Vocalist Aidan Moffat and multi-instrumentalist Malcolm Middleton met in Falkirk, bonded over their mutual love for Drag City recording artists such as Smog and Will Oldham, and began a collaboration in 1995. The band is completed by violinist Jenny Reeve and cellist Stacey Sievewright. Arab Strap's marked characteristics include frank and forthright lyrics delivered in a Scottish brogue.
Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton confirmed the rumours about the end of Arab Strap on 8th September 2006. They celebrated their Ten Years of Tears with a tour through the UK and the rest of Europe. After UK/Europe, they made a short secret tour in Japan as the last of Arab Strap. In 2016, however, they have reunited a decade after their breakup and will be touring throughout the year 2017.
Act of war
Arab Strap Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I needed a nurse and a mother, I needed an open-minded whore.
I needed a barmaid and a lover.
Someone to stand between me and the floor.
But when we attacked, it was never swiftly.
We must have been locked in combat for years.
Our new hardwood floor was the perfect battleground so I suppose the bullets were our tears.
Okay, I know we threw some things about and I'm sure that you got in a punch or two and is it true your comrade's been asking if I'm the sort of man who could ever sink to hit you too?
They'd be much happier apart” the fact is, you've always been clumsy be it with tables at your work or with my heart.
The lyrics of Arab Strap's song Act of War describe a tumultuous relationship between two people. The persona is torn between needing different things in a partner, such as someone to nurture him like a mother, or someone to satisfy his sexual desires like a whore. The imagery used to describe the woman is conflicting and confusing. Her mouth is a "red alert," perhaps symbolizing danger or passion, but her eyes are an "act of war," possibly implying that they provoke conflict or betrayal.
The song also touches on the physical violence that is present in their relationship. The persona implies that they have engaged in physical altercations, with both parties taking blows. The battlefield analogy is used to describe their conflicts, and the floors of their home becoming battlegrounds further reinforces the idea of their relationship being like a war.
Furthermore, the lyrics suggest that there are people outside of the relationship who are aware of the violence but do not intervene. The line "Why does she always have bruises?" seems to indicate that others have noticed the physical evidence of their fights. However, instead of intervening, they think that the couple would be better off apart. This highlights the idea that domestic violence often goes unreported and unacknowledged, even by those who witness it.
Line by Line Meaning
If your hair was a call to arms and your legs were what skirts are for then your mouth was a red alert but your eyes were an act of war.
If you were someone who was attractive and tempting and seductive, then your words and your eyes were deadly in the way that they drew people to you and got them entangled in your web.
I needed a nurse and a mother, I needed an open-minded whore.
I needed someone who could take care of me when I was sick or hurting, someone who could provide me with emotional support, and someone who was willing to be adventurous and open-minded in the bedroom.
I needed a barmaid and a lover.
I needed someone who could serve drinks and make me feel comfortable in a bar or pub, and also someone who I could connect with on a physical and emotional level.
Someone to stand between me and the floor.
I needed someone who could lift me up and protect me when I was falling down or feeling low.
But when we attacked, it was never swiftly.
When we argued or fought, it was always a long and drawn-out process that seemed to take forever.
We must have been locked in combat for years.
Our conflicts and arguments seemed to go on and on for what felt like a very long time, without any resolution in sight.
Our new hardwood floor was the perfect battleground so I suppose the bullets were our tears.
Our fights and conflicts literally played out on the floor of our home, and the damage we caused to the floor was like the wounds that we inflicted on each other, which left us feeling hurt and vulnerable.
Okay, I know we threw some things about and I'm sure that you got in a punch or two and is it true your comrade's been asking if I'm the sort of man who could ever sink to hit you too?
I'm aware that we both resorted to physical violence during our arguments, and I've heard that your friends are asking whether I'm the kind of person who would hit you as well.
“Why does she always have bruises?
People are starting to wonder why you always seem to have bruises and injuries.
They'd be much happier apart”
Some people might think that we would be better off ending our relationship and going our separate ways.
the fact is, you've always been clumsy be it with tables at your work or with my heart.
The reality is that you have always been accident-prone, whether it's at your job where you break things, or in our relationship where you inadvertently hurt me with your words and actions.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Aidan Moffat, Malcolm Middleton
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@legandrydirk
The strap are or rather were a total band,Cheers for putting this up poster
@alberthernandez8539
AIDAN MOFFAT'S BLACK RAMBLINGS ARE JUST ANOTHER COLOR IN THE CRAYON BOX - A LITTLE STING IN THE ATMOSPHERE - AND FOR ONCE, THE SONGS BYPASS THE BRAIN AND HIT FIRST ON AN INSTINCTIVE LEVEL. AND THERE, IT'S THE MUSIC'S BEAUTY THAT REGISTERS.
@sovicidonji
waltz for aidan