This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Some will say it's not even funny
And there you stand, not even trying
They say it is in line with the aging
Sometimes noise is just your mind
But the lesson is vague and the lightning
Shows a deer with her mind on the moor
And now something with the sun is just different
Since they shook the earth in 1904
As I lower down I hear it's a message
And it's 1902 telling people to get out
If there was a just a way I could tell them
It's been long, but you are right
The singing is slow and so quiet
Like the sound when you sweep off the floor
And now something with the dirt is just different
Since they shook the earth in 1904
When the night is young
But the bridge is up
Something passing by our shore
The only one you can tell it to
Is the only one that will know
As one rock was made to go through my window
Here is something so strange and something louder than before
You're living with no light or direction but damn precise
And now you know
That believing is hard but you go now
And you feel what you drag across the floor
And now something in these trails is just different
Since they shook the earth in 1904
Some will say it's not even healthy
But body is young and mind is sure
That at least something is alright with your thinking
Because they shook the earth in 1904.
And there you stand, not even trying
They say it is in line with the aging
Sometimes noise is just your mind
But the lesson is vague and the lightning
Shows a deer with her mind on the moor
And now something with the sun is just different
Since they shook the earth in 1904
As I lower down I hear it's a message
And it's 1902 telling people to get out
If there was a just a way I could tell them
It's been long, but you are right
The singing is slow and so quiet
Like the sound when you sweep off the floor
And now something with the dirt is just different
Since they shook the earth in 1904
When the night is young
But the bridge is up
Something passing by our shore
The only one you can tell it to
Is the only one that will know
As one rock was made to go through my window
Here is something so strange and something louder than before
You're living with no light or direction but damn precise
And now you know
That believing is hard but you go now
And you feel what you drag across the floor
And now something in these trails is just different
Since they shook the earth in 1904
Some will say it's not even healthy
But body is young and mind is sure
That at least something is alright with your thinking
Because they shook the earth in 1904.
Lyrics submitted by Kashika, edited by Xamnam, sarahmarks
1904 Lyrics as written by Kristian Matsson
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I love this song and the entire album in general. I think that Kristian is an absolute musical genius, one of the best artists I've ever listened to. When i first listened to the album, it was like, whoa, this is different but still amazing. The sound is a lot fuller, but instead of making the simplicity of his earlier songs go away, it just adds variety to his music. You can still hear that classic Kristian Matsson style, which i love, even though there's more instrumental variety.
First verse of 1904 makes me sad, reminds me of an old person everyone thinks is going crazy. Like how "sometimes noise is just your mind." Its as if someone's being told it's not funny, but they're actually serious, not trying to be funny. They are being told as they get older their mind isn't working the same as it did when they were younger (in line with the aging) It just makes me sad to think about it, an older person being treated like they're insane when really they are thinking about the past, or whatever this person is doing. 1904 earthquake theory is interesting, never thought of that but it makes sense.