Despite the similarity in name to the British band The Verve, there is no relation between the two.
In 1992, working with producer/engineer Jon Frazer, they released their first album, I've Suffered a Head Injury, which featured an acoustic version of the band's calling-card hit, "The Freshmen." The original 10-song version of the CD is no longer available. A 7-song version, without the original recording of "The Freshmen" and two songs written by Stout, was later released as an EP.
The band, known for its energetic live performances, built strong followings during its early years, especially in the college towns of Kalamazoo and East Lansing.
In the fall of 1993, the band released a second album, Pop Smear again working with Frazer that helped them gain a devoted following in their native state of Michigan and their eventual signing with RCA Records in 1995. AJ Dunning replaced Stout on guitar for the recording of Pop Smear and remained in the band for their three RCA records. This album featured the popular tracks "Spoonful of Sugar" and "Victoria" among others. While Doug Corolla played on Pop Smear, he was not a full member of the band until 1994.
Their first major label release was 1996's Villains, which was a minor hit and launched two respectably-selling singles, first Photograph then the #1 hit The Freshmen. They came back with The Verve Pipe in 1999, with such tracks as "Supergig," "Generations" and "She Has Faces." The album, however, failed to contain the commercial appeal of its predecessor.
The band's final release for RCA Records was 2001's Underneath. The song "Colorful," from Underneath, was featured on the soundtrack of Rock Star. Underneath's release unfortunately coincided with the September 11th terroist attacks which contributed to the album's poor sales which led to the band being dropped from RCA.
On September 15, 2009, Brian Vander Ark announced on his Web site that the band would be releasing a new album called A Family Album in October, 2009. The band had been approached to contribute a song for an album called "Calling All Kids" which led to them creating an entire album of family friendly songs.
Lead singer Brian Vander Ark has also released four solo albums: 2003's Resurrection, 2006's Angel, Put Your Face On, 2008's self-titled release Brian Vander Ark and 2011's Magazine.
Since the release of Underneath, the band's line up has changed frequently with former members including Joel Ferguson, Dan Matheny and John Conners. The current line up is as follows:
* Brian Vander Ark – lead vocals, guitars
* Donny Brown – drums, background vocals
* Andy Reed – bass, background vocals
* Randy Sly – keyboards, background vocals
* Lou Musa - guitars, background vocals
* Craig Griffith - harmonica, background vocals
Reverend Girl
The Verve Pipe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We are for the moment
We are a crusade
But we are invalid
1 A.M. rummaging
Stained my hands on her antique
Reverend girl
And I am so indifferent
And I am whatever
3 A.M. cellophane
suffocates my favorite things
4 A.M.
The reverend girl
Seems that the more we're achieving
The less chance of leaving this world
With a reverend girl
Another lover wakes me
Head upon the window pane
Before the thunder shook us
She could always smell the rain
A year is dissipating
Another hail cannot disdain
Nevermind the thunder
Now my lover smells like
Now my lover smells like
Now my lover smells like rain
The Verve Pipe's song Reverend Girl is a complex song with deep meaning. The first two lines of the song, "We are for today, we are for the moment" set the tone for the rest of the lyrics. The song is about living in the present, enjoying the moment but also acknowledging that it may not last forever. The lines "We are a crusade, but we are invalid" speak to the idea that we may have aspirations and goals, but we are still human and fallible. The lyrics show a sense of resignation to the fleeting nature of life, the idea that everything will eventually come to an end.
The next few lines of the song take a darker turn, with the singer describing an encounter with a reverend girl. The lines "1 A.M. rummaging, stained my hands on her antique, 2 A.M. reverend girl" paint a picture of a furtive, possibly illicit, meeting. The singer seems detached, almost indifferent to what is happening, as evidenced by the lines "And I am so indifferent, and I am whatever." The cellophane suffocating the singer's favorite things in verse 2, and "Another lover wakes me, head upon the window pane, before the thunder shook us, she could always smell the rain" in verse 3, create an ominous atmosphere that hints at an imminent sense of loss. In the last verse, the singer seems to be reflecting on the passage of time and the transience of things. "A year is dissipating, another hail cannot disdain, nevermind the thunder" alludes to the idea that time is slipping away, and there's nothing we can do to change it.
Line by Line Meaning
We are for today
We only care about the present moment
We are for the moment
We only care about the current moment
We are a crusade
We are passionate about our cause
But we are invalid
But our cause has no real value or validity
1 A.M. rummaging
It's 1 AM and I'm searching through her things
Stained my hands on her antique
I got some sort of stain on my hands while touching her antique
2 A.M.
It's 2 AM now
Reverend girl
Referring to the girl as a holy or religious figure
And I am so indifferent
I don't really care about anything
And I am whatever
I have no specific identity or purpose
3 A.M. cellophane
It's 3 AM and I'm surrounded by cellophane
suffocates my favorite things
The cellophane is smothering or covering up things that I care about
4 A.M.
It's now 4 AM
The reverend girl
Referring to the girl as a holy or religious figure
Seems that the more we're achieving
It appears that the more success we have, the less likely we are to leave this world with the reverend girl
The less chance of leaving this world
With a reverend girl
The higher our level of success, the lower the probability of achieving our goal of being with the reverend girl
Another lover wakes me
I'm woken up by a different lover
Head upon the window pane
I have my head resting against the window
Before the thunder shook us
Before the thunderstorm startled us
She could always smell the rain
The girl can predict when it's going to rain
A year is dissipating
A year is coming to an end and fading away
Another hail cannot disdain
Even if another obstacle comes up, we won't be discouraged
Nevermind the thunder
Ignore the noise and chaos around us
Now my lover smells like
My current partner has the scent of
Now my lover smells like rain
My current partner has the scent of rain
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: A.J. DUNNING, BRAD VANDER ARK, BRIAN VANDER ARK, DONNY BROWN, DOUG CORELLA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind