Alexander Wolfe (born 24 December 1981 in Cambridge, United Kingdom) is a m… Read Full Bio ↴Alexander Wolfe (born 24 December 1981 in Cambridge, United Kingdom) is a musician and songwriter.

Born Alexander Gordon de Menthon in Cambridge, he moved to London as a child. His parents are Anne de Menthon & James Louis Gordon. On his mothers side he has a Canadian grandmother called Betty Wolfe and a French Grandfather called Count Henri de Menthon. The de Menthon family are one of the oldest families in Europe dating back to the Knights of Charlamagne. among their numbers is Saint Bernard de Menthon who was made a saint for rescuing lost travellers from the alps with the help of his dogs who went on to inherited his name. Betty & Henri met during his military service & they began a relationship which bore 3 children. When the relationship ended Betty moved with the children to England. In 1997 Alexander's Grandfather Henri died and in his will he left Alexander a Rembrant lithograph which Alexander later sold to fund the making of his debut album and the beginning of his musical career.
Alexander attended Plumcroft Primary School in Plumstead followed by Crown Woods Secondary School in Eltham both in South East London. In his teenage years he began writing songs & experimenting with bands. Upon leaving school Alexander formed his 1st band proper 'Taxi' with Jamie Cullum after a chance encounter in a guitar shop on London's Denmark St. The band enjoyed mild live success and toured with Paul Weller before finally imploding in the summer of 2002 due, partly, to Jamie's pending solo deal with Universal & partly due to musical differences. During this time Alexander's Grandmother Betty died. He took her maiden name as his own and decided to pursue a solo career, he began writing the songs that would go on to form his debut solo album.

Sunburn
Alexander Wolfe Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I tell lies on 45s and I sunburn easy,
I waste time between the lines till I'm lost completely,

I'm chasing regrets again,
And you might have to lose to win,
The fallen are all above,
Well, to love or to be loved is a choice worth making,

I drink wine on picket lines with a nervous aching,
I hang love from stars above, its a tree worth shaking,

They're placing their bets again,

And they might have to lose to win,
The fallen are all above,
Well, to love and to be loved is a risk worth taking,

So I'm turning out the lights,
To see what I can find in the dark,
Another broken mirror fight,

But I don't want to fight anymore,
No I can't see the light anymore.

Overall Meaning

In Alexander Wolfe's song Sunburn, the opening line "I tell lies on 45s and I sunburn easy" sets the tone for the rest of the song. It's a confession of sorts, admitting that the singer is prone to exaggeration and vulnerability. The next line "I waste time between the lines till I'm lost completely" suggests that the singer spends a lot of time dwelling on the past or getting lost in their thoughts. They're chasing regrets and seems to be stuck in a cycle of self-doubt and second-guessing.

Lines like "And you might have to lose to win" and "The fallen are all above" indicate that the singer is conscious of the fact that success often comes at a cost, and sometimes people have to make difficult decisions to achieve their goals. Despite the struggle that comes with it, the singer considers the choice to love, or to be loved, to be a risk worth taking.

The later lines, "So I'm turning out the lights, to see what I can find in the dark" and "Another broken mirror fight, but I don't want to fight anymore, No I can't see the light anymore." could suggest that the singer is in a dark place and is ready to give up, but they're willing to keep trying and keep searching for something even if they can't see a clear way forward.

Line by Line Meaning

I tell lies on 45s and I sunburn easy,
I am not an honest person and I am susceptible to getting sunburned easily.

I waste time between the lines till I'm lost completely,
I spend a lot of time trying to read between the lines, which often leads me to feeling completely lost.

I'm chasing regrets again,
I am once again dwelling on past mistakes.

And you might have to lose to win,
Sometimes in life, you have to experience losses in order to eventually succeed.

The fallen are all above,
Those who have failed in the past are often the ones who end up succeeding.

Well, to love or to be loved is a choice worth making,
Deciding to either love someone or to allow yourself to be loved is a decision that has value and is worth making.

I drink wine on picket lines with a nervous aching,
I drink alcohol while participating in protests, feeling anxious and uncertain of the outcome.

I hang love from stars above, its a tree worth shaking,
I am willing to take a chance on love, even if it might be difficult or unpredictable.

They're placing their bets again,
Others are taking risks again, possibly with something important at stake.

And they might have to lose to win,
Like me, others might have to experience failure before they can ultimately be successful.

The fallen are all above,
Those who have failed in the past are often the ones who end up succeeding.

Well, to love and to be loved is a risk worth taking,
The potential for both giving and receiving love is worth taking a chance on, even if there is a chance for heartache.

So I'm turning out the lights,
I am choosing to exit a situation or aspect of my life.

To see what I can find in the dark,
I am curious to see what the unknown or unforeseen might hold for me.

Another broken mirror fight,
This is a metaphor for a recurring argument or conflict that never seems to resolve itself.

But I don't want to fight anymore,
I am tired of the struggle and conflict and wish to move on from it.

No I can't see the light anymore.
I am feeling lost and unable to see a way forward in my current situation.

Contributed by Jordan D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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