He also produced the hugely successful Year Of The Cat album with Al Stewart and two albums with American progressive rock band Ambrosia. In 1975 he met Eric Woolfson who not only became his manager, but joined forces with Alan as a songwriting and performing partner for what became known as The Alan Parsons Project. The APP’s debut album, Tales Of Mystery And Imagination, based on the works of Edgar Allan Poe, paved the way for a signing to Clive Davis’ newly launched Arista label and a string of hit albums, namely I Robot (1977), Pyramid (1978), The Turn of a Friendly Card (1980), Eye in the Sky (1982), Ammonia Avenue (1984), Vulture Culture (1985), Stereotomy (1986) and Gaudi (1987). A brief venture into musical theatre resulted in Freudiana in 1990.The show ran for over a year in the historic Theater An Der Wien in Vienna. Eric and Alan then went separate ways. Eric devoted his career to the musical theatre while Parsons felt the need to bring his music to the live concert stage and to continue to record conceptual symphonic rock music. With his long-standing previous APP collaborators, guitarist Ian Bairnson, drummer Stuart Elliott and orchestral arranger Andrew Powell, Alan dropped the "Project" identity for Alan Parsons - Try Anything Once in 1994. The partnership continued for On Air in 1996 and The Time Machine in 1999. During this time the first incarnation of "Alan Parsons Live Project" toured to sell-out audiences throughout the globe.
Following Alan’s relocation to California, a new Live Project band was formed in 2003. The album A Valid Path, Alan’s foray into Electronica was released in 2004 and featured Pink Floyd’s David Gilmour, The Crystal Method, Shpongle, Uberzone, PJ Olsson and Alan’s son, Jeremy. 2008 saw the reissue of all the Alan Parsons Project albums in expanded form, containing never-before-heard bonus material and a 2-CD compilation called The Essential Collection. One of the most familiar Project tracks is Sirius, perhaps best known as the Chicago Bulls theme and more recently as walk-on music for The New Orleans Saints at their triumphant Superbowl game in 2010.
Alan’s latest venture is an instructional series about recording called The Art And Science Of Sound Recording. See www.artandscienceofsound.com. All Our Yesterdays, a song written especially for the series, features some of LA’s finest musicians and a rare performance by Alan on lead vocals. Alan lives in Santa Barbara, California with his wife Lisa and her two daughters, Tabitha and Brittni, four dogs, a lop-eared rabbit, and an 18-hand Clydesdale called Dante.
When
Alan Parsons Lyrics
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The porcelain promise is break once again
Fill me with everything I wanna hear
These are the same lines that I heard last year
And you always seem to talk and walk away
Sayin' things will start to happen any day
And I'll see you when?
And I'll see you when?
So tell me when
I've heard so much about boats comin' in
Well, I see no ships so I guess I should swim
How did I come to get caught in your wake?
The more that I give you the more you still take
And you always seem to talk and walk away
Sayin' things will start to happen any day
And I'll see you when?
So tell me when
I'll see you say when?
So tell me when
When
Monday is Tuesday then March becomes May
The days of my life are just tickin' away
So I'll see you when?
I need you to tell me when, yeah
I'll see you when?
So tell me when, yeah
I'll see you when?
So tell me when
When
The lyrics of Alan Parsons's song "When" explore feelings of frustration and disappointment when promises are not kept. The opening lines describe waiting in the rain for an hour, only to be let down once again when a promise is broken. The singer wants to be told what they want to hear, but feels like they've heard it all before. The repetition of "And you always seem to talk and walk away/Sayin' things will start to happen any day" suggests a pattern of unfulfilled promises that have left the singer feeling untrusting and uncertain.
The chorus of the song centers around the question "So tell me when?" The singer is looking for a clear answer, a specific date or time when things will change. They feel like they've been waiting for a long time, and are starting to lose patience. The line "The more that I give you the more you still take" suggests that the singer feels like they've invested a lot in this situation, but are not getting much back in return.
The second verse introduces the metaphor of boats coming in, a common phrase that suggests good things are on the horizon. However, the singer doesn't see any ships and feels like they're drowning in the wake of someone else's promises. The line "Monday is Tuesday then March becomes May/The days of my life are just tickin' away" suggests a feeling of time slipping away without any meaningful change.
Overall, the lyrics of "When" offer a poignant reflection on the frustration and disappointment that can come when promises are unfulfilled. The repetitive structure of the song reinforces the idea that the singer feels stuck in a cycle of waiting and uncertainty, without a clear way out.
Line by Line Meaning
Standing around for an hour in the rain
I have been waiting for a long time, even in unfavorable conditions.
The porcelain promise is break once again
The sweet words of promise are constantly broken.
Fill me with everything I wanna hear
Say what I want to hear to make me feel better.
These are the same lines that I heard last year
These are the same empty promises that I have heard before.
And you always seem to talk and walk away
You make promises and then leave without delivering.
Sayin' things will start to happen any day
You keep promising that something good will happen, but nothing ever does.
And I'll see you when?
When can I expect to see you again?
So tell me when
Please give me a specific date or time.
I've heard so much about boats comin' in
I have heard many stories about good things happening.
Well, I see no ships so I guess I should swim
I do not see any evidence of these good things, so I am left to find my own way.
How did I come to get caught in your wake?
How did I get caught up in your empty promises and false hope?
The more that I give you the more you still take
No matter how much I invest in you, you continue to disappoint and demand more from me.
Monday is Tuesday then March becomes May
Time passes quickly and I am left waiting and hoping for things to change.
The days of my life are just tickin' away
I am losing time and opportunities while waiting for something that may never happen.
I need you to tell me when, yeah
I am desperate for some concrete answers and a clear way forward.
So tell me when, yeah
Give me a real answer and do not continue to make empty promises.
When
I am still waiting and hoping for something to change.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HERMANN WEINDORF, IAN BAIRNSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind