#jonasbjerre

I've been struggling to figure out why exactly the lyrics of "Carry Me To Safety" upset me so much. I've listened to the track somewhere around 30 times at this point, and the feeling has only intensified the more times I've listened. This morning my thoughts began to coalesce around the title itself. It is a literal, direct, cry for help. Jonas has experienced a loss so devastating he simply cannot go on without outside help from his loved ones.

One might say this is a typical song about losing someone you care for deeply, and there are thousands of those out there. In fact, most modern music is about finding and losing love, isn't it? Mew have written about this topic many times before. So why does this one in particular haunt me so much? This requires a rather lengthy explanation.

It's December 2009 and the weather is biting cold. I wait outside, shivering uncontrollably against the winter wind in the queue to enter the venue where Mew will be playing to support their latest album. I have never seen Mew before although I've been a fan for a few years. After taking my place in the club, I am aching and tired and still chilled to the bone, so much so that I don't even remove my hat and coat. Mew comes on stage, and I feel this intense flood of emotions I've never felt to this point. Jonas sings with this desperate longing in his voice, and his puppy dog eyes peer out hesitantly, cast upward with an unspoken plea, like a painfully shy child peeking out from behind the pant leg of his protective guardian. His vulnerability brings me right back to myself as a child, feeling fear of the unknown in a world I have only just begun to experience. Something inside my chest explodes, and I feel a desperation I have never felt before or since. A voice in my head screams at me “TAKE CARE OF HIM! HE NEEDS YOU!” The intensity of this feeling is so overwhelming I cannot even tell the person closest to me, in case he were to misunderstand. It is not a romantic longing, but one borne of pure empathy and compassion. Intuition being the guiding force in my life, I am simultaneously terrified and determined to make good on the request being shouted at me by the universe.

Flash forward a few years and my marriage has fallen apart. I am lost and alone, and in need of a purpose, a reason to live one day to the next. I begin talking with the owner of the MewX fansite, in hopes that I can offer something of value to the band and the site. I am accepted into the inner circle and slowly begin contributing more and more, until I realize that this is my way of appeasing that voice in my head. The voice starts to quiet, and is soon replaced with words and feelings direct from Jonas himself. He knows who I am and is appreciative of my efforts to support him and his band. We meet and hug and the longing clawing at my chest, too, is appeased. It matters what I have done. I am important to him and he makes sure I understand this. At the Copenhagen show, he locks eyes with me and holds my hand. Something external feels off though. My intuition tells me “something is rotten in the state of Denmark.” There is a tension present that I hadn't expected.

It is now the summer of 2015. Mew have recently released another album with all four original members. Suddenly Bo is no longer playing shows with the band. A grey-haired stranger has taken his place. Then the news comes out: Bo has left the band. No details are given. We are left wondering what could possibly have caused a 20-year friendship to dissolve so suddenly, to the point where Bo would abandon his livelihood, career, and safety net. We seek answers but are left empty-handed. Jonas gives interviews on the topic where he looks as if he is one second away from tears, and offers nothing except to say it is a personal matter. We are forced to accept that we will likely never be privy to the specifics.

Mew continues on with their tour, and Bo's stand-in turns out to be a sweet and pleasant person when we finally meet. Mads is a good guy and a fantastic guitar player. He is not Bo, but he is doing his best. I instantly like him. I speak with all of them several times and practice my Danish with them. I'm not great at it yet, but I am still excited to try. Jonas smiles a lot, and I see he is grateful I am there. I see the band play five times during this tour. In Portland, he again locks eyes with me, and my soul feels like it's being electrocuted. It is the most intense feeling I have ever experienced in my life. Mew finish their tour and head home, with the promise that we will see new material sooner than later.

Months pass, and Bo has published a book of drawings and feelings. He gives interviews as promotion and it finally comes out that he and Jonas had such vast creative differences they could no longer remain friends or bandmates. His language is cutting and cruel. He seems unapologetic. The pain returns, the wound has been reopened.

Now we return to the present. Mew announced their new album this week, and gave us their first single from the album, which is the closing track. It seems an unusual choice to give out this specific song as a single. It is not particularly radio-friendly, and it meanders too much to get the average person's attention. I was not all that impressed on first listen. I changed my tune once Jonas sent us the official lyrics and I had the chance to sit down and digest what the song was really about.

The song is a literal cry for help.

The word “Frenger” or “fan” is never used directly, however if the listener is able to impose themselves into the roles of “referee” and “beholder” referenced in the song, it becomes clear that he is addressing his fan base. He is telling us that losing Bo is so unbearably painful to him, he needs our help going on. His lyrics scream “TAKE CARE OF ME! I NEED YOU!” The very same language I received as an emotional message the first time I was in the same room as him. It hurts me so deeply because I am an empath, already in tune with the emotions radiating from this person, and I have willingly taken it on as my mission to help him in any way I can.

The last verse speaks directly to the autumn North American tour, when he realized that fans would still remain supportive of the band despite Bo's absence. This song is as much a catharsis for him as it is for us, and he offers us lyrics that are not nearly as veiled as those in other songs have been. He wants to make sure we understand that this is for us.

Having that kind of response to such a deeply emotional situation is overwhelming to say the least. I have shed many tears upon realization that we are an integral part of the equation that is Mew. They would not exist without us. And for them to give us this song first is their way of saying “This has not been easy for any of us. You matter a great deal to me. Thank you being there for me and answering my plea.” That level of vulnerability and honesty is a rare gift in this tumultuous world, and I am so utterly grateful to have been part of it.

Oh referee Carry me to safety I can tell I can tell you wish me well 30,000 There is someone mouthing: Give them hell! Give them hell until the bell

As I run, I wave to everyone To each and every beholder And I so wanna be grateful But nothing keeps me So I’m just coming home

Pang in my chest Promised you I’d fix this But I’m almost out Ouch! Injury! I can run no longer Carry me Carry me to safety

As I run, I wave to everyone To each and every beholder And I still wanna be grateful But nothing keeps me So I’m just coming back home

A life to live as me A moment that feels free Like two big colliders Singing out their days You smile as if to say: Now our story’s over

Built physical structures Mountainous landscapes of colourful ice I am still on the inside

Mew - Comforting Sounds

Was haben Mew und die Toten Hosen gemeinsam? Beide Bands sind in ihrem Heimatland absolute Stars, im Ausland jedoch eher weniger bis garnicht bekannt. Das ist vor allem im Falle von Mew bedauerlich. Die dänischen Indierocker existieren seit 1995 und haben es seitdem auf vier Alben gebracht. Vollgestopft mit wundervollen Songs wie Comforting Sounds. Ein fast neun minütiges Epos, dass sich nach Jonas Bjerre's knapp dreieinhalb Minuten andauernden Gesangseinlage zum ganz großen Schlag ausholt. Wunderschöne Streicher erheben sich und unterstützen Schlagzeug, Bass und Gitarre mit allem Pathos, den die Instrumente hergeben. Spätestens nach sieben Minuten, wenn die einsetzenden Bläser das grandiose Finale einläuten hält es niemanden mehr. Adrenalin durchströmt den ganzen Körper, die Haare bäumen sich auf, vielleicht fließt eine Träne, man schließt die Augen und denkt sich: " Mein Gott, ist das schön...." Gut, dass sie für das diesjährige Roskilde festival bestätigt wurden. Bleibt zu hoffen, dass sie es auch nach Deutschland schaffen, um die ein oder andere Festivalbühne zu bespielen. Man mag sich garnicht vorstellen, welche Energie dieser Song und diese Band live entfesselt. Wahrscheinlich bucht man aber doch wieder die Hosen...

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