Previously, Mayberry was a member of the bands Boyfriend/Girlfriend and Blue Sky Archives. Mayberry is a trained drummer and also did a four-year law degree, followed by a Masters in journalism. Cook was a member of Aereogramme and The Unwinding Hours and also wrote music for film and TV. Doherty was a live member of The Twilight Sad. According to Mayberry, "Iain and Martin went to university together so they've known each other for quite a long time".
The band started in October 2011 as a studio project between the long time friends Iain Cook and Martin Doherty. Cook already knew Lauren Mayberry from working with Blue Sky Archives and suggested her as a potential vocalist for the project.
CHVRCHES were influenced by acts such as Prince, Tubeway Army, Robyn, Depeche Mode, Kate Bush, Cocteau Twins, Michael Jackson, Whitney Houston and Laurie Anderson. The band write, record, mix and master everything in a basement studio in Glasgow.
In May 2012, they released the song "Lies". In the same year, CHVRCHES toured with Passion Pit, as the opening band for their concerts and also toured on their own. "Lies" ranked at number 28 on NME's Best Tracks of 2012. CHVRCHES also came fifth on the BBC's Sound of 2013 list.
On 25 March 2013, they released Recover EP. They performed at SXSW and won the Inaugural Grulke Prize (for Developing Non-US Act). The band also supported Depeche Mode on four shows in July during their The Delta Machine Tour 2013.
On 20 September 2013, CHVRCHES released their debut album, The Bones of What You Believe. The album is supported by the singles "The Mother We Share", "Recover" and "Gun".
Links: official site at chvrch.es | Facebook | Twitter | Soundcloud | Tumblr | Vimeo
Graffiti
CHVRCHES Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Before we were dragged up, something was different and nothing was new
How did you see me?
We didn't know what we wanted to be
When did we move on?
I didn't feel it, nobody told me
Time to kill
Time stood still
And now we never will, never will
We wrote our names along the bathroom walls
Graffitiing our hearts across the stalls
I've been waiting for my whole life to grow old
And now we never will, never will
And now we never will, never will
And now we never will, never will
Standing in streetlights, we didn't know wrong, didn't know right
Making a mess and running in circles, getting in fights
We were just kids then, we didn't know how and didn't know when
Taking our chances, calling it off and starting again
Time to kill
Was always an illusion
Time stood still
And now we never will, never will
We wrote our names along the bathroom walls
Graffitiing our hearts across the stalls
I've been waiting for my whole life to grow old
And now we never will, never will
And now we never will, never will
And now we never will, never will
And now we never will, never will
Never will
Never will
We wrote our names along the bathroom walls
Graffitiing our hearts across the stalls
I've been waiting for my whole life to grow old
And now we never will, never will
And now we never will, never will
And now we never will, never will
And now we never will, never will
And now we never will, never will
The lyrics of the song "Graffiti" by CHVRCHES explore the theme of nostalgia and the passage of time. The opening lines "I'm writing to ask you; did you achieve all you wanted to do?" sets the tone for the rest of the song as the singer reflects on their past and wonders if they have accomplished all they wanted in life. The lines "Before we were dragged up, something was different and nothing was new" suggests a longing for a simpler time before the weight of adulthood and responsibilities set in.
The chorus of the song "We wrote our names along the bathroom walls, Graffitiing our hearts across the stalls" is a powerful metaphor for the way we leave our mark on the world, both physically and emotionally. The act of leaving graffiti, defacing property, may be seen as an act of rebellion, but its impact can be lasting and memorable. The singer seems to be wistfully recalling their youth, the feeling of being invincible and not caring about the consequences of their actions.
The line "I've been waiting for my whole life to grow old, and now we never will" is a poignant reminder that time is fleeting and we can't go back to the past. The repetition of "never will" at the end of the song emphasizes the finality of the passage of time.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm writing to ask you; did you achieve all you wanted to do?
The singer is reflecting on their past and questioning whether they have accomplished everything they wanted to in life.
Before we were dragged up, something was different and nothing was new
The singer is reminiscing on their youth and how things felt more novel and exciting before they were jaded by the world.
How did you see me?
The singer is pondering how the people around them viewed them at a certain point in time.
We didn't know what we wanted to be
The artist and their peers were unsure of what they wanted to do or become in life.
When did we move on?
The artist is questioning when they and their friends grew up and lost touch with their youthful ways.
I didn't feel it, nobody told me
The singer did not realize they and their friends were growing apart until after it had happened.
Time to kill
Was always an illusion
Time stood still
And now we never will, never will
The concept of having 'time to kill' was always a false idea, and now that time has passed, time no longer stands still for the singer and their friends.
We wrote our names along the bathroom walls
Graffitiing our hearts across the stalls
I've been waiting for my whole life to grow old
And now we never will, never will
And now we never will, never will
And now we never will, never will
The artist and their friends used to leave their mark on the world by expressing themselves through graffiti on bathroom walls, but now they realize they will never get to experience all the things they once thought they would as they grow older and time continues to pass.
Standing in streetlights, we didn't know wrong, didn't know right
Making a mess and running in circles, getting in fights
We were just kids then, we didn't know how and didn't know when
Taking our chances, calling it off and starting again
The artist is reminiscing on their youth, where they acted without thinking and didn't care about consequences because they were naive and carefree.
Never will
Never will
The final repetition of 'never will' drives home the idea that the artist and their friends will never be able to recapture the excitement and wonder of their youth, now that they're older and more jaded.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Gregory Allen Kurstin, Iain Andrew Cook, Lauren Eve Mayberry, Martin Clifford Doherty
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@jaetguz
It's the freaking way in which she sings "I've been waiting for my whole life to grow old..." is just beyond soothing and it sounds so right...so good. I would've extended the final chorus to two bars. It's the sweetest thing in the song!
@Danzilla03
Clever song writing
@leea1988
Lauren's voice. I'll never get over it ❤
@ScottyRyan246
Something feels so nostalgic about this. Thank you Chvrches for this art.
@desmondking9705
This is one of the saddest songs i've ever heard yet i love it so much. It's not just "child romance". To me, this perfectly illustrates the pain of apathy. She (the narrator) has known someone her whole life and being with him makes growing old and even death seem ok. Every second promised a future that they both swore to share "graffiting our hearts across the stalls.", and then he just "moved on". As though it was some sort of a decision, yet no one ever said anything.
It's like the pain of someone close to you dying, yet they didn't die, they just changed, and that person she once knew will never be with her again. "I've been waiting my whole life to grow old, and now we never will, never will." - it's not that they will never grow old, it's that now they will never grow old together.
This is way to common among my generation. Except usually both sides are apathetic so no one ever feels it. It hurts too much to care.
@PistachioMustachio_
This song to me represents the ending of an old era with someone you loved, you still love them but you have moved on. It makes me think of how being in love felt, and how it changes forms. When they float it’s exactly how you feel when you’re young and in love. You feel lighter and happier, like you are flying. The song is kind of like when you go back in your head and you find memories you forgot existed.
@denariuswright8284
The writers of the song stated it has nothing to do with romance but rather the complexities of growing up and realizing adulthood is very different from what you expected it to be in childhood .....and how childhood friends change through the years.
@italkgory99
@Denarius Wright right, but lyrics are up for interpretation and Perception. It applies to peoples lives in different ways
@alfe1402
You will float too!!!
@thevicfreak9865
You couldn’t express it any better bro! 👌🏻👏🏻