Shirley Manson is the best known of them, because Angelfish helped launch her career as the vocalist for the band Garbage. Originally, she played keyboards and did some back-up vocals in Goodbye Mr Mackenzie, but was given the role of lead vocals when GMM became Angelfish. The rest of the Angelfish—Martin Metcalfe, Fin Wilson and Derek Kelly—are now in the band Isa & the Filthy Tongues, whose debut album was released in May of 2006. They can also be heard on the soundtrack for Richard Jobson's new film "New Town Killers" recently premiered in Edinburgh, 2009.
Angelfish had a small hit with the single "Suffocate Me", which had caught the eye of producer Butch Vig. Vig soon after asked Manson to join his band Garbage, which led to Angelfish breaking up soon afterwards.
Aurora
Angelfish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We were cracking you up to be?
We're cracking ourselves up too.
We're cracking ourselves up to be you.
Had you in my hand,
Now, where'd you go, Aurora?
See you up ahead, but I don't know if I can go as far as you go.
Everything keeps happening,
I'm losing sight of its meaning.
You blew away the meaning.
I had it in my hand.
Now, where'd it go, Aurora?
I see you up ahead but I don't know if I can go as far as you go
And everyone keeps telling me that this is good.
I needed you to tell me it was good, too.
Had you in my hand,
Now, where'd you go, Aurora?
I see you up ahead but I don't know if I can go as far as you go.
The song "Aurora" by Angelfish is a contemplative reflection on the challenges of living up to expectations and the difficulty of finding one's own path in life. The lyrics reveal the frustration and confusion of the singer as they struggle to understand their own identity and purpose. The opening lines, "How could you be everything/We were cracking you up to be?" suggest that the singer feels pressure to conform to the expectations of others, but is feeling weighed down by these expectations. The following lines, "We're cracking ourselves up too/We're cracking ourselves up to be you" reveal that the singer is also struggling with their own sense of self, and feels as though they are trying to become something they are not.
The repetition of the line "Had you in my hand, now where'd you go, Aurora?" underscores the feeling of loss and confusion that runs throughout the song. The singer seems to have a clear sense of what they want, but is unable to grasp it, and feels as though they are constantly falling short. The line "and everyone keeps telling me that this is good, I needed you to tell me it was good, too" further highlights the feeling of isolation and longing for validation. The singer is seeking affirmation from someone they trust, but feels as though they are unable to find it.
Overall, "Aurora" is a poignant and introspective song that explores the struggles of finding one's own way in a world that is full of expectations and pressure to conform. The lyrics reveal the complicated emotional landscape of someone who is trying to make sense of themselves and the world around them.
Line by Line Meaning
How could you be everything
We had high expectations of you, but maybe our expectations were unrealistic.
We were cracking you up to be?
We were hyping you up, making you seem like something more than you really are.
We're cracking ourselves up too.
We're entertaining ourselves by buying into our own hype and exaggerating your qualities.
We're cracking ourselves up to be you.
We're so caught up in our own excitement about you that we're starting to act like you, or try to emulate you in some way.
Had you in my hand,
We felt like we had control over you or knew everything about you.
Now, where'd you go, Aurora?
But now we're feeling confused or lost because we don't know where you went or can't understand you fully.
See you up ahead, but I don't know if I can go as far as you go.
We still see you succeeding or moving forward, but we're not sure we can keep up with you or achieve what you have.
Everything keeps happening,
Life keeps moving forward and events are unfolding.
And its happening to me.
We're personally experiencing the consequences of those events.
I'm losing sight of its meaning.
But we're starting to feel disconnected or uncertain about why these things are happening or what they really mean.
You blew away the meaning.
We feel like your (Aurora's) success or personality has overshadowed or invalidated the meaning we used to attach to things.
And everyone keeps telling me that this is good.
Other people are congratulating us or reinforcing the idea that our hype or admiration for Aurora is justified.
I needed you to tell me it was good, too.
But we really wanted to hear Aurora's (or someone else's) validation or approval in order to fully believe in or understand our own hype.
Had you in my hand,
We felt like we had control over you or knew everything about you.
Now, where'd you go, Aurora?
But now we're feeling confused or lost because we don't know where you went or can't understand you fully.
I see you up ahead but I don't know if I can go as far as you go.
We still see you succeeding or moving forward, but we're not sure we can keep up with you or achieve what you have.
Contributed by Aria M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ReefSpy
One of the best tanks on YouTube. Congrats on the new edition!
Dutch Reefer
Thank you very much, appreciated!
Eric A.
Nice angel! And an extremely beautiful reef tank with some unique fish!
Eddy Ortiz
Amazing Angel and watching him eating and pecking on the rocks is a great sign that has happy! I think it fits and makes your reef a more exciting one,Its a very active and peaceful angel.😍💛💛
Dutch Reefer
Yeah I agree Eddy, although he's still a bit shy he seems happy enough scouring around the reef :) thank you very much for the kind words!
Cesca's Reef and Pond
Nice video and great addition to the reef. Will look forward to updates :)
Aussie D
Very nice looking fish, good to see your up for a challenge. I’d love to see your tank when the corals are closed up as lights come on, always fascinates me😁
Another informative video, cheers 👍
Dutch Reefer
Thanks, yeah this hobby would become boring without challenges, of which there are plenty by the way haha... Hmm will consider that as a FF video, thanks for the suggestion!
Rogue Aquariums
A beautiful addition to your already amazing tank. 👍
Dutch Reefer
Thank you very much!