Keep Me In the Open – Gang of Youths

Song Six: Keep Me In the Open

Keep me in the open is a song about lead singer David Le’aupepe’s ex-wifes battle with cancer, however in this blog it has been interpreted in the author’s own way, as they were struggling in a relationship at the time and it reflects how they were feeling as well. The song begins with some incredibly disheartening lines,

“I don’t know if I blame you for being so distant,

But I’m trying to be real with you, and God, it’s been a hell of a week”

This is relates to the author in a few ways, as they were in a long distance relationship, spoiler alert: They never work out, however, the author expected distance as it’s a difficult situation to be in, however distance can eventually lead straight into ignoring and that’s where the second line really hits home. There’s only one person you really want to talk to and when you can’t it’s almost unbearable.

“If it means being here with you, then hey, I am trying to be
I’ll always struggle to think of you in a harsh way”

The author was desperately trying to get over to where the significant other was living, but it never seemed to work. The author was convinced that when they saw each other again, everything would make sense. However, even when the inevitable conversation happened and they tried to make the author hate them, which really reflects in the second line, even now the author thinks no differently of them.

“I’m getting used to the sleepless hours from sundown
The terrible dreams that lead me inward to terrible truths”

It’s amazing how much of a toll this sort of stress can take on a person, sleep becomes difficult and even when you finally do fall asleep, the mind loves playing tricks on you. So even in your own dreams, you cannot escape these thoughts.

“Tell me how I can do this thing
Tell me how I can help this thing go easily
‘Cause I’m trying, honeybee”

In a situation where you can feel a relationship failing, you’ll try anything that you can to make it work, this lines resonate with the author quite strongly as that’s how they felt for most of the last part of the relationship.

“When did everything get this weird? How the f**k did it start?
Did you ever believe in me? Was it always so hard?”

Again, at some point in the relationship you have a deep look inside and you don’t understand where everything started to go wrong, was there one incident? One Moment? One situation? It becomes very difficult to deal with to try and pinpoint where exactly a relationship went wrong. The second line is relevant to the author after the inevitable conversation about the ending of a relationship, where things were brought up that had never been an issue throughout the entire relationship, which is a hard pill to swallow at the end of a relationship.

“The heart is closed, but keep me in the open
‘Cause I deserve better than this
Yeah, I deserve better than this”

During the author’s last relationship, the significant other was a very closed book, but usually very open and accommodating to the author. So the first line reflects on the entire relationship, especially when it went long distance. You understand people require space and time, which is completely understandable; however, you don’t want to be cut out completely and end up on the outer of a relationship you’re trying so hard to maintain.

The finals lines can be taken a bit selfishly, as at the end of the of a relationship sometimes you feel like you’ve done all that you can do and sometimes your best just isn’t good enough. But, you can feel you deserve a better outcome then what you were served. However, that’s life.

Say Yes To Life – Gang of Youths

Song Five: Say Yes to Life

Much like the song What Can I Do If the Fire Goes Out? This song is much more upbeat in the tempo, but as Le’aupepe explains before he performed it at Splendour in the Grass earlier this year, this song is for “those who are staring down the bottom of a barrel of losing someone”, so touches on his divorce with his ex-wife, but also spends the song telling the audience that there is so much more to live for in life.

The first verse is mainly Le’aupepe trying to encourage this listener that even if he can’t give a conclusion to them now, there are still aspects to look forward to and positively in life.

“Can’t give you an insightful conclusion

So if time is predicted on the abstractions in a void

Do not subjugate yourself capitulating to the noise

If I could reach out through the screen

And give you something to believe in, I would

But I am with you amongst the confusion

It’s okay, don’t fear

Go be a part of the new sincere

Do not let your heart go.”

Le’aupepe is telling his audience that, yes life might be a bit messed up right now with no real end in sight or a goal in mind and if he could help find their way, he would. However, it’s okay to not know what you’re doing or where you are going; he is a part of the confusion himself. There’s always time to figure it out.

“I only say this to affirm our time is short

But we’ve got to carry on

Transcend through the scars and contusions.”

The second verse is just continuing with the message portrayed in the first voice, Le’aupepe is saying that, yes our time is short, but you must keep moving forward, forget up the pain and the hurt, you’ll be able to move through and keep going forward.

“I was furious and dumb, lighting fires throughout the town

I’d play the fiddle and forget whatever I was pissed about”

I really enjoy these lyrics, because it shows that the lyricist isn’t so focused on what happened throughout his life, he is incredibly well read and can relate literature from any era back to his life. These particular lyrics are based on the story of when “Nero fiddled when Rome burned”, many people believe Nero deliberately burnt Rome, so it can be interpreted that even though the singer creates his own problems, he’ll distract himself and ignore the situation.

“But don’t be alone

Did I tell you that I spent most of my sister’s wedding stoned?

Say what you want with blood and bone

And stick a finger in their faces when they say you’re overblown

Say yes to sun! Say yes to pain!

Say yes to sticking with a city through a thousand days of rain!

Say yes to grace! Say no to spite!

Say yes to this! Say yes to you!

Say yes to me! Say yes to love!

Say yes to life!

Say, say yes to life!”

The closing verse says a lot to the listener, it’s almost like Le’aupepe is saying that drug and alcohol intake can be okay, in certain aspects. Explaining that he spent most of his sister’s wedding stoned implies he was not sober for a very important event in his life. However, the closing lines are trying to push home that there is so much more to live for in life, you could relate these last lines back to the movie ‘Trainspotting’, referencing the famous monologue at the start of the movie as the protagonist lists better ways to spend life than on drugs, kind of what Le’aupepe does here.

Magnolia – Gang of Youths

Song one: Magnolia

The first song I’ll be talking about in this series of blogs based on Gang of Youths is the song that first gained them national attention in Australia. Lead singer, David Le’aupepe begun writing music while his then wife was battling cancer and while he himself was spiralling down a depression, which led to their divorce and . These themes really set the tone for most of the music Gang of Youths write and perform; hauntingly beautiful ballads.

Magnolia is no exception, written five years ago the song is recounting the events of a night Le’aupepe was at the end of a weeklong alcoholic bender and was planning to commit suicide, before he was found by police and taken to rehab.

The song begins with the lyrics:

“Quit honking your horns, there’s five other lanes

And I’m king of them all and faster than light”

As previously mentioned, Le’aupepe was drunk and ready to end it all, he was stumbling around a multiply lane highway after realising his marriage was completely over and he was ready to face death head on that night, with a strange sense of confidence.

The pre chorus starts to introduce an element of self-awareness is Le’aupepe’s actions as his friends and band mates had called the police on him after he wasn’t answering their phone calls.

“Hold on, officer, I know that I’m a danger to myself,

And it shows, ‘cause I’m on the other side of the law”

Forever lucky that the police found him in time and were able to talk him out of whatever he was planning on doing that night, which leads to the chorus and explains the turning point in that night for Le’aupepe.

“There’s no way tonight, as far as I know,

That heaven will take me, so I’m staggering home

Show me the way, yeah show me the light

Yeah, I’m drunk but I’m ready to kick some ass tonight.”

This is a somewhat happy ending to the disastrious night, after realising that there’s nothing the afterlife can offer him, Le’aupepe decides to stagger home and sat in front of his dad magnolia tree, asking to be shown the light and how he’s ready to kick some ass tonight, which is referring to him going to rehab in order to sort out his mental illness.

Le’aupepe did stay sober and refers to the date of the Third of June in the song, which fans refer to as ‘Magnolia Day’, the day that Le’aupepe overcame and survived his mental illness.