down at the sea
I asked her, “did it ever occur to you
A fantasy where you pushed little kids
From the tops of the ride?”
Then she shook her head no
And I said “oh, neither do I”
And with my grandma's ring
I went down on one knee
And the subsequent catastrophe
Has since haunted me
(like a fiberglass ghost)
Asking of my inconveniently
Selective memory
Provisionally you mercifully
Withdrew all the
Bearing points we thought we knew
Days run, days set clock,
Our calm is shot
One common shot
We sailed waywardly on
Singing our midnight archer's songs
Until well past dawn
It's still dark in the deck of our boat
Haphazardly blown, broken bows
Our aimless arrow words
Don't mean a thing to whether I think
It's pretty obvious that there's no God
And there's definitely a God!
I dreamt of the rocks at the Asbury dunes
That you jumped from the top
Of the log flume
And they gathered like wolves
On the boardwalk below
They're addling for answers
No wolf could know
I charged at the waves
With a glass in my hand
I was tossed like a ball
At the bottle stand
And I landed beside your
Remains on the stones
Where you cold fingers
Wrapped around my ankle bones
Maybe ten feet away was a star
Thousands of times the size of our sun
Exploding like the carny balloons
You throw darts at
We slept until our chest was full
Of yarn we’d spun from Shetland wool
Socks from where the Dorset grows
Sheared and scoured hours before
The rooster crows
The price of German silver fell
Threw this huge thaler
Down the superstition well
The lyrics of "Fox's Dream of the Log Flume" by mewithoutYou are dense and full of imagery that can be interpreted in different ways. The song explores themes of uncertainty, memory, and spirituality, as well as relationships and the passing of time.
The first verse seems to be about the confusion between signs and what they represent. The singer admits to mistaking sign for signified and has often cried about it. He mentions the story of Gadarene swine, which refers to the biblical account of Jesus casting devils out of a man and into a herd of pigs that then rush down a steep hill into the sea. The image of running off a cliff like Gadarene swine could be an expression of feeling lost or hopeless.
The second verse delves into the singer's memories and relationships. He mentions being inside his wardrobe, which could symbolize a private space of introspection. He ponders whether he and his loved one are better than others or just better at pretending. He also reflects on the passage of time and the uncertainty of life. The last lines, "There's only one girl I've kissed!" could be a nostalgic, bittersweet reminiscence of a past relationship.
The final verse of the song is more abstract and mystical. It refers to dreams and the natural world. The image of the rocks at the Asbury dunes and the log flume could represent memories of a joyful time that contrast with the suffering and chaos of the wolves gathering on the boardwalk below. The explosion of the star and the sleeping until the chest is full of yarn are possibly metaphorical expressions of wonder and awe at the universe. The song ends with the image of a superstition well, which could be a reminder of the hope and fear that people attach to beliefs.
Line by Line Meaning
Provisionally I, practically alive
I exist, but just barely
Mistook sign for signified
Confused the symbol for what it represents
And so since I’ve often cried
Frequent emotional outbursts have occurred
To run them off a cliff like Gadarene swine
An urge to destroy others like pigs over a cliff
Inside my wardrobe seem anchor bent
Lost in own thoughts
Wondering whether we were somewhat better than
Questioning superiority
Or maybe just better able to pretend
Illusion of superiority
And what better means to our inevitable end?
Reflection on life's purpose
You know, I don't know if I know
Uncertainty about knowing
Though some, with certainty insist
Some are convinced of their beliefs
No certainty exists!
Absolute knowledge is impossible
Well I'm certain of this, in the past 14 years,
The only confirmed romantic interaction
There's only one girl I've kissed!
No other romantic partners
In the blistering heat of the Asbury pier
Location of a hot day
We sat quiet as monks on the Ferris wheel looking down at the water
Silent contemplation on a water view from a ride
I asked her, “did it ever occur to you
Asking a question
A fantasy where you pushed little kids
Imagining an act of violence
From the tops of the ride?”
From a high location
Then she shook her head no
Response to the question
And I said “oh, neither do I”
Agreement with the response
And with my grandma's ring, I went down on one knee
Proposal to a partner with a family heirloom
And the subsequent catastrophe has since haunted me (like a fiberglass ghost)
The aftermath of the proposal brought negative consequences
Asking of my inconveniently selective memory
Questioning memory errors
Provisionally you mercifully withdrew all the bearing points we thought we knew
You have acted with mercy by disrupting our beliefs
Days run, days set clock, our calm is shot One common shot
Time passes and disorients us
We sailed waywardly on Singing our midnight archer's songs Until well past dawn
We wandered aimlessly, singing until dawn
It's still dark in the deck of our boat Haphazardly blown, broken bows
The boat is damaged and poorly controlled
Our aimless arrow words Don't mean a thing to whether I think
Our words lack real meaning
It's pretty obvious that there's no God And there's definitely a God!
The existence of a God is uncertain
I dreamt of the rocks at the Asbury dunes That you jumped from the top Of the log flume
A dream about jumping from a ride
And they gathered like wolves On the boardwalk below
A crowd gathered below
They're addling for answers No wolf could know
A confused and unanswerable crowd
I charged at the waves With a glass in my hand
Approaching waves with a glass
I was tossed like a ball At the bottle stand
Thrown around like a game object
And I landed beside your Remains on the stones
Near the remains of a loved one
Where you cold fingers Wrapped around my ankle bones
The sensation of phantom fingers grasping at legs
Maybe ten feet away was a star Thousands of times the size of our sun Exploding like the carny balloons You throw darts at
Observing the vastness of space and the destruction of stars
We slept until our chest was full Of yarn we’d spun from Shetland wool Socks from where the Dorset grows Sheared and scoured hours before The rooster crows
Restful sleep while snug in warm socks
The price of German silver fell Threw this huge thaler Down the superstition well
A monetary transaction related to superstition
Lyrics © TERRORBIRD PUBLISHING LLC
Written by: AARON WEISS, BRANDON BEAVER, GREGORY JEHANIAN, MICHAEL WEISS, RICHARD MAZZOTTA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cameron Reuschel
Fun fact: mewithoutYou is Hayley Williams' favorite band in the world. This must be like a dream come true for her
Vinícius Sarmento
And they're going to Parahoy with Paramore... It must also be a dream come true to Hayley
12rockandrollforever
+Seth Ðracam I thought it was Sunny Day Real Estate...
Cameron Reuschel
She's got their lyrics painted on her stairs at home... ^^
Jessica Forgione
and now Aaron collab with Paramore with a song called No Friend, everything came full circle
Keenan Horrigan
Jessica Forgione Something something All Circles
Christine Beisel
At first I couldn't get into his singing either, but after listening closely to the artistry of his lyrics, I view it more as spoken work poetry or beat poetry. His use of phrasing, emotional delivery, etc really connect in that way. Ever since I shifted my perception of his vocals, mewithoutYou has become poignant band in my life. I understand they are not everyone's cup of tea though.
J C
It's like a weird blend of singing and spoken word. He's not just monotonically reciting the words, he's hitting notes as he goes. Years later I always come back to this album, it's fucking fantastic.
benis44
I strongly relate with that. I started after no friend and I didn’t like it at first but once feeling the texture of the lyrics and understanding more the mastermind of Aaron weiss 😂
NathanJ Rodey
In a Sweater Poorly Knit was the song that I first got into and for years it was really the only one that I listened to until I found their first 2 albums second hand and bought them.