Prior to his success as Aqualung, Hales was known as the lead singer of mid-1990s, London-based Britpop band Ruth. Ruth had a string of moderately successful hit singles, including "I Don't Know," "Valentine's Day," and "Fear of Flying," and one album, "Harrison," before changing their name in 2001 to The 45's. As The 45s, the band released two more singles and one posthumous album to little attention before splitting so Hales could focus on his new endeavor as Aqualung. Almost immediately after the band's split, "Strange and Beautiful" began climbing the British charts and gaining massive amounts of attention--a dramatic turnabout from the previous year. In 2005, Aqualung would even achieve elusive success in the United States, where they are best known for the song "Brighter Than Sunshine", which had considerable airplay and was used in the film A Lot Like Love and various television spots. He's also known to some for his song, "Easier to Lie", which was featured on the hit television show, Scrubs. His music also went on to feature in another hit television show the OC. His song, "Strange and Beautiful" was also featured on the hit show CSI. Later, the song "Something To Believe In" was also featured at the ending of an episode of CSI: Miami. It was also featured in the movie "Wicker Park". "The Lake" was also featured on the wildly popular television show Grey's Anatomy. Aqualung has also had songs featured on One Tree Hill in various seasons. In 2009, his song "Easier to Lie" was again featured on a television show, this time Lie To Me.
It has been written that Hales took the name "Aqualung" from a Jethro Tull album of the same name. However, he himself says he was not aware of this album, and that it was descriptive of the underwater feeling he felt listening to his debut album.
His debut single, "Strange and Beautiful (I'll Put a spell on You)", was released in the UK on the B-Unique label on September 16, 2002, and reached number 7 in the UK Top 40 and was used in the film Wicker Park.
The song "Something To Believe In" from the album "Memory Man" was used during the ending of the former ABC show Eli Stone premiered on Jan 31, 2008.
The song "Good Times Gonna Come" has recently been used on the show Skins on the British channel E4.
On April 20th, 2010 Aqualung released his 6th studio album Magnetic North (2010). The first single released is a song called "Fingertip".
Clean
Aqualung Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Surrounded by the tide
One half drowning
The other one alive
Oh, an awful long way to go
Oh, an awful long time ago
Hold for the island
Gently drowning
Your tiny yellow eyes
Oh, an awful long way to go
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, my soul
Be clean once more
My soul
Once more be clean
Even on the island
Night is gonna fall
Sunset's burning
Underneath it all
Oh, an awful long way to go
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, my soul
Be clean once more
My soul
Once more be clean
My soul
Be clean once more
My soul
Once more be clean
My soul
Once more be clean
The lyrics of Aqualung's song Clean paint a picture of a person struggling to keep their head above water, quite literally, as they swim towards an island surrounded by a strong tide. The imagery is further illustrated by the contrast of one half of the person drowning while the other is still alive. The singer then addresses the person and urges them to keep going, promising that there's an end in sight even though it might feel like an awful long way to go.
The lyrics take a spiritual turn as the singer refers to a seer in the sky and the person's tiny yellow eyes, perhaps inflicted with fear or uncertainty. The repetition of the phrase "oh, an awful long way to go" emphasizes the person's journey and emphasizes the perseverance required to reach their goal. The chorus then begins, with the singer pleading with the person to clean their soul once more, suggesting that the journey they are on is not only physical, but also emotional or even philosophical.
Line by Line Meaning
Swim to the island
Make an effort to reach the island
Surrounded by the tide
The island is surrounded by water that is in motion
One half drowning
Half of the island may be underwater
The other one alive
The remaining half is above water and can support life
Oh, an awful long way to go
The journey to the island is quite difficult and takes time
Hold for the island
Hold on, persevere until you reach the island
The seer in the sky
The watcher in the sky or perhaps the sun
Gently drowning
Slowly or slightly drowning
Your tiny yellow eyes
The eyes of the one struggling to survive or see through the water
Oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, my soul
An invocation to the soul
Be clean once more
Cleanse the soul of negative emotions or experiences
Even on the island
Even when we reach our destination
Night is gonna fall
Darkness will come
Sunset's burning
The sun is setting while at the same time burning
Underneath it all
Despite what's happening around us
My soul
The soul, that is as essential as life itself
Be clean once more
Cleanse the soul of negative emotions or experiences
My soul
The soul, that is as essential as life itself
Once more be clean
A need to restore the soul to a state of purity
Contributed by Zachary J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.