I got the GREAT opportunity to see their secret reunion show, and they played "Something to Write Home About" from front to back. Before this song, they explained the meaning, and Miss Chainsaw is the closest. They wrote this as a frustrated love letter to Kansas City. When they were first getting started, they experienced great success and acclaim from around the country, but they couldn't get anyone from their hometown to appreciate them. That's still true today. Throughout the nation they are lauded as harbingers of the mid-90's second-wave emo scene, but here in Kansas City few people have even heard of them outside of those most in touch with the music scene. I wasn't sure of the meaning before, but now that they explained it it's so clear to me. For instance;
"Every word you wrote down,
we read it over to know...
would they believe in us now?"
Expresses their anxiety and frustration at wanting the city they were raised in to appreciate their work.
There's no shame like no sound
from sources hits close to home.
This is expressing that their greatest "shame" is that even if they can amass fans from across the country, they can't get noticed in their hometown. That "hits close to home" (also a dual meaning, in that they can't make any "hits" in their hometown.)
We know you'll never be there.
We're not waiting forever,
but if you get out we'll see you there.
I see this as speaking to two different entities; The first two lines to the city in general, expressing their loss of belief in their hometown, and feelings that they will never come around to them. The third line is to potential fans. If they manage to get out of Kansas City, they they will surely discover their music, and they will "see them there".
Maybe we had all you figured out
absolutely wrong.
There's been a misunderstanding
we've had all along.
You can read about it when we're gone.
This is them saying that maybe they had misjudged their city. They started off at a time when the music scene in Kansas City was thriving, producing bands like Coalesce, Boy's Life and others (including Puddle of Mudd, which I understand was actually great back in the day before they drastically changed their sound for the worse.) However, over the past decade the music scene has all but died off. There are some great bands and artists, but there is no cohesive local "scene". They're saying that maybe that period in time they experienced was an anomaly, and that it shaped their perceptions of the city.
But I think that the most telling and eerily accurate part is the final line, "You can read about it when we're gone". Of course when this was written they had no plans of a breakup, but rather they were fearing that they would fade away and become a slight mark in the local history books. But rather, after they broke up in 2005, they had truly made their mark on music as a whole, all the while never being greatly noticed by their hometown.
Sorry for the huge thesis, but after they explained it at the show, I had a sudden realization I thought I'd contribute.
Thank you so much for this info! I recently had a huge realization when listening to the entire STWHA album, and basically came to this same conclusion about this song that you've described... You don't realize how much of the album is actually about them leaving their hometown and trying to make it as a band.
Thank you so much for this info! I recently had a huge realization when listening to the entire STWHA album, and basically came to this same conclusion about this song that you've described... You don't realize how much of the album is actually about them leaving their hometown and trying to make it as a band.
It's almost ironic that I never "got it" until recently-- I mean, the album is even called "Something to WRITE HOME ABOUT" Even with songs like "Valentine," knowing that Valentine is actually the name of a street doesn't really change the meaning for you until you are ready to accept what the song may be about.
What's bizarre is that I actually felt like there was a "conversation" going on in this song. If you listen VERY carefully, you can catch it. It's amazingly well produced.
This album reminds me of JEW's Clarity--another album seemingly filled with emo-love songs, but upon closer inspection you realize what it's actually about--the band being a band.
Thanks again for the insight--it's nice that there's proof that this is what the song means. I was always conflicted because of another lyric analysis I read on this site years ago.
I got the GREAT opportunity to see their secret reunion show, and they played "Something to Write Home About" from front to back. Before this song, they explained the meaning, and Miss Chainsaw is the closest. They wrote this as a frustrated love letter to Kansas City. When they were first getting started, they experienced great success and acclaim from around the country, but they couldn't get anyone from their hometown to appreciate them. That's still true today. Throughout the nation they are lauded as harbingers of the mid-90's second-wave emo scene, but here in Kansas City few people have even heard of them outside of those most in touch with the music scene. I wasn't sure of the meaning before, but now that they explained it it's so clear to me. For instance;
"Every word you wrote down, we read it over to know... would they believe in us now?"
Expresses their anxiety and frustration at wanting the city they were raised in to appreciate their work.
There's no shame like no sound from sources hits close to home.
This is expressing that their greatest "shame" is that even if they can amass fans from across the country, they can't get noticed in their hometown. That "hits close to home" (also a dual meaning, in that they can't make any "hits" in their hometown.)
We know you'll never be there. We're not waiting forever, but if you get out we'll see you there.
I see this as speaking to two different entities; The first two lines to the city in general, expressing their loss of belief in their hometown, and feelings that they will never come around to them. The third line is to potential fans. If they manage to get out of Kansas City, they they will surely discover their music, and they will "see them there".
Maybe we had all you figured out absolutely wrong. There's been a misunderstanding we've had all along. You can read about it when we're gone.
This is them saying that maybe they had misjudged their city. They started off at a time when the music scene in Kansas City was thriving, producing bands like Coalesce, Boy's Life and others (including Puddle of Mudd, which I understand was actually great back in the day before they drastically changed their sound for the worse.) However, over the past decade the music scene has all but died off. There are some great bands and artists, but there is no cohesive local "scene". They're saying that maybe that period in time they experienced was an anomaly, and that it shaped their perceptions of the city.
But I think that the most telling and eerily accurate part is the final line, "You can read about it when we're gone". Of course when this was written they had no plans of a breakup, but rather they were fearing that they would fade away and become a slight mark in the local history books. But rather, after they broke up in 2005, they had truly made their mark on music as a whole, all the while never being greatly noticed by their hometown.
Sorry for the huge thesis, but after they explained it at the show, I had a sudden realization I thought I'd contribute.
Thank you so much for this info! I recently had a huge realization when listening to the entire STWHA album, and basically came to this same conclusion about this song that you've described... You don't realize how much of the album is actually about them leaving their hometown and trying to make it as a band.
Thank you so much for this info! I recently had a huge realization when listening to the entire STWHA album, and basically came to this same conclusion about this song that you've described... You don't realize how much of the album is actually about them leaving their hometown and trying to make it as a band.
It's almost ironic that I never "got it" until recently-- I mean, the album is even called "Something to WRITE HOME ABOUT" Even with songs like "Valentine," knowing that Valentine is actually the name of a street doesn't really change the meaning for you until you are ready to accept what the song may be about.
What's bizarre is that I actually felt like there was a "conversation" going on in this song. If you listen VERY carefully, you can catch it. It's amazingly well produced.
This album reminds me of JEW's Clarity--another album seemingly filled with emo-love songs, but upon closer inspection you realize what it's actually about--the band being a band.
Thanks again for the insight--it's nice that there's proof that this is what the song means. I was always conflicted because of another lyric analysis I read on this site years ago.