Rowan – “One Of These Days”
The Cork-based indie band, Rowan, hit you in the gut with their song, “One Of These Days”. The gritty, black and white video captures perfectly the punch of the lyrics. Comprised of multi-instrumentalists Dylan Howe, Fionn Hennessy-Hayes, and Kevin Herron, Rowan is very Irish in sound, yet are also at the same time universal. According to Howe:
“I want people to know it’s ok to feel angry, sad, depressed or whatever. But don’t wallow in those emotions. You have to deal with your problems.” It’s why Rowan make the music they do. “It’s about confronting the pain, looking it in the eye and acknowledging it. Yes, it’s tough and it’ll always be tough, but it’s important to express yourself. Hopefully this band will inspire other people to do the same.”
Rowan remind me of the best of those bands who where their hearts on their sleeve, yet pretend to be tough because, if you let your emotions out, you will get hurt. Howe states:
“One Of These Days is a song about the desire for vengeance after a relationship breaks down. ‘One of these days I’ll get her back’ is sung from the perspective of revenge rather than longing. It’s ambiguity is tied in with the contrast of ‘Smile’ and ‘Cry’ in the chorus. The bittersweet emotions of anger and love are contrasted with imagery such as death and infancy and Robert Emmet’s love for Ireland, in which he faced the gallows for.”
(A little trivia: Robert Emmet was an Irish patriot who attempted in the early 1800’s to overthrow the British Government’s control of Ireland. He was hung for his efforts in 1803). To compare your love and need of revenge to Emmet is a huge lyrical motif that lifts Rowan’s songs to a complete different level. To me, Rowan is to Ireland what The Alarm is to Wales.
Lyrics below:
Kicking, Screaming, All through your love life, Wearing the boots, Gearing up for a knife fight, Backwards, Forwards, Running on empty, Murder a dream, That would make you feel happy, One of these days, I’ll get her back, One of these days, I’ll smile, One of these days, I’ll get her back, One of these days, I’ll cry, 5 in the morning I’m lying awake and, Sat like a corpse dealing death to an infant Robert, Emmet, told me it’s worth it, To fight all the people oppressed by their own lives, One of these days, I’ll get her back, One of these days, I’ll cry, One of these days, I’ll get her back, One of these days, I’ll smile in silence, Wasted, washed up, nursing a left hook, Thinking, of all of, the ones that you missed, It’s a mystery, for this time, Tell me your secrets and tell me it’s alright, I do not care for the people who say, It’s a mystery, I smile For this time I’m talking to you I will tell the advice that I was given And that is to love all, of yourself.