Come On Sister
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics
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The men started working
I can't sleep
No, I can't sleep
I keep feeling the lights
So I think I should get up and call you
Gonna to find you
And it's fun
Thinking of you like a movie star
And it's dumb
Thinking of you like the way that you were
Everyone loves you
The boy in the corner
The postman
The policeman
It does me no good
To keep looking ahead at your future
Adoration
And it's fun
Thinking of you like a movie star
And it's dumb
Thinking of you like the way that you were
Every moment like a sudden pleasure
Every moment that will get you by
And it's going to cause a crisis
Might just lose a little faith
I've seen all kinds of strangers
The rich and the famous
They don't count
No, they don't count
Now I'm back on my beat
On the same greasy street
There's an angel on my shoulder
Saying, "Ho, have you ever said an honest word?"
Saying, "Yo, have you ever said a pretty word?"
Every moment like a sudden pleasure
Every moment that will get you by
And it's going to cause a crisis
Might just lose a little faith
Don't touch me
If you touch me you could never go back
Faith
Come on, sister have a drink
Have a seat at the bar
Tell me all about your men
And your hopes
And the hours of your life
You could love
After all that's what you're looking for
You can love
It's a currency unspoken of
But it's hard to form a good opinion
Yet you're going to look at me that way
And it's going to cause a crisis
Might just lose a little faith
Don't touch me
If you touch me you can never go back
Faith
Come on, sister have a drink
Have a seat at the bar
Tell me all about your men
And your hopes
And the hours of your life
The lyrics to Belle and Sebastian's "Come On Sister" describe a sleepless night where the singer is plagued by thoughts of someone they care about. The song opens with a description of men starting work at six in the morning, which keeps the singer from sleeping. They are reminded of the person they are thinking of by the lights around them and decide to count down the hours until they can call them. The chorus notes that while it is "fun" to think of the person as a movie star, it is "dumb" to idealize them as they used to be.
The second verse highlights how popular the person is, with everyone from a boy in the corner to a policeman admiring them. However, this does the singer no good as they cannot focus on the person's future without getting lost in adoration. The chorus then repeats, emphasizing the fleeting nature of pleasure and the danger of losing faith.
The final verse sees the singer back on their "greasy street," looking for honesty and beauty in a world where even the rich and famous do not count. They are urged by an angel on their shoulder to speak truth and speak prettily. The chorus then repeats one last time, urging the sister to have a drink and tell the singer about her hopes and loves before either of them lose faith.
Line by Line Meaning
Six in the morning
It's early in the morning at 6 am
The men started working
Men have already started working
I can't sleep
The singer is unable to sleep
No, I can't sleep
The artist repeats that they are unable to sleep
I keep feeling the lights
The artist is being disturbed by the lights
So I think I should get up and call you
The singer decides to call someone due to their inability to sleep
Gonna to find you
The singer wants to find the person they are calling
And it's fun
It's enjoyable
Thinking of you like a movie star
The artist is thinking highly of the person they are addressing
And it's dumb
It's not smart
Thinking of you like the way that you were
The singer thinks highly of the past version of the person they are addressing
Everyone loves you
The person being addressed is loved by everyone
The boy in the corner
Even the boy in the corner loves the person being addressed
The postman
Even the postman loves the person being addressed
The policeman
Even the policeman loves the person being addressed
It does me no good
It's not beneficial for the artist
To keep looking ahead at your future
The artist shouldn't focus on the future of the person being addressed
Adoration
The singer has great admiration for the person being addressed
Every moment like a sudden pleasure
Every moment is like a sudden pleasure for the singer
Every moment that will get you by
Every moment is sufficient to sustain the person being addressed
And it's going to cause a crisis
It's going to cause a problem
Might just lose a little faith
The artist might lose some faith
I've seen all kinds of strangers
The singer has seen all sorts of people
The rich and the famous
Includes even the rich and the famous
They don't count
They are not important
Now I'm back on my beat
The singer is back to the place where they usually are
On the same greasy street
It's the same weary street as before
There's an angel on my shoulder
The artist feels like they have guidance
Saying, "Ho, have you ever said an honest word?"
The angel is reminding the artist to be honest
Saying, "Yo, have you ever said a pretty word?"
The angel is reminding the singer to say something nice
Don't touch me
Don't touch the singer
If you touch me you could never go back
If you touch the artist, something irreversible will happen
Come on, sister have a drink
The artist encourages the person being addressed to have a drink
Have a seat at the bar
The artist wants the person being addressed to sit on a bar stool
Tell me all about your men
The singer wants the person being addressed to talk about their romantic relationships
And your hopes
The artist wants the person being addressed to talk about their aspirations
And the hours of your life
The singer wants the person being addressed to talk about how they spend their time
You could love
The singer believes the person being addressed can fall in love
After all that's what you're looking for
The singer thinks that the person being addressed wants to find love
It's a currency unspoken of
Love is an unspoken currency
But it's hard to form a good opinion
The artist is finding it difficult to form an opinion of the person being addressed
Yet you're going to look at me that way
The person being addressed is going to look at the singer in a certain way
Don't touch me
The singer repeats to not touch them
If you touch me you can never go back
The result of being touched by the person being addressed is irreversible
Faith
The artist reiterates the importance of faith
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB KILDEA, CHRISTOPHER GEDDES, MICHAEL COOKE, RICHARD COLBURN, SARAH MARTIN, STEPHEN JACKSON, STUART MURDOCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind