Brian's Explanation Master List

landan101 wrote:

ha brian fallon does not seem like the kind of guy to smoke weed before going on stage at least

I agree. He's said he doesn't drink or do drugs, he does smoke, though.
Says his mom wants him to quit for Christmas...

steph wrote:

im going to assume you guys are joking as its well documented that he doesnt even really drink, let alone smoke weed or anything else

He smokes cigarettes like a boss though.

There's a line from Great Expectations that seems to be a tribute to Bob Seger. In his song Night Moves there's a line that goes "Started humming a song from 1962, Ain't it funny how the night moves."

rhg5010 wrote:

Area 4 festival saw Brian saying some weird things... not really explaining the songs but:
before Casanova, Baby
-"And in that girl's trunk, she had a fish the size of Alaska. And it was a magical fish. And it would talk about tarot cards and reading the future. And I'm not sure what she saw in those things, but I'm sure she had blue eyes"

This story could also be used for the album AS, because of Bring It On, "My queen of the Bronx, BLUE EYED and spit fire." Also the whole motif of telling
fortunes that shows up in AS.

At the Spin Magazine interview, Brian explained he wrote Old Haunts because his mom told him he was always living in the future or in the past, and never living in the moment.

I'm not sure why they cut that part out of the video they posted online, but you can take my word that he said it...

Brian doesn't drink or do drugs haha.

An older interview with little insight on Brian -
http://rantnravewithjohn.com/2009/05/12/interview-brian-fallon/

rhg5010 wrote:

Area 4 festival saw Brian saying some weird things... not really explaining the songs but:
before Casanova, Baby
-"And in that girl's trunk, she had a fish the size of Alaska. And it was a magical fish. And it would talk about tarot cards and reading the future. And I'm not sure what she saw in those things, but I'm sure she had blue eyes"

before Say I Won't (Recognize)
-"And then she tried to change the tire when we got a flat. And she did it with a corkscrew and a bottle-opener. And she turned tire air into wine. She was trying to be like Jesus, didn't get it right, but whatever we had wine at the end of the day."

also in the middle of Say I Won't, before the "do you like good music?" song, he says something like "Yeah but I have to ask her dad if I can take her out, I don't have any money" an obvious derivation from Springsteen's Rosalita.

I actually just used that in a song I wrote, the whole turning tire air into wine.

"We're Getting a Divorce.." meaning...

Blew me away...

About OLD HAUNTS (in Vienna 7.11.2010)

Where we're coming from it's a small town. That's (referring to a Bruce story he told earlier) the good side of it. But the bad side of things a lot of people get hopeless. And they end up spending their life - they start at 21 going to the bars, start drinking. You know what: When you're 21 - YEAH. But the problem is, when you're 35, you don't have a job and you're still doing it
Some people ask me about this song and they say it's kind of nasty. It's not nasty. It's about hope, about inspiring someone to follow the dreams they had when they were kids. This song is called Old Haunts and it's about not standing still.

video on youtube incl. intro

It's kind of fun for me to entertain the idea that the intro to Cowgirls is loosely written after Petty's "Breakdown" intro. I know musically they're completely different, but it's all I can think of when i hear the song. Even the first time I heard it.

brilliant page , keep up the good work - just joined this fan site, its excellant -
p.s cant wait to hear the horrible crowes material on the revival tour - newcastle, england in october !!

Here's some info I can think of from watching Youtube videos and stories Brian tells at shows...

Great Expectations: The lyrics are about the point in life when you realize your childhood dreams are not exactly going to come true (Explained in the video of Brian playing this acoustic for Spin Magazine).

The Patient Ferris Wheel: At the show earlier this month in Asbury Park, Brian explained that on the shore, the winters are dead and in a way depressing, and this song is about waiting for the tourists to come back and the towns to get busy again.

We Came to Dance: A homage to the small basement shows they used to play "from New Brunswick to Germany". He said that at the Asbury show as well.

The Navesink Banks: The Navesink River runs through Red Bank, the town where Brian was born. Doesn't really reach Asbury Park.

The Diamond Church Street Choir: At a show two summers ago in Philly (Summer Stage, Penns Landing), Brain dedicated the song to his friend Andy Domino. Maybe that's who the song is about/name after?

Cassanova, Baby: "Not so much being a cassanova, but trying to prove it to a lady" (Acoustic version for NME from '08 Leeds)

I know this is nitpicky, but The Clash S/T is '77, London Calling is '79

the bar 1963 wrote:

An older interview with little insight on Brian -
rantnravewithjohn .com/2009/05/12/interview-brian-fallon/

That interview was brilliant! So many wise words from Brian.
He's really humble.

Quote :

"Well I was just a guy with a guitar, and if you weren’t here, I’d still be a guy with a guitar."

And this part reminds med a lot of the lyrics for Handwritten.

Quote :

"My whole goal is to let people know that those nights when you are sitting in your room and you have no idea what’s going on, you are not the only one. There is someone else that feels the way you do. And if there’s me, and there’s them, there are probably millions of people that feel the same way, and maybe that’s the connection."

About Boxer:

Who was the inspiration for your song Boxer?
A friend I grew up with went through a real bad breakup and found himself living back with his parents. I remembered when we were living in New York we would see all these guys, whether they were wearing a suit or garbage men, walk into the boxing gym. You could tell that, as they were wrapping their hands up, as they were changing their clothes, getting into a sweat, it was like their mind was calming down and everything else in their day would sort of pass away.
I used to watch these guys shadow box and that image reminded me of what my friend was doing at the time, fighting his way through the next phase of his life and just focussing. He was at a point where felt like he was going to give up a little bit, that’s when I came up with the line “Remember when I knew a boxer, baby!” [to tell him] you used to fight all these things.
Calling a guy “baby” is like a joke where we come from. That’s just what we do!

Source:
http://fightland.vice.com/blog/my-walkout-song-brian-fallon-of-the-gaslight-anthem

I always thought that maybe if I lived in NJ all of Brian's lyrics would be so mundane to me, because they talk about real places and real people that I might actually know. Living so far away, the lyrics take on a kind of mystical quality, like, where is this amazing boardwalk he keeps mentioning, and the fireworks and all that? It lets my mind wander and imagine all these cool scenarios.

Anwayyy, cool story about Boxer!

Awesome interview!

I'm quite the MMA fan myself and I had no idea that some of the Gaslighters were into it. Cool stuff.

Came across an interview the other day, where Brian talks about Red Violins...

"I can’t remember a dream in I don’t know how many years. It’s become a thing: why don’t I remember dreams? Everyone else has dreams. I seem to limited myself. I can’t see beyond what’s in front of me, I’ve been searching around for that, in a longing way. “There are red violins playing in my dreams” (lyrics from the song “Red Violins”). You know how people say that they are playing violins for themselves, that they have sympathy for themselves? That song is like a shill for sympathy."

(http://radio.com/2014/08/11/qa-the-gaslight-anthem-look-to-u2-and-pink-floyd-for-career-survival-tips/)

Old Haunts

http://thebrianfallon.tumblr.com/post/138741361494/ive-got-a-question-ive-wanted-to-ask-you-for

hostutca wrote:

When they were on tour with The Draft I believe, that or The Loved Ones Brian was talking about We're getting a divorce, You keep the diner and he explained that when you are dating someone in Jersey it's common for the two of you and your friends to all meet at a specific diner and it almost become part of the relationship.  He said one of the hardest parts of breaking up is deciding who gets to keep going to the diner because you want to keep contact with this other person at the minimum; almost like a child in a divorce.

Often wondered that, and that makes perfect sense, thank you.   And prime post-bar diner hours = ripe for drama anyway since you're likely tired and/or had a few.

Learned from the Boston show that the Horrible Crowes album was named "Elsie" after a character from a Mighty Boosh sketch. That was a new one to me.

Brian answered this about Angry Johnny and the Radio in his Reddit AmA the other day:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/4a07wo/im_brian_fallon_of_the_gaslight_anthem_ask_me/

Q: Good day from Sweden! Cool that you do this! If have to choose one of many questions, and mine will be, I have been thinking about Angry Johnny & The Radio, it's a wonderful song, and I love to interpret and get into the lyrics, but I can't seem to grasp och comprehend "84 takes a lifetime" and "sing 'em ragged". What do they mean? Wonderful record, both that one and the new one. Hope to see you in Sweden soon! / Adam

A: I don't explain the lyrics normally, but I will tell you 84 is a highway on the way from New Jersey to New England.

He already kinda explained that from a old twitter post where somebody was like : "Man, Brian Fallon was right, the 84 highway takes a lifetime", and Brian answered back "You nailed it".

At Brian' solo Glasgow show, he told us what Maryann was about: 'Its about a nightmare I had and the fear of becoming a father'
I just discovered this thread and thought I would contribute the little knowledge I have.