Adorable were a British alternative rock band active in the 1990s. They for… Read Full Bio ↴Adorable were a British alternative rock band active in the 1990s. They formed in Coventry in 1991, and consisted of band members Piotr Fijalkowski (vocals, guitar), Robert Dillam (guitar), Steven ‘Wil’ Williams (bass), and Kevin Gritton (drums).

After recording a 12" of "Sunshine Smile" (b/w "I’ll Be Your Saint" and "Breathless") that was pressed to be released on record producer Pat Collier’s ‘Money To Burn,’ label the band received a gushing review in the NME. They signed to Creation Records in 1992, and after a UK tour supporting Curve they released their first single, a re-recording of "Sunshine Smile," in May of that year. Distancing themselves from the shoegaze movement by attempting to be more outspoken than traditional shoegazers, Adorable were briefly seen along with other bands Suede and The Verve as being a part of a new movement tagged ‘New Glam,’ a label attributed to Fijalkowski’s assertion that "we want to put the glamour back into pop." "Sunshine Smile" was NME’s Single of the Week, and topped the Indie Singles chart as well as entering the mainstream UK single top 100 charts for three weeks. A backlash in the press against the band’s outspoken image immediately followed, and the band were never to be interviewed in the mainstream UK press after their debut single. The band released "I’ll Be Your Saint," "Homeboy" and "Sistine Chapel Ceiling" (NME single of the Week), which all went into the Top 5 in the Indie charts, but failed to enter the mainstream Top 75. The album Against Perfection, released in 1993, went to #70 in the album charts, and the band toured the USA, Europe, Australia & Japan.

The second album, Fake, was seen as a far more introspective album, which Fijalkowski himself suggests was the result of the band feeling vulnerable. Although two singles ("Kangaroo Court" & "Vendetta") again entered high in the Indie Singles chart, the album failed to dent the mainstream Top 75, and strained relations both within the band and with Creation resulted in the band announcing their split onstage in Brussels in late 1994.

In subsequent years, the band has been re-classified as being part of the shoegaze movement. Bands such as Ash & Oasis have in the past acknowledged their admiration of the band.

Subsequent to the band’s demise Robert Dillam moved to Scotland where he joined The Zephyrs, whilst Fijalkowski went on to form the band Polak, who signed to One Little Indian Records.

Discography

Albums
Against Perfection (Creation / CRE 138) - Mar 1993
Fake (Creation / CRE 165) - Sept 1994
Footnotes - Best Of 92-94 (Cherry Red / CDMRED327) - Jan 2008

Singles
Sunshine Smile (Creation / CRE 127) - Apr 1992
I’ll Be Your Saint (Creation / CRE 133) - Jul 1992
Homeboy (Creation / CRE 140) - Oct 1992
Sistine Chapel Ceiling (Creation / CRE 153) - Jan 1993
Favourite Fallen Idol (Creation / CRE 159) - Apr 1993
Kangaroo Court (Creation / CRE 172) - Apr 1994
Vendetta (Creation / CRE 177) - Sept 1994

Submarine
Adorable Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'd like to be alone
Away from your port of stone
But your lighthouse is calling out
You, coming up for air
Have locked on to my distressed flare
Run aground, all hands going down

You are like a submarine

Gliding under me
And you hounded me out, you hounded me down

Though your submarine is out of sight
Still you're haunting me like the harbor lights
Though your submarine is out of sight
Still you're haunting me
Though your submarine is out of sight
Still you're haunting me like the harbor lights
Though your submarine is out of sight
Still you're haunting me

I could not lose you
Even if I choose to
Hear your sonar call, under my hull

You are like a submarine
Tracking onto me
And you hounding me out, you're hounding me down

Though your submarine is out of sight
Still you're haunting me like the harbor lights
Though your submarine is out of sight
Still you're haunting me
Though your submarine is out of sight
Still you're haunting me like the harbor lights
Though your submarine is out of sight
Still you're haunting me

Though your submarine is out of sight
Still you're haunting me like the harbor lights

Though your submarine is out of sight
Still you're haunting me

Overall Meaning

"Submarine" by Adorable tells a story of a person who wants to be alone and away from someone, but cannot escape their presence. The lyrics start by expressing the singer's desire to be alone, away from someone who is like a "port of stone," but this person's lighthouse is "calling out" to the singer. The singer is in distress, and this becomes evident when the person they are trying to avoid "locks on" to their "distressed flare," leading them to "run aground" and "all hands going down."

The person who is causing the singer's distress is likened to a "submarine" that is "gliding under" them, and is "haunting" them "like the harbor lights." The singer seems resigned to being unable to escape this person, saying that they cannot lose them, no matter what they choose to do. The person is compared to a submarine again, this time "tracking" onto the singer and "hounding" them out, "haunting" them like the harbor lights.

Overall, the lyrics of "Submarine" express the singer's feelings of helplessness in the face of someone who seems determined to be near them, no matter how much they want to be alone.

Line by Line Meaning

I'd like to be alone
The singer wants solitude

Away from your port of stone
Away from the person they are addressing

But your lighthouse is calling out
The person is reaching out despite the singer's desire for isolation

You, coming up for air
The person is taking a break from their usual manner of operation

Have locked on to my distressed flare
The person has identified the artist's vulnerable state

Run aground, all hands going down
The situation seems hopeless

You are like a submarine
The person is stealthy and hard to detect

Gliding under me
The person is operating beneath the surface

And you hounded me out, you hounded me down
The person is relentless in their pursuit of the artist

Though your submarine is out of sight Still you're haunting me like the harbor lights
The person's presence is felt even when they are not physically present

I could not lose you Even if I choose to Hear your sonar call, under my hull
The singer cannot escape the person's hold on them

You are like a submarine Tracking onto me And you hounding me out, you're hounding me down
The person is still actively pursuing the artist

Though your submarine is out of sight Still you're haunting me like the harbor lights
The person's impact is still present in the singer's life

Though your submarine is out of sight Still you're haunting me
The singer is unable to shake off the person's influence

Though your submarine is out of sight Still you're haunting me like the harbor lights
The person's effect on the singer's life is constantly present

Though your submarine is out of sight Still you're haunting me
The person is still a significant presence in the artist's life

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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