Hall of Famer #3:
Brothers On A Hotel Bed
Death Cab for Cutie
2005
Why?
We've already seen songs from two of the so called 'four core bands' of my youth, Coldplay and Snow Patrol. Death Cab for Cutie was another and is the one that stands out most to me this very moment because of their excellent recent album and my terrible mistake of letting laziness keep me from their concert last week. There are a lot of Death Cab songs I'd like to put here, but "Brothers On A Hotel Bed", for me, was the clear choice. This songs carries with it a profound musical sacredness, an immediately overwhelming peace that begs my attention with the very first chord as if not giving this song all the attention I have is a disservice. Few songs hold such an emotional weight in my life, and it achieved that value with its flawless composition and the simple sincerity of its words.
"Brothers On A Hotel Bed" currently ranks as my 15th most played song of all time, which is a position only reached by songs that have been with me for a long time. In fact, out of my top 20, it hit my iTunes collection the earliest when I started using my first iPod in 2006. My first taste of Death Cab came in the form of two of their albums simultaneously: Plans, the album we're pulling from here, and the earlier Transatlanticism. Included here are songs like "I Will Follow You Into The Dark", "Soul Meets Body", "The Sound of Settling", and plenty of other popular greats -- really no weak song whatsoever, but Brothers was always my favorite. At a time when I was starting to realize that quieter, more sentimental songs were usually the ones that meant the most to me, Brothers was an invaluable addition to my small library.
The song is, of course, led by piano, but just as important as its introductory chords is their background, which can easily go unnoticed. Very faintly, we hear a mixture of sounds that's hard to pinpoint. The best description I've got is that it sounds like a casino room in the distance, which, somehow, pours a lot more emotion into the piece than the silence they could have left there. One minute in, and we get drums, electric guitar, and bass instead. Synthesized sounds and an acoustic guitar join in later, helping the song build slightly more and more energy as it goes along. Overall, it never strays far from its initial sense of serenity, thanks in great part to Ben Gibbard's fitting voice.
And, as always, the lyrics are a huge factor in why I came to love this song like I do. Let's take a look.
You may tire of me as our December sun is setting
Cause I'm not who I used to be
No longer easy on the eyes
But these wrinkles masterfully disguise the youthful boy below
Who turned your way and saw something he was not looking for:
Both a beginning and an end
But now he lives inside someone he does not recognize
When he catches his reflection on accident.
On the back of a motor bike
With your arms outstretched trying to take flight
Leaving everything behind
But even at our swiftest speed we couldn't break from the concrete
In the city where we still reside.
And I have learned that even landlocked lovers yearn for the sea like navy men
Cause now we say goodnight from our own separate sides
Like brothers on a hotel bed
Like brothers on a hotel bed
Like brothers on a hotel bed
Like brothers on a hotel bed
My interpretation of the message here is the first phrase itself: you may tire of me. Ben sings of growing older, touching on the change in physicality and identity, the yearning for things gone by, and a subtle fear of what age brings -- or doesn't bring -- with it. It's not just about the age of a person, however, it's about the age of a love, one that time beats upon until the two who are in this love feel it slipping away. Eventually, although they try to escape the descent, they reach the point where it seems awkward for them to be sleeping together... like two grown brothers in the same hotel bed. This portrayal speaks volumes and I could go on and on about each line and concept, but that's not quite what I want to accomplish here. The band's always especially strong with lyrics, but this is a highlight for me in that regard.
Please, enjoy this song yourself.
Here's a live recording.
Here's a cool jazzy cover.
And one more interesting take
"Now he lives inside someone he does not recognize"
Brothers On a Hotel Bed
Song #3
