Who is Tim referring to when he sings

quote:

Where's my brother? He could keep you up for hours?

Is it Neil? What's the story behind this song?

I read somewhere that the song is about AIDS or somebody that died because of it.
The second verse has some "evidence":
"Deadly virus
So few survivors
Creeps up quickly
Leaves you darkly"

Thats what I read about the song too. It's strange then that the song sounds remarkably upbeat and funky.

Mmmmmh now I don't like the song as much...
And still who's the brother? Is it just the general "brother" as in we are all brothers and sisters?

"His Graffiti filled the Subway" probably refers to Painter/graffiti artist Keith Haring, who died of aids, 31 years old.
Also the line: "I went to the River on the Lower east Side and cried" comes from Keith Harings biography, the day he found out he was hiv-positive. So Keith could be the brother.
Although I think the song refers more to young lives lost because of aids in general. But it does sound upbeat, probably because its about people in the spring of their live.

Resurrecting an old thread (my browser doesn't show the year of the post, could someone clue me in?)

Just saw the video for Hit The Ground Running for the first time and I have to say that it's definitely inspired by Keith Haring and his artwork. The chalk art done in the video is of his trademark style.

Same with the red and yellow people dancing.

Speaking of dancing, watch Tim getting down if you haven't seen the vid before: http://silly-sister.livejournal.com/#silly_sister5951

In that Paul Hester sitting on the bench in the park with Tim? So hard to tell with such a low quality video but the profile seems familiar somehow.

I agree that this song is mostly about Keith Haring but I've also heard that it might have been a bit inspired by Steven King's The Stand. King is a well-known Finn fan and even used "Hit the Ground Running" in his TV mini-series for The Shining.

Nope, definitely not Paul beside Tim. I don't know who he is, and he does have a similarly-shaped head to Paul, but it's not Paul.

On the idea of music with depressing content being happy in appearance... this is quite common, especially in the music of people who have suffered much. I think of African-American spirituals or even music from the Caribbean islands. It sounds lovely, all major, perky and upbeat. The content is not the same. I have a theory that it's an attempt to smile through the pain in such forms of music.

It sneaks up on you, too. One time I was singing a particularly lovely line of melody from Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" before stopping in horror to acknowledge what I was actually singing. ("Mama, just killed a man. Put a trigger to his head. Pulled my finger. Now he's dead.")

So with Tim, it's certainly not an accident but a style choice. Meanwhile, I haven't decided which I enjoy more... happy darkness (like this) or dark happiness (fewer examples of such... but I did hear a speed metal band doing Justin Timberlake's "Sexyback" for a contest.)