You and Me Both gave the group a "posthumous" number-one record in the United Kingdom and New Zealand, and reached number 69 in the United States. Singer Alison Moyet began a successful solo career, while Vince Clarke formed the short-lived project the Assembly with Yazoo's producer Eric Radcliffe before going on to greater and long-lasting success with the synth-pop duo Erasure.
The problems within Yazoo had started even before the recording of You and Me Both. Clarke had never envisioned the band as a long-term project, and was ready to move on after making Upstairs at Eric's, but having already walked out of Depeche Mode after just one album he was persuaded that it would not be a good idea to do the same thing again only a year later. Moyet said, "I think the second album happened because of advice from his publisher, because Vince'd done one album with Depeche and had walked, and then he'd done one album with me and he was ready to walk then. I think that his publisher was going, 'You're mad – you shouldn't be doing this, you should make at least one more record'. But even as we began the second album we knew that it was over, he had already decided he didn't want to work with me anymore." Moyet tried to convince Clarke to reconsider his decision to quit after making a second album, but to no avail.
As with their debut album Upstairs at Eric's, the record was recorded and produced by Yazoo and Eric Radcliffe at Radcliffe's Blackwing Studios in south-east London. However, unlike Upstairs at Eric's which was recorded quickly and mostly at night or early morning due to the studio already being booked during the daytime, Yazoo were able to record You and Me Both "nine to five" and over a longer period of time (the album took four months to make). This suited Clarke, who told Melody Maker, "I think this album was more planned, and to be honest that's the way I like to work". On the other hand, Moyet, whose background was the unpredictability of punk bands and pub rock and who had enjoyed the spontaneous recording process of the first album, complained that, "I just can't work under conditions that I think are contrived, everything has to be done really quickly". Another bone of contention for Moyet was Clarke's refusal to be involved in promotional work for the album, leaving Moyet to talk to the press alone: Clarke freely admitted that "towards the end of the album it was mostly me in the studio because Alison was doing a lot of promotional stuff that I wasn't prepared to do ... I couldn't be bothered". Moyet recalled just how little communication there was between the two of them while making the album: "He'd go in in the mornings, I'd go in in the evenings, he'd do something then later I'd do something on top of it. It was like a patchwork album where there was no discussion or getting excited about each others' things. We just worked separately."
Despite the tense atmosphere between the duo, Moyet said the only serious argument she and Clarke had during recording of the album was over the song "Happy People", which she refused to sing. She told The Quietus in 2011, "There are just some places you can't go, I tried singing that song a couple of times but I couldn't genuinely bring anything to it so I wouldn't do it. But that's the only time I ever refused a song." As a result, Clarke ended up singing on the track, the only Yazoo song on which he sings lead vocals. Clarke said that "Happy People" was written about the Liberal Party of which his mother had just become a member, but he declined to say whether the song was in support or against the party. "Unmarked" represents a rare excursion for Yazoo from the topic of love, although Clarke would only say it was "about war".
Speaking about her own compositions Moyet said, "I think some of the songs are personal, but a lot of it is just imagination, I look at other people and put myself in their shoes". For example, "Nobody's Diary" was written when she was 16 and had yet to experience a real relationship. Of "Ode to Boy" she said, "(it) started being of someone I knew, but ended up being more of a poetic exercise". Moyet later re-recorded the track for her 1994 album Essex in a more acoustic style, which she explained was more consistent with how she envisioned the song to have sounded when she originally wrote it. The album's closing track, "And On", is "about death. It came after talking to different friends who had lost somebody close to them. It's saying that it is better for a young person to die like this than being a vegetable. He might have died young, but he had a good life."
The song "Mr. Blue" was covered by Dutch singer René Klijn in early 1993. Suffering from AIDS at the time, Klijn wanted the single to be his musical testament before he died. The song went to number one in the Netherlands for six weeks in April/May 1993, and became the biggest-selling single of the year. Klijn died a few months later on 5 September 1993.
Personnel
Alison Moyet – vocals
Vince Clarke – instrumentation; vocals (on "Happy People")
The Sapphires – backing vocals on "Walk Away from Love"
Nobody's Diary
Yazoo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know I'll forget what I came here for,
My head was so full of things to say,
But as I open my lips all my words slip away
And anyway,
I can't believe you want to turn the page,
And move your life onto another stage,
You can change the chapter you can change the book,
But the story remains the same if you'd take a look.
[Chorus:]
For the times we've had I don't want to be, a page in your diary babe,
For the good, the bad I don't want to see, a page in your diary babe,
For the happy, the sad, I don't want to be another page in your diary.
Perhaps if I held you I could win again,
I could take your hands we'd talk and maybe then,
That look in your eyes I always recognize,
Would tell me everything is gonna be fine,
You're gonna be mine
For a long time
[Chorus]
The lyrics to Yazoo's song "Nobody's Diary" seem to be about a relationship that is over or on the brink of ending. The singer of the song is struggling to find the right words to say to their partner in an attempt to salvage the relationship. However, every time they try to speak, their words fail them, leaving them at a loss for what to do.
The chorus of the song reveals the singer's desire to not be just a page in their partner's diary, implying that they want their relationship to be more meaningful and lasting. They want to be able to work through the bad times as well as the good, and not be easily discarded by their partner when things get tough. The hope is that if they could just hold their partner and talk things through, they could win them back and keep them by their side for a long time.
The lyrics of "Nobody's Diary" suggest a sense of desperation and a longing to hold onto something that is slipping away. It's a beautiful and poignant representation of the heartache of a failed relationship and the struggle to communicate what needs to be said before it's too late.
Line by Line Meaning
If I wait for just a second more,
I feel like I'm forgetting something important but I can't remember what it is.
I know I'll forget what I came here for,
I'm worried I'm going to miss out on a big opportunity if I don't act quickly.
My head was so full of things to say,
I have a lot on my mind and I want to express myself.
But as I open my lips all my words slip away
Every time I try to speak, I lose my courage and my words fail me.
And anyway,
Despite all of this, I know I need to move on.
I can't believe you want to turn the page,
It's hard to accept that you're ready to move on from our relationship.
And move your life onto another stage,
You're ready for a new chapter in your life, without me.
You can change the chapter you can change the book,
You have the power to start fresh and make big changes in your life.
But the story remains the same if you'd take a look.
No matter what you do, our story together will always be a part of your past.
For the times we've had I don't want to be, a page in your diary babe,
I don't want to be reduced to a memory or a footnote in your life story.
For the good, the bad I don't want to see, a page in your diary babe,
I want to move on from the happy times and the bad times we shared together.
For the happy, the sad, I don't want to be another page in your diary.
I want to be remembered for who I was, not just as a character in your past.
Perhaps if I held you I could win again,
I wonder if there's a chance to rebuild what we had by reconnecting with you emotionally.
I could take your hands we'd talk and maybe then,
Maybe if we spent time together and talked, we could rekindle our relationship.
That look in your eyes I always recognize,
I still see the spark of love in your eyes, and I want to fan that flame.
Would tell me everything is gonna be fine,
I want to believe that we can make things work if we're both willing to try.
You're gonna be mine
I hope that we can work out our differences and be together again.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: ALISON MOYET
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind