Arctic Monkeys is an indie rock band formed in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, … Read Full Bio ↴Arctic Monkeys is an indie rock band formed in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England in 2002 after meeting at Stocksbridge High School. The band consists of Alex Turner (vocals, guitar, piano), Jamie Cook (guitar), Nick O'Malley (backing vocals, bass) and Matt Helders (drums, vocals). Founding bassist Andy Nicholson left in 2006.

The band has released seven studio albums: Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not (2006), Favourite Worst Nightmare (2007), Humbug (2009), Suck It and See (2011), AM (2013), Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino (2018) and The Car (2022) (the first six of which debuted at #1 on the UK Albums Chart.

Each of the band's first five singles "I Bet You Look Good On the Dancefloor", "When the Sun Goes Down", "Leave Before The Lights Come On", "Brianstorm" and "Fluorescent Adolescent" hit the UK Top Five, but their sixth single, "Teddy Picker", only went Top 20 and their seventh single, "Crying Lightning" peaked at #12.

The band's rise to success started in late 2004/early 2005 when demo songs that had been handed out in CD form at gigs found their way onto the internet. These demos rapidly spread among message boards and friends leading to a growing fan base for the band, and were collected on the unofficial Beneath the Boardwalk, which the band recognizes on their website. The band owe much of their success to viral buzz via the Internet, and have eschewed typical 'commercial' channels, including refusing to appear on the UK's (now discontinued) Top Of The Pops music program, which was often seen as a gateway to success.

The band's debut album, Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, held the record for the largest first week sales of a debut album in the UK (in its first week, it sold more than the rest of the Top 20 albums combined). The album sold over 360,000 copies in its first week, but lost the title in November 2007 to Leona Lewis's album Spirit.

On 19th June 2006 the band officially announced that founding member and bassist Andy Nicholson had left the band after missing the American leg of their tour due to 'fatigue' and the other band members couldn't stand the constant 'missing his girlfriend syndrome' so they told him to sling his hook. Former Dodgems bassist Nick O'Malley was initially brought in as a stand-in, and played the band's remaining summer commitments. He was then announced as Nicholson's permanent replacement.

The single "Leave Before The Lights Come On" came out on August 14th, but only reached Number 4 on the UK charts, denying the band a third consecutive number 1 single.

Their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not won the 2006 Mercury Prize, was chosen as the best album of year 2006 by Q Magazine, and received a slew of other accolades.

Their second album Favourite Worst Nightmare was released on April 23rd 2007. It was preceded by "Brianstorm", the first single from the album, which was released a week before. Like its predecessor, "Favourite Worst Nightmare" sold more than the rest of the Top 20 combined, and - due to an error on iTunes - every song on the record appeared on the UK Top 200 Singles the next week.

When asked about Favourite Worst Nightmare Turner commented, "We haven't changed that much. It's still about making contact with girls or not making contact with girls".

The band began to write and record demos for the third album in January 2008, Turner said "We had tunes that we'd already been playing on tour so we recorded them. That’s six [songs]. We’re going to take it easy and start practicing over the summer and doing new stuff."

The band premiered new material from the unreleased album during their January 2009 tour of New Zealand, playing small venues in Wellington and Auckland ahead of the Big Day Out festival. Their first show in more than a year was on January 13, 2009 at Wellington's Town Hall. In both cities, the new songs played were "Crying Lightning", "Go-Kart", "Dangerous Animals" and "Pretty Visitors." The full setlist from the Auckland gig is available online. Also played was a cover of the Nick Cave song "Red Right Hand." During their last tour, the band had played new songs "Put Me In A Terror Pocket", "Sandtrap," and "The Fire and The Thud" live.

Lead singer/songwriter Alex Turner started a two-man project with the singer from the Rascals, Miles Kane.
The band is called 'The Last Shadow Puppets'

The Arctic Monkeys band released their album Humbug in August of 2009, preceded by the single "Crying Lightning"

They released their fourth studio album, Suck It And See, on June 6th, 2011.

They released their fifth studio album, AM, on September 9th, 2013.

They released their sixth studio album, Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino, with no preceding single releases, on May 11th, 2018.

They released their seventh studio album, The Car, on October 21st, 2022, preceded by the singles "There'd Better Be a Mirrorball", "Body Paint" and "I Ain't Quite Where I Think I Am".

http://www.arcticmonkeys.com/

This Horse Is A Circus
Arctic Monkeys Lyrics

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There's a room for the trouble and there's lovers to be had
Those ones that make sinners out of such lovely lads

This house is a circus, berserk as fuck
We tend to see that as a perk, though
Look what it's done to your friends; their memories are pretend
And the last thing they want is for the feeling to end
This house is a circus, berserk as fuck

We tend to see that as a perk, though
Look what it's done to your friends; their memories are pretend
And the last thing they want is for the feeling to end

There's a room for the trouble and there's lovers to be had
Those ones that make sinners out of such lovely lads
Scaling the corridors for maidens in the maze
And the anomaly is slipping into familiar ways
And we're forever unfulfilled
Can't think why
Like a search for murder clues
In dead man's eyes
Forever unfulfilled
And can't think why
Like a search for murder clues
In dead man's eyes

The more you open your mouth
The more you're forcing performance
All the attention is leading me to feel important (completely obnoxious)
Now that we're here, we may as well go too far

Wriggling around just so that you won't forget
There's certainly some venom in the looks that you collect
Aimlessly gazing at the faces in the queue
Struggling with the notion that it's life, not film

This house is a circus, berserk as fuck
We tend to see that as a perk, though
Look what it's done to your friends; their memories are pretend
And the last thing they want is for the feeling to end
This house is a circus, berserk as fuck
We tend to see that as a perk, though

Look what it's done to your friends; their memories are pretend
And the last thing they want is for the feeling to end

Overall Meaning

The song "This House Is A Circus" by Arctic Monkeys describes a chaotic and wild house party, where there is a lot of trouble and potential for romantic connections. The first stanza establishes the idea that this party is different from others, as it is where normally well-behaved people become sinners. The chorus highlights the chaotic nature of the party, yet the partygoers still see it as a positive thing, despite the impact it is having on their memories and relationships. The second stanza furthers the idea of the party's chaotic nature, as people are actively looking for maidens in mazes and struggling to differentiate between life and film.

The bridge of the song suggests that the chaos experienced at the house party is a result of the attention-seeking attitudes of the guests, with the singer acknowledging their own arrogance. Finally, the song concludes with the repetition of the chorus, underlining the idea that although the partygoers recognize the detrimental effects the house party is having on their lives, they continue to indulge in it.

Overall, the song is a commentary on the hedonistic nature of youth, and the attraction to experiences that are perceived as exciting, despite the knowledge that they will likely have negative consequences.

Line by Line Meaning

There's a room for the trouble and there's lovers to be had
Opportunities for mischief and romance are plenty

Those ones that make sinners out of such lovely lads
Those temptations that turn good boys into bad

This house is a circus, berserk as fuck We tend to see that as a perk, though Look what it's done to your friends; their memories are pretend And the last thing they want is for the feeling to end
This place is insane, but we embrace it anyway; it's taken a toll on our friends' sanity and they never want this high to end

Scaling the corridors for maidens in the maze And the anomaly is slipping into familiar ways And we're forever unfulfilled Can't think why Like a search for murder clues In dead man's eyes Forever unfulfilled And can't think why Like a search for murder clues In dead man's eyes
Hunting for love in complicated places, and feeling trapped in an unsatisfying routine without knowing why, like trying to find answers from a corpse

The more you open your mouth The more you're forcing performance All the attention is leading me to feel important (completely obnoxious) Now that we're here, we may as well go too far
The more you talk, the more you try to impress; the attention rouses arrogance and the desire to push boundaries

Wriggling around just so that you won't forget There's certainly some venom in the looks that you collect Aimlessly gazing at the faces in the queue Struggling with the notion that it's life, not film
Squirming to get attention, but realizing that the stares only contain bitterness; observing strangers with no purpose and wrestling with the realization that reality is not a movie

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ALEX TURNER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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