This brings back memories :-) … including how we advocated for this to be the walk out song for our high school graduation ceremony … and it was unceremoniously rejected by the faculty.
😂 Is that how it went down? As I recall it was only "four-year seniors" who were able to vote. I always thought "Get Me Away" came in a respectable 2nd with like 30% of the vote, but ultimately lost. Your version is even better. And what did we get in the end? "In My Life" or something? Or some Green Day?
I recall it clearing the 4 year senior vote but getting eliminated with one or two others. Maybe it was Good Riddance from Green Day that was played … or maybe that got rejected too due to title
“I started paying attention to the song’s lyrics beyond the first few lines. (Isn’t it funny, how long we can go without doing that, even with songs that mean a great deal to us?)” This happens to me all the time, I think because I first pay attention to the melodies, the harmonies, the hooks and the overall vibes of songs first. Having this happen, often many many years later, is both delightful and confounding. It’s also amazing when life, age and experience suddenly make you understand a song’s lyrics in a way you never could have when you first discovered it! Thanks for reminding me of one of my favorite B&S songs. I’m going to listen now and pay close attention to the words!
P.S. Discovered this Substack through your great and unsettling piece in The NY Times about the Apple ad. Spot on, insightful and distilled a lot of the general dread and unease I feel about technology these days.
Oh thank you for writing this story about Belle and Sebastian. In school we used to blast “get me away from here I’m dying” on speaker when the faculty forced onto the bus to attend yet another obligatory field trip. With the upbeat tempo and melody, I agree that the meaning of this song is quite ironic and not intended to be literal. I mean, the title of the album that contains this song is called “if you’re feeling sinister” and I think part of the beauty of Belle and Sebastian’s music is their sense of humor. Anyway, I could write all day about my love for Belle and Sebastian. My photo is a drawing from the cover art for the album ‘Fold Your Hands Child, you walk like a peasant.’ To this day, their brilliant songs make me smile. Thank you for writing so well about one of my favorite bands!
Great piece. Belle&Sebastian are on tour in Europe - going to see them in June! Still remember the first time I heard them, in a car with a guy, also in high school. Changed everything.
This brings back memories :-) … including how we advocated for this to be the walk out song for our high school graduation ceremony … and it was unceremoniously rejected by the faculty.
😂 Is that how it went down? As I recall it was only "four-year seniors" who were able to vote. I always thought "Get Me Away" came in a respectable 2nd with like 30% of the vote, but ultimately lost. Your version is even better. And what did we get in the end? "In My Life" or something? Or some Green Day?
I recall it clearing the 4 year senior vote but getting eliminated with one or two others. Maybe it was Good Riddance from Green Day that was played … or maybe that got rejected too due to title
Damn -- democracy THWARTED.
What an absolutely perfect song. I, too, discovered it in high school, and you so well describe those feelings the song evoked then. A lovely read.
Thanks Matt! Hard to believe I've been listening to the song for almost 23 years...
This is such a fun piece to read, looking forward to more! (from a stan of 'Step into My Office, Baby' and the entire God Help the Girl project)
Thanks Cat! You appear to be the Official First Ever Tracks on Tracks Commenter. A trailblazer in your time ....
I'll need a badge when this newsletter gets big!
“I started paying attention to the song’s lyrics beyond the first few lines. (Isn’t it funny, how long we can go without doing that, even with songs that mean a great deal to us?)” This happens to me all the time, I think because I first pay attention to the melodies, the harmonies, the hooks and the overall vibes of songs first. Having this happen, often many many years later, is both delightful and confounding. It’s also amazing when life, age and experience suddenly make you understand a song’s lyrics in a way you never could have when you first discovered it! Thanks for reminding me of one of my favorite B&S songs. I’m going to listen now and pay close attention to the words!
P.S. Discovered this Substack through your great and unsettling piece in The NY Times about the Apple ad. Spot on, insightful and distilled a lot of the general dread and unease I feel about technology these days.
And would it have been worth it, after all,
After the cups, the marmalade, the tea,
Among the porcelain, among some talk of you and me,
Would it have been worth while,
To have bitten off the matter with a smile,
To have squeezed the universe into a ball
To roll it towards some overwhelming question,
To say: “I am Lazarus, come from the dead,
Come back to tell you all, I shall tell you all”—
If one, settling a pillow by her head
Should say: “That is not what I meant at all;
That is not it, at all.”
Wow--had never considered this as a reference point. Will never not hear it now !
Oh thank you for writing this story about Belle and Sebastian. In school we used to blast “get me away from here I’m dying” on speaker when the faculty forced onto the bus to attend yet another obligatory field trip. With the upbeat tempo and melody, I agree that the meaning of this song is quite ironic and not intended to be literal. I mean, the title of the album that contains this song is called “if you’re feeling sinister” and I think part of the beauty of Belle and Sebastian’s music is their sense of humor. Anyway, I could write all day about my love for Belle and Sebastian. My photo is a drawing from the cover art for the album ‘Fold Your Hands Child, you walk like a peasant.’ To this day, their brilliant songs make me smile. Thank you for writing so well about one of my favorite bands!
(If You’re Feeling Sinister)
Stars of track and field, whole album
Great piece. Belle&Sebastian are on tour in Europe - going to see them in June! Still remember the first time I heard them, in a car with a guy, also in high school. Changed everything.
What song???