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
Paper Hanger
mewithoutYou Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The prettiest bag lady I ever met
Pushing her cart in the rain
Then gathering plastic and glass
She watched the day pass
Not hour by hour
But pain by pain
Then she was the sand I tried to hold
And ran out behind me
As I swung with some invisible hands
I stopped believing, you start to move
She was like wine turned to water then turned back to wine
I stopped my leaving and the better man bloomed
And you can pour us out and we won't mind
I was dead, then alive
She was like wine turned to water and turned back to wine
You can pour us out, we won't mind
A scratch around the mouth of the glass
My life is no longer mine
If you're still looking for a blanket
Sweetie, I'm sorry, I'm no sort of fabric
But if you need a tailor
Then take your torn shirt, and stumble up my stairs
And mumble your pitiful prayers
And in your tangled night's sleep, our midnight needles go to work
Until all comfort and fear flows in one river
Down on the shelf by the mirror where you see yourself whole
And it makes you shiver
I stopped believing, you start to move
She was like wine turned to water then turned back to wine
I stopped my leaving and the better man bloomed
And you can pour us out and we won't mind
I was dead, then alive
She was like wine turned to water and turned back to wine
You can pour us out, we won't mind
A scratch around the mouth of the glass
My life is no longer mine
Our lives our not our own even the wind plays still. All I felt was fire and bone
And movement, movement
If they ask you for a sign of the Father
Tell them it's movement, movement (of hope)
The lyrics of mewithoutYou's song Paper Hanger describe a bag lady who is pushing her cart in the rain, gathering plastic and glass, and is watched by the singer. He cannot forget her every motion, and considers her the prettiest bag lady he ever met. Despite the fact that she passes her days in pain, hour by hour, and that he feels like he is a basket filled with holes, she is the sand he tries to hold onto. However, it runs out behind him as he swings with some invisible hands. He admits that he stopped believing but she starts to move, and she brings new life to him. They can be poured out, and they will not mind, because their lives are no longer their own.
The singer confesses that he was dead, and then alive again when she turned from wine to water, and then wine once more. He acknowledges that his life is no longer his own. The song continues with the idea that if someone is looking for a blanket, the singer is not the right material, but if they need a tailor, they can bring their torn shirt and stumble up his stairs. He promises to listen to their pitiful prayers and work on their tangled nights, and to make their comfort and fear flow together like a river down a shelf by the mirror where they can see themselves whole. The song concludes with a declaration that their lives are not their own, even the wind plays still, and that all they feel is fire and bone, and movement, movement, movement of hope.
Line by Line Meaning
Not one motion of her gesture could I forget
Every detail of her movement is etched into my memory
The prettiest bag lady I ever met
She was homeless, but still radiated beauty
Pushing her cart in the rain
She was carrying her worldly possessions through the storm
Then gathering plastic and glass
She scavenged for anything useful she could find
She watched the day pass
She observed time passing by
Not hour by hour
But moment by moment
But pain by pain
Each moment carried its own burden of suffering
If I was a basket filled with holes
I was flawed and unworthy
Then she was the sand I tried to hold
She represented something unattainable, slipping through my grasp
And ran out behind me
I couldn't hold onto her
As I swung with some invisible hands
I tried to grasp onto something intangible
I stopped believing, you start to move
I lost faith, but you found hope
She was like wine turned to water then turned back to wine
She degraded and then rose again, like the changing state of wine
I stopped my leaving and the better man bloomed
I stopped running away and became a better version of myself
And you can pour us out and we won't mind
You can empty us of ourselves and we won't resist
I was dead, then alive
I was lost and then found
A scratch around the mouth of the glass
A small imperfection in something otherwise perfect
My life is no longer mine
My life is no longer solely my own
If you're still looking for a blanket
If you're searching for comfort
Sweetie, I'm sorry, I'm no sort of fabric
I can't provide you with that kind of comfort
But if you need a tailor
If you need someone to fix what's torn in you
Then take your torn shirt, and stumble up my stairs
Come to me as you are, even if it's difficult
And mumble your pitiful prayers
Speak your heart to me, even if it's hard for you
And in your tangled night's sleep, our midnight needles go to work
Even when you're unconscious, we're still working on you
Until all comfort and fear flows in one river
Everything that brings feelings of comfort and fear is interconnected
Down on the shelf by the mirror where you see yourself whole
In a place where you can fully examine and understand yourself
And it makes you shiver
It's a mix of emotions that is difficult to process
Our lives our not our own even the wind plays still. All I felt was fire and bone
Our lives are not truly ours, even nature has a hand on us
And movement, movement
But we can still move forward and make progress
If they ask you for a sign of the Father
If they ask you for a sign of God
Tell them it's movement, movement (of hope)
Tell them it's the ability to move forward with hope, even in the face of uncertainty
Lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing, TERRORBIRD PUBLISHING LLC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind