Keep It In The Ground, by The Violet Archers

Keep It In The Ground

by The Violet Archers

supported by

	/

Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

$1.99 CAD or more

1.	Keep It In The Ground 04:08	lyrics	buy track
We've got to keep it in the ground We've got to keep it in the ground We've dug enough to go around Enough to make us drown Just take a look around We've got to leave it where it lies We've got to leave it where it lies Instead of digging in the dirt For a momentary hit And then filling up the skies We've got to turn this ship around We've got to turn our ship around 'Cause the writing's on the wall We're about to take a fall And this ship is going down What do I know? I know tomorrow I wanna stick around I wanna keep it in the ground A couple hundred million years To strike the balance we got here Takes us a couple hundred more To burn through all the stores And watch the balance disappear It's worth way more underground Now it's worth way more underground It's not hard to understand We are living off the land To this balance we are bound What can I say? Want us to be OK Want us to stick around I wanna leave it like I found it I lay my shovel down I wanna keep it in the ground We're living way beyond our means We've got to live within our means Spending everything at once There's a reckoning that comes with irresponsibility We've got it better than we know We've had it better than we know But we been running amok Like we don't give a care We got to show some self-control What do I know? I know tomorrow Want us to stick around I wanna leave it, like I found it I lay my shovel down And keep it in the ground I wanna keep it in the ground I wanna keep it in the ground Come on and keep it in the ground
2.	Quiet This Morning 04:08	lyrics	buy track
It's quiet this morning The birds aren't singing Perhaps they're leaving Perhaps they're dreaming Of the way it might have been If we'd begun to learn our lesson from what's going on Ah, before it comes undone Red-winged things Offer messages on out-stretched wings How much more to see the light? It's out of sight You take too much Before you know it and you're out of touch With no way to pay it back Oh we had it good Better than we ever understood Yet all you hear is the cry for more And that's the score The final act The finest balance on a broken back And pieces falling slowly down And all around They slip into the sea without a sound Where one by one, they're taken back That's a cold, hard fact.

about

I wanted to put my thoughts on the climate crisis down as concisely and completely as possible in a song. I started with the phrase ‘keep it in the ground’ (of course). The first guitar idea that came was upbeat and high energy and blues-based with that ‘say it, repeat it, explain it’ format. It felt right. I wanted to make it listenable. So I employed my pop sensibility for the chorus. I’m pretty satisfied with how it turned out. I don’t think of it as preachy. I think of it as me expressing myself as an individual, and then hopefully striking a chord with other people who are thinking along the same lines, and then creating a vibration that’s a little bigger than myself. A little bit hippie, but then again, I don’t know what else to do.

“Quiet This Morning” started the opposite way, with the music pretty much fully formed first. Lyrically, I ended up thinking along the same lines as “Keep It In The Ground,” but more from a post-apocalyptic perspective.

The main thought in both songs is how we have failed to appreciate how good we’ve had it, how fortunate we’ve been to have hit this sweet spot in which we’ve been able to thrive as a species. But it’s a precariously balanced sweet spot and there are physical limits to our thriving which is accelerating out of control. It’s time to take stock of all the variables and proceed with our very survival in mind. It’s just science. A cold, hard fact. —Tim Vesely

credits

released December 5, 2021

Tim Vesely - vocals, guitar, bass
Steve O’Connor - organ
Lyle Molzan - drums

Recorded and mixed by Tim Vesely
Mastered by João Carvhallo

Cover artwork by Jane Gowan

license

about

The Violet Archers Toronto, Ontario

The Violet Archers is the solo project of Tim Vesely, a “master pop craftsman” (Exclaim), founding Rheostatics band member and producer/composer based in Toronto. In search of an alternate environment in which to express his songwriting vision, Vesely formed the band in 2005, joined by Yawd Sylvester, Cam Giroux, Scott Remila and Ida Nilsen. ... more

thevioletarchers.com

contact / help

Contact The Violet Archers

Streaming and
Download help

Redeem code

Report this album or account

If you like The Violet Archers, you may also like:

Pickle Boi
by glee crime scene

Giddy and ramshackle bedroom indie pop bursting with buoyant guitars and summery vocal hooks. Bandcamp New & Notable Jul 24, 2023
go to album
When My Heart Felt Volcanic
by The Aces

Big, sparkling pop music from The Aces, with hooks for days and glimmering instrumentation. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 14, 2018
go to album
Lustre
by Glassreel

Gentle chamber pop with rich, rococo arrangements driven by winsome vocal melodies. Bandcamp New & Notable Oct 9, 2022
go to album
Portraits
by Rob Dickson

“Portraits” is a collection of expertly drawn narrative songs with sharply observed lyrics and rustic instrumentation. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 25, 2022
go to album
Diamond Violence
by Marker Starling

featured on Bandcamp Radio Sep 20, 2022
go to album
Sounds From Your Lips
by Meggie Lennon

Lightly psychedelic chamber-pop from Meggie Lennon shimmers and sparkles like the sun reflecting on a bunch of colorful balloons. Bandcamp New & Notable Jun 17, 2021
go to album
Rooting for Love
by Laetitia Sadier

featured on Bandcamp Radio Jan 23, 2024
go to album