The Fish era is often categorized as neo-progressive. They originally started as "Silmarillion" (from Tolkien's book) with heavy influences from classic Genesis but went on to develop their own distinctive sound. The band was formed in 1979 by Mick Pointer (drums), Steve Rothery (guitar), Doug 'Rastus' Irvine (bass), and others, soon adding vocalist Fish (real name Derek W. Dick), Diz Minitt (bass), and Brian Jelliman. By the time of their first album, 1983's Script for a Jester's Tear, the bass position had been taken over by Pete Trewavas and keyboards by Mark Kelly.
The studio albums Fugazi (1984), Misplaced Childhood (1985), and Clutching at Straws (1987), as well as the 1984 live album Real to Reel all sold respectably, and the band scored a hit single in Britain with Kayleigh in 1985.
When Fish left the band in 1988 after four albums he was replaced by Steve Hogarth. A former member of The Europeans and some-time collaborator with The The and Julian Cope, Hogarth brought a new energy to the band.
Across a further ten albums, Hogarth – along with existing members Rothery, Kelly, Trewavas, and Mosley – have reinvigorated and constantly redefined Marillion’s sound. They forged into new musical territories with a succession of inventive, emotional albums, displaying little regard to the vagaries of hit charts or radio playlists.
After the release of 1999’s marillion.com the band freed themselves from record company pressure once and for all by launching their own record label, the Intact imprint.
Thanks to their pioneering embrace of the Internet through their website http://marillion.com, Marillion have developed a unique and intimate relationship with their fans. From sponsoring entire tours of the USA to funding the recording of recent albums, Marillion’s global fan-base is unique in its affection and dedication. As a result, such passionate, wholesale support has allowed Marillion to step outside of the conventional music industry and find their own path.
In 2001 Anoraknophobia saw Marillion take the groundbreaking step of asking fans to pre-order an album 12 months before release. An amazing 12,000 people signed up, helping to finance the recording. The band once again took pre-orders for the 2004 release Marbles, but this time the money was channelled into a campaign fund to promote its launch. The success of singles Don't Hurt Yourself and You're Gone – the latter making it all the way to number 7 – vindicated the band's independent strategy.
Their 2007 album Somewhere Else reached number 24 in the UK album chart with their most recent single Thankyou Whoever You Are hitting the UK singles chart at number 15. The band shows no signs of fading away after more than 25 years of activity.
Their 15th album, "Happiness is the road", was physically released in October 2008 but was originally available exclusively from the band's website. It was released with little promotion and a deluxe pre-order package was made available as with Marbles. 'Happiness is the Road' is the second studio double album of a long career (2004's Marbles was the other). A UK and European tour followed the album's release, and the band is taking special effort to record every show in the "Happiness on the Road" tour, making the recordings available from the band's website.
Kayleigh
Marillion Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Do you remember dawn escapes from moon washed college halls
Do you remember the cherry blossom in the market square
Do you remember I thought it was confetti in our hair
By the way didn't I break your heart?
Please excuse me, I never meant to break your heart
So sorry, I never meant to break your heart
But you broke mine
Kayleigh is it too late to say I'm sorry?
And Kayleigh could we get it together again?
I just can't go on pretending that it came to a natural end
Kayleigh, oh I never thought I'd miss you
And Kayleigh I thought that we'd always be friends
We said our love would last forever
So how did it come to this bitter end?
Oh, yeah
Do you remember barefoot on the lawn with shooting stars
Do you remember loving on the floor in Belsize park
Do you remember dancing in stilettos in the snow
Do you remember you never understood I had to go
By the way, didn't I break your heart?
Please excuse me, I never meant to break your heart
So sorry, I never meant to break your heart
But you broke mine
Kayleigh I just wanna say I'm sorry
But Kayleigh I'm too scared to pick up the phone
To hear you've found another lover
To patch up our broken home
Kayleigh I'm still trying to write that love song
Kayleigh it's more important to me now you're gone
Maybe it will prove that we were right
Or ever prove that I was wrong
The iconic Marillion song Kayleigh is a ballad about a past love that the singer desperately wants back. The song opens with the line “Do you remember chalk hearts melting on a playground wall” which sets the nostalgic tone for the rest of the song. The song goes through a series of memories and asks, “Do you remember…” over and over. Alongside those memories, the song’s chorus pleads for this person to come back to the singer.
However, there is a sense of regret and apology throughout the song as well – “By the way didn’t I break your heart? / Please excuse me, I never meant to break your heart / So sorry, I never meant to break your heart / But you broke mine.” These lines suggest that the relationship ended poorly, and the singer holds some responsibility for it. The song’s final verse contains even more regret as the singer laments, “Kayleigh I just wanna say I'm sorry / But Kayleigh I'm too scared to pick up the phone / To hear you've found another lover / To patch up our broken home / Kayleigh I'm still trying to write that love song / Kayleigh it's more important to me now you're gone / Maybe it will prove that we were right / Or ever prove that I was wrong.”
Overall, Kayleigh is a beautiful and emotional song about love, loss, and regret. It paints a vivid picture of the memories of a past relationship and the desire to rekindle that love, even though it ended poorly.
Line by Line Meaning
Do you remember chalk hearts melting on a playground wall
Do you remember the blissful moments spent on the playground while drawing hearts using chalks and witnessed them gradually dissolving?
Do you remember dawn escapes from moon washed college halls
Do you remember how college life used to be, when you would skip out of classes and run away towards dawn, when the luminous moon would reflect light over the college hall?
Do you remember the cherry blossom in the market square
Do you remember when the cherry blossoms in the market square would bloom and suffuse the air with their sweet scent?
Do you remember I thought it was confetti in our hair
Do you remember how I misunderstood you having cherry blossoms in your hair for celebratory confetti?
By the way didn't I break your heart?
By the way, did I hurt your feelings deeply?
Please excuse me, I never meant to break your heart
I'm sorry, please forgive me, as breaking your heart was never my intention.
So sorry, I never meant to break your heart
I am truly sorry, I should never have caused you heartache.
But you broke mine
Nevertheless, you broke my heart too.
Kayleigh is it too late to say I'm sorry?
Kayleigh, is it too late to apologize?
And Kayleigh could we get it together again?
Kayleigh, could we try to fix this and rekindle our love?
I just can't go on pretending that it came to a natural end
I am unable to pretend that our relationship terminated on a mutual note, without any influences.
Kayleigh, oh I never thought I'd miss you
Kayleigh, I cannot believe that I am missing you so intensely.
And Kayleigh I thought that we'd always be friends
Kayleigh, I thought we would remain friends forever.
We said our love would last forever
We promised each other that our love would last an eternity.
So how did it come to this bitter end?
So how did our everlasting love come to this painful, tragic conclusion?
Do you remember barefoot on the lawn with shooting stars
Do you remember how we strolled barefoot on the grass watching shooting stars and enjoying our time together?
Do you remember loving on the floor in Belsize park
Do you remember how we cuddled on the grass at Belsize park?
Do you remember dancing in stilettos in the snow
Do you recall how we both swayed and danced together in the snow, high on our love?
Do you remember you never understood I had to go
Do you remember how you could never understand why I had to leave?
Kayleigh I just wanna say I'm sorry
Kayleigh, I just want to apologize for my wrongs.
But Kayleigh I'm too scared to pick up the phone
But, Kayleigh, I'm too anxious to pick up the phone and talk to you.
To hear you've found another lover
I dread the thought of you having found someone else and moving on without me.
To patch up our broken home
To restore our once-broken relationship
Kayleigh I'm still trying to write that love song
Kayleigh, I'm still attempting to give form and words to my love song to you.
Kayleigh it's more important to me now you're gone
Kayleigh, now that you're gone, the love that we shared means more to me than ever before.
Maybe it will prove that we were right
Perhaps it will prove that we were indeed supposed to be together.
Or ever prove that I was wrong
Or, in the end, it will prove that the reason for our separation was my fault.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Derek William Dick, Mark Kelly, Ian Francesko Mosley, Steve Rothery, Peter Trewavas
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind