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I first heard "Tear Down the House" in late July as I was preparing to leave home for my freshman year of college. At the time, and still, the lyrics were so telling of what I was going through. When I first heard the song, I had just sold the first car I ever had that I "loved the best" for two and a half years. The line "take everything I collected, throw it in a pile" was perfect due to my "cleaning" of my extremely messy room which consisted of throwing all my old stuff in a pile in the closet. I think the song symbolized a fresh start for me by moving away where I barely knew anyone and just starting over. I remember just sitting there listening to it with tears in my eyes...in amazement that three guys who have no clue who I am could relate to me so well. I was feeling pretty blue at the time...thinking how much I would miss my friends, family, home etc. but this song really gave me perspective and helped me through my first few weeks at college.
The Avett Brothers have an amazing gift.
alright, my story is similar, and even from The Second Gleam as well. I recently made the move to college also. the college happens to be in a part of a certain town that's known to be pretty dangerous. (the city as a whole ranks in the top 10 most dangerous in the USA) anyway, Murder In The City.
My girlfriend (at the time) and I decided to break up around then also - "when i leave your arms, the things that i think of..." hit me pretty hard.
I was also moving to the college with my twin brother - "i wonder which brother is better, which one our parents loved the most, i sure did get in lots of trouble, they seem to let the other go". i won't go into details, but i believe all that is true in my life story. the following bit about "i wonder what my dad would say, he said i love you and i'm proud of you both" was a bulls-eye. I can't listen to this song without having to sit down, brace myself, and be swept away by the Brothers as they seem to narrate my life.
Seth's CD, The Mourning, The Silver, The Bell. It is something that i identify with a period of my life that is thankfully in the past. I about played that CD to death until i was all cried out! Thanks for the therapy Seth!!
I first heard Bella Donna (actually, I saw them sing it on the Youtube video, which made it even more powerful) soon after a drawn-out not-a-breakup with a not-a-boyfriend. I was so dang let down.
"I asked you not to keep me waiting, I told you not to keep me waiting..." OH MAN. Sat there crying.
"I would be sad" is pretty much exactly about my break-up with my previous girlfriend. everything in that song pretty much was exactly what happened, even down to "my dad told me one day son, this girl will think of what she's done. and hurting you will be the first of many more regrets to come". "Tear down the house" is mine and my cousins story about growing up. our woods were bulldozed.
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ninety and risen, soon we'll have to hide out in the shade. somewhere its raining and babe i can almost hear you say, that you love me
"St Joseph" from the Second Gleam makes me wonder if they are referring to the hospital I work at ("we spent the night at St Joseph's...")...and "Colorshow" is one that makes me get chills and encourages me towards mindfully genuine living. Also, "Nothing Short of Thankful," which I experience as an expression of gratitude despite things in life perhaps not always being perfect or ideal. I had the experience of being in a packed venue while the boys were playing "Shame," and I don't know of any other band whose lyrics & music & spirit & energy could have the whole room singing, JOYFULLY, along with them. I could go on and on (but I won't)...incredible lyrics are just one of the components of the Avett Brothers' music that bring me to my knees...
WARNING: Highly personal post coming up. You asked for it!
It is really ironic that this thread is coming up today, because I just typed out the lyrics for Murder in the City to send to my parents, who spent father's day weekend telling me, my brothers and my sisters that they don't want to have anything to do with us anymore, because of a long-standing feud that we have had with our other sister, who is, in so many words, bats*** crazy and has been a constant source of strife in our family (I won't get into details, but there's a long history of violence, inappropriate behavior, manipulation, all the good stuff). I haven't spoken to her in two years, and the first time I heard Murder in the City (last year at my first show), my head jerked back in instant self-recognition and I burst into tears.
I never thought that me choosing to stay away from my sister would cost me my relationship with my parents, and I never thought that they would turn their backs on their 9 grandchildren in order to maintain a relationship with my sister. But apparently this is what they have chosen. At any rate, I have accepted their decision but decided I would send my parents the lyrics to Murder in the City so that they could know that, no matter what they choose to do, I still believe there's nothing worth sharing like the love that lets us share a name.
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Will you forget when we have paid our debts,
who did we borrow from, who did borrow from?
the ballad of love and hate
"love has been waiting patient and kind
just wanting a phone call or some kind of sign
that the one that she cares for who's out of his mind
will make it back safe to her arms"
Win I drink... I think that says it all... And why I quit drinking for this year...
ellie, I believe so.. In an interview/radio session I heard recently I think Seth said that it was about a night that ended at a hospital..
They wrote "A Gift for Melody Ann" for me before I met her.
They wrote "Offering" for me when I first fell in love with her.
They wrote "Swept Away" for our future wedding dance.
They wrote "Song to Jenny" for me when she was thinking of leaving
They wrote "PG Cedar Lane" for me when she did.
I thought they wrote "And it Spread" for me, but it doesn't look that way.
But they were nice enough to write "Tear Down the House" instead.
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There was a dream, and one day I could see it, like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it.
double post
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There was a dream, and one day I could see it, like a bird in a cage I broke in and demanded that somebody free it.
Kinglet, that kind of brought tears to my eyes. Wowie.
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Will you forget when we have paid our debts,
who did we borrow from, who did borrow from?
at my highschool ofcourse there are certain cliques, and that is just normal for that to be the case, but my senior year it seemed like the whole senior class came together and we all pretty much hung out. Well me and a buddy of mine have a small group of friends that we were pretty tight with, and we had all planned to go to the beach for spring break with the rest of the senior class. unfortunately two of them couldn't go, so it was just me and one of my friends that went to the beach, while the others went to the mountains. Well me and my buddy thought it would be fine because were cool with the others members that were goin to the beach. The moment we got down to the beach, the realtor that was letting us rent the house found out that it was a bunch of teenagers staying in it and said that we needed an adult to stay at the house with us and that four people needed to leave. well naturally since me and my buddy weren't really close with this particular group of friends we got kicked out and had to stay at the parents house the whole week(which was fine we still got to partake in the spring break festivities). The whole week wasn't terrible but it felt like we weren't supposed to be there. we called up our other friends who were at the mountains and they were telling us how much of a blast it was, and that we made the wrong choice and should have gone. well we were a little disappointed, so we thought that we just cruise around the beach for a while. I put in the emotionalism cd and we started listening to it. Paranoia in B flat major came on and once we heard this verse, keep having this dream; I’m at a party
There’s people throwing drinks and screaming telling me that I don’t belong
Lately life’s been the same I find this comfortable place
With all my friends then my friends start telling me that I’ve always been wrong
And I’m so tired of being wrong,
we both immeadiatly turned and looked at us, and felt that that song was describing exactly what was goin on at the time. This story isnt life altering or really emotional, it is just something me and my buddy will remember.
at my highschool ofcourse there are certain cliques, and that is just normal for that to be the case, but my senior year it seemed like the whole senior class came together and we all pretty much hung out. Well me and a buddy of mine have a small group of friends that we were pretty tight with, and we had all planned to go to the beach for spring break with the rest of the senior class. unfortunately two of them couldn't go, so it was just me and one of my friends that went to the beach, while the others went to the mountains. Well me and my buddy thought it would be fine because were cool with the others members that were goin to the beach. The moment we got down to the beach, the realtor that was letting us rent the house found out that it was a bunch of teenagers staying in it and said that we needed an adult to stay at the house with us and that four people needed to leave. well naturally since me and my buddy weren't really close with this particular group of friends we got kicked out and had to stay at the parents house the whole week(which was fine we still got to partake in the spring break festivities). The whole week wasn't terrible but it felt like we weren't supposed to be there. we called up our other friends who were at the mountains and they were telling us how much of a blast it was, and that we made the wrong choice and should have gone. well we were a little disappointed, so we thought that we just cruise around the beach for a while. I put in the emotionalism cd and we started listening to it. Paranoia in B flat major came on and once we heard this verse, keep having this dream; I’m at a party
There’s people throwing drinks and screaming telling me that I don’t belong
Lately life’s been the same I find this comfortable place
With all my friends then my friends start telling me that I’ve always been wrong
And I’m so tired of being wrong,
we both immeadiatly turned and looked at each other, and felt that that song was describing exactly what was goin on at the time. This story isnt life altering or really emotional, it is just something me and my buddy will remember.
yeah that trip was a b****. and i was was not a happy camper. like the few weeks before sucked too. i wrecked my car, and got dumped within a week. and to cap it all off the girl that dumped me was staying in the house, go figure. It got really bad when i told two girls(in anger) that if they were guys id punch them in the mouth.. the only thing that kept me happy was alcohol and avett brothers. But yeah Paranoia never rang as loud as it did that week. it turns out i had a cursed coozy that brought me bad luck so i threw it away. Problem solved
P.S: Me and the girl are still good friends it was just a little weird at that time.
"Tin Man" describes the feelings of numbness I've developed over time. "Pretty Girl from San Diego" describes how I felt toward my lover, wanting desperately to love her and feeling the capacity for it within me, but being too distant and numb to do so. "My Last Song to Jenny" describes my lovers feelings when I was becoming more and more distant. "Find My Love" describes that terrible day when I broke her heart into a million pieces... "The Lowering" describes the regret and near self loathing I experienced after that. "The Ballad of Love and Hate" describes both of our pains after this down to a tee, and that moment when we finally came back together and I knew at that moment: 'you're mine and that's it; forever.' "Pretty Girl from Locust" looks back upon the times I spent finding myself, and coming to truly miss her in the process, and coming back to her to truly fall in love with her. "And It Spread" also describes the events of me falling into my darkness, and how she came to me, 'shooting my arm full of love.' "A Lover Like You" describes how committed to her I now am, despite any emotional turmoil or plain emptiness I may experience, she will be the one constant in my life. "All My Mistakes" defines my realization that even if I could go back in time and fix the mistakes that I've made, I would not, as they are what led us to come together in the end.
On another note, during a time when I was nearly on the brink of suicide, my computer's music was on shuffle and "Living of Love" played. I sat there and really contemplated the lyrics for the first time... I haven't had a single suicidal thought since that day.
perfect timing, Erik_Erebus. The music has been there when you needed it.
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Braxton: " Would you like to purchase the super delux 8-Track tape edition featuring a twelve min recording of scott humming to himself in the car?....Yes please."
January Wedding reminds me so much of me and my boyfriend. Our love is so simple because we don't question it; we never doubt it for a second. For the first few months that we were in love, we weren't sure if we were actually in a relationship or just two people in love who were strictly with each other. But we're now way past that.
As for "I understand because my heart and hers are the same"; that part really resonates with me, because we know each other so well that I can get what he's saying whether he's mumbling or being quiet, even from his body language. When we met, I had just gotten out of a "relationship" and he had just stopped liking someone; we chose not to turn down true love.
I feel that he needs to protect me from the evil in the world, and help me to see the beauty that I wouldn't normally see without his guidance and love. And of course, there's the fact that we got together in January... and someday I hope to marry him during January, as well
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careful not to say that i don't care, or haven't, or can't, or will not again.
my boyfriend and I recently broke-up and I described it to a friend as "from January Wedding to November Blue"
I first discovered the Avett's a little over a year ago and Emotionalism was the first album I bought. When "Weight of Lies" played I immediately had tears streaming down my face because I had been running from lies for over 4 years and after hearing the song I knew it was time to meet them head on. Life is very different for me now, a year later, than it was then. Lines from many, many of their other songs have spoken to me in a very personal way but nothing has affected me like "Weight of Lies" and for that I will be forever grateful. My sister and I have made "Murder in the City" our family anthem and recently my life is like "A Gift for Melody Anne" because it's how I'm trying to life my life since I've stopped running.
Oh, and AlabamaJubilee...do you go to Birmingham-Southern?
Its strange for me. Lots of their songs had hit close to home over the years. When the whole album of I And Love And You came out every single song described my life to a t. The boys really seem to know how to connect with general life situations. Bless them for that!!!!!! Tin Man really hit home for me. Beaches hits home a lot been with my wife for 17 years and that song describes a ongoing situation. Nice thread btw! I love all the responses.
If It's The Beaches.
I grew up at the beach in Florida. I live in a very landlocked place now, and get so homesick. I still believe one day I'll go back and live there again. That song just feels like home.
HS/college I would say a mixture of Distraction #74 and Weight of Lies. Now I would say The Perfect Space and Incomplete and Insecure.
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"....That men are just liars and thieves of sorts
Men are just liars and thieves....."
Head full of doubt, and road full of promise is my life story by far.. my favorite part in the whole song is "when nothing is hoped, deserved or expected, your life doesn't change by the man that's elected, if your loved by someone your never rejected, decide what to be and go be it" it is my life's mission statement, you can do anything you put your mind to, all you gotta do is just decide what to be and go be it. So simple yet so hard for so many people. I applaud you Seth and Scott for your passion towards your music and your fans, you all inspire me to be a better musician myself. I hope to meet you one day.
Back when I first got the guy I was dating into The Avett Brothers, we listened mainly to Emotionalism, that being the only Avetts CD I had at the time. I remember listening to "I Would Be Sad" and thinking that some day that would happen to our relationship. We were a super happy, very much in first teenage love high school couple at the time...and then, a year and a half after getting together on Valetine's Day, he finally said those words: "I need to talk to you." Me: "Should I be worried?" Him: "Yes."
That was one of the low points of my life, to be sure, because in that year and a half he had become one of my best friends. He knew me better than anyone. And we had listened to "I Would Be Sad" together and promised each other that we wouldn't be "that typical young couple, changing, moving on..." but right before we went off to college, it happened. I couldn't listen to "I Would Be Sad" for a long time after that because just listening to it broke my heart.
But because my ex dumped me on the exact day that he did (at the staff closing of the camp where we met and were both working this past summer), something miraculous happened. I spilled my tears and my story to this guy Drew, who had been dumped earlier in the summer by his girlfriend of two years and nine months. He let me cry all over his car, took me to Waffle House, and gave me one of the best hugs ever before I left camp to go home and pack for my first semester of college. When I got home, we kept talking, then we both discovered we had Skype and it turned into 4- and 5-hour webcam conversations.
Now, Drew and I have been dating for three months. It's a completely different feeling from my last relationship, and that is a magical thing. I have a great feeling about where it's been headed and I wouldn't be where I am today without all of the lessons I've learned from my past...without "All My Mistakes."
So, thank you, Avett Brothers, for KNOWING life and being able to write TRUTH about it like no one else.
the last verse of if it's the beaches basically spells out the last couple months of my life, and paints the relationship i have with my girlfriend perfectly lol
If it's the beaches
If it's the beaches' sands you want
Then you will have them
If it's the mountains' bending rivers
Then you will have them
If it's the wish to run away
Then I will grant it
Take whatever what you think of
While I go gas up the truck
Pack the old love letters up
We will read them when we forget why we left here
just off the top of my head:
"Murder In the City" reminds me of my dad. I just think of him when i hear the words. He has a brother, and a sister. I know he'd want more than anything to let them know that he loved them and his mother. He would also not worry too much about his possessions, just the fact that his family, and me, shared the same name and always loved each other. I recently told him about the Avett Brothers and this will definitely be one of the first few songs I play for him.
"The Perfect Space" totally speaks to me RIGHT NOW. high school grad, starting college (next week), realizing my lack of "real" people that I have around me. I'm completely aware of what I'm looking for in people and all i'm looking for is true friends who will accept how I've changed and like me for me. I've never been myself 100% of the time around certain people. I was just too damn nice and that's why I came to know so many different types of individuals that I really didn't even like. I just smiled (which people always find so charming, I have no idea why) and they thought "cool, i'll be his friend", but i never liked being myself around them.
I find it amazing how relevant the song is for me.
"Ill With Want" I love it because it just reminds me of my past as an ignorant kid who thought it would be cool to have everything I could touch! but i've totally changed, yet I have a certain want for things still lingering, and i realize more and more how i don't want a lavish lifestyle even if I'll have the money for many "things" at some point in my life.
i think i'll be back for more later
Sadly, Ill With Want- Enough Said!
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You're the back and forth sway of the hammock all day
No shame in telling the truth, northbound.
For me, I think Shame always gives me those body covering goosebumps that are like "yea, these guys are actually talking about me." Paranoia hits home too.
in the avett world my song would be: if its the beaches
in the non-avett world it would be : remember the mountain bed
both relate to the same person/situation that has made a huge impact on my life.
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"Murder in the City." Feels like they peered into my soul and pulled out that song.
My 3 brothers and I have lost a father, a mother/step mother, an Uncle and a close family friend, all when we were very young (Under 18 for the most part). The four of us are all that is left of my dad's side of the family. We are spread out among 3 continents now and when he sings "always remember there was nothing worth sharing, like the love that let us share our name" It rings truer than I can express here and it reminds me how important it is to keep in contact and spend time together as much as possible.
Also, when he asks his father which brother is better, well those are the kinds of questions we'll never get to ask them, but I am slowly coming to realize that my father would have answered similarly.
I have had a notebook in my desk for a few years now with letters for those that I love if anything should happen because I know that when someone you love is gone their thoughts and feelings and love are all that you care about anymore.
It's an emotional experience to listen to this song but one that I am grateful for.
Thank You Avett Brothers
That's really lovely, Sarah, thank you.
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Wish me luck, I know you think I'll need it.
For all the hardest roads we have to walk alone.
At the moment, Find My Love. Specifically the line "How can you tell when goodbye means goodbye? And not just for now, for the rest of your life. How can you stand there with love in your eyes and still be walking away? Love gets lost."
I don't know how they do it, but the Avetts are so incredibly accurate at depicting so many people's life stories, struggles and loves through their music. Though many of their songs seem to hit close to home, there is no comparison to "Please Pardon Yourself." Every time I listen to it I get goose bumps. My parents struggled for 15 years in a bad marriage where there was a lot of alcohol abuse. And yet for so many years, they held on.
"As I turn my head to your side of the bed
While you wake, What's on your mind?
To this awful news try not to hold on
The day will come, the sun will rise, and we'll be fine."
"Well there's only so many ways
You can give your loving to me
I'd give my soul for just for one of them now
I'd give up the drinking, just tell me how"
This was their relationship for so many years. They were fighters, they wanted to overcome their problems, to hold on to what they had left. But recently, they both lost faith and are now separated, which in my opinion is for the best. So the lyrics still hold true. The day will come, the sun will rise, and they'll be fine, with or without one another.
Last weekend, I had the pleasure of meeting the Bros and telling them how much I appreciate their music, especially this song. They were extremely sincere and poetic, and my appreciation for them is now even greater. And I didn't even know that was possible
Thank you, Avett Bros, for your music. My life wouldn't be nearly as great without it!
at this moment "i would be sad" pretty much sums up my world every line is exactly what happened and how i feel
but thank you Avett Brothers for giving me Salvation Song one that constantly gives me hope and strength
This is so hard to answer. This band's songs are so simple but they seem to touch my life so deeply. Maybe more so than any other band before.
"Tin Man" and "The Ballad of Love and Hate" describe me during my last relationship.
"Shame" is exactly what I felt when she left me and I realized how terrible my indifference had been on her and exactly what I had given up.
"I Would Be Sad" brings tears to my eyes when I sing it now.
I wish for "And It Spread" to be my song because it ends with her coming back, but I think I'll have to stick with "My Last Song to Jenny" and "All My Mistakes"
I'm so glad to have found this band. They really make me feel less alone.
Damn if they don't know how to write a song that everyone can relate to...its uncanny. The songs that currently are the story of my life are: "If its the Beaches" "About Love" (Seth Avett as Darling), and The Traveling Song, and Denouncing November Blue.
Three Songs come to mind offhand:
Ten Thousand Words: Years ago when I was in college I remember just observing the world around me in a coffee shop: people rambling on -talking about nothing - talking about whatever. I really started to wonder do they know what they are talking about, who really cares other then the person blubbering on about well.. whatever. I've never been one much for conversation and shooting the s***, I guess people often say I'm "shy" but really I don't have anything to say I"m not going to talk about it - especially at anyone's expense. So when I heard Ten Thousand Words for the first time I was in awe, Scott took my thoughts and put them into beautiful words for the world to hear.
Perfect Space: What can I say..I'm always looking for that space, it's not so much physical but spiritual to find that space I can be me and the people around me allow me to and I can be comfortable. That song has brought me to tears as I search to find my place.
I Would Be Sad: It makes me terribly sad, because I was that girl My first love adored me, I left him, I made him sad. I didn't want to settle down, he did. I am sorry I hurt him, such is life, such is first loves...
It amazes me how so many of their songs take me back to places I forgot, memories of young love. All these mistakes lead me to you........bottom line of it all.