Badly Drawn Boy is Damon Gough, born October 2, 1969 in Dunstable, Bedfords… Read Full Bio ↴Badly Drawn Boy is Damon Gough, born October 2, 1969 in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, although the family moved to Bolton, Lancashire before Gough reached the age of one. Gough chose his stage name from a character that appeared in the cartoon show "Sam and His Magic Ball" which he saw on TV at a party in Trafford, Manchester in 1995. Before he thought of using this name he made some 'business cards', each one unique, with a printed picture of a drawing by his nephew, and a small collage by Gough. This was then laminated and given out to friends and people at clubs in Blackburn and Manchester.

His 2000 album The Hour of Bewilderbeast won a prestigious Mercury Prize. He also composed the soundtrack to the movie About A Boy (starring Hugh Grant), based on the Nick Hornby's book of the same name. His third album, Have You Fed The Fish?, was released in 2002. One Plus One Is One, his fourth album, was released in 2004.

Born in the U.K., his fifth album, was released on October 16, 2006. It is a nod to one of his major influences, Bruce Springsteen.

In November 2009 it was announced on the Badly Drawn Boy website that "Damon is currently in the studio putting the finishing touches to a very exciting new project which will be reaching your eardrums in the very near future". [3] This album was soon revealed to be titled "Is There Nothing We Could Do?" featuring 'music taken from and inspired by the motion picture The Fattest Man in Britain.

Tickets to What You Need
Badly Drawn Boy Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I'm turning the lights down low
Ready to make my move
Get you tickets to what you need

I'm treading the borderlines
And ruining peoples' lives
By giving them what they need

You're quite right to ask me what's wrong with me
You want to take a look in my head
Here I've been thinking, "what's wrong with me"?
I'll watch the news instead

I'm turning Madonna down
Calling it my best move
I'll get her tickets to what she needs

I'm hugging my eiderdown
Employing a microscope
To find you the things you need

Now I'm ready to tell you what's wrong with me
I'm feeling the emptiness rise
And I'd trade the whole thing quite gladly
For something of similar size

I'm turning the lights down low
Ready to make my move
Get you tickets to what you need

What's wrong with me? x4

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Badly Drawn Boy's song "Tickets to What You Need" can be interpreted in a few different ways, but one central theme is the singer's desire to help people by giving them what they need. He sees himself as a kind of purveyor of tickets to a better life, but also acknowledges that this can be a dangerous game, as he might be "ruining people's lives" by giving them too much of what they think they need. The line "I'm treading the borderlines" suggests that he is aware of the ethical gray areas that come with this kind of power.

At the same time, the singer seems to be struggling with his own sense of emptiness or dissatisfaction. The line "Now I'm ready to tell you what's wrong with me / I'm feeling the emptiness rise" suggests that he has been keeping this inner turmoil to himself for a while. He even considers trading his own problems for "something of similar size," implying that he feels like his own issues are trivial or insignificant compared to the problems he sees in others.

The lines that mention Madonna and the eiderdown could be seen as humorously surreal, adding a touch of whimsy to the song's overall theme. On one level, the singer is telling us that he has turned down a chance to work with a music superstar, which could be interpreted as a commentary on the sell-out nature of the music industry. On another level, he is using a microscope to "find you the things you need," which could be seen as a metaphor for his deep commitment to improving people's lives.

Overall, "Tickets to What You Need" is a complex and thought-provoking song that explores themes of power, empathy, and personal struggle.

Line by Line Meaning

I'm turning the lights down low
Lowering the ambient light to create a mood

Ready to make my move
Prepared to take action

Get you tickets to what you need
Providing you the experience that delivers what you want

I'm treading the borderlines
Pushing the limits of ethics and morals

And ruining peoples' lives
Destroying what others have built

By giving them what they need
Enabling others to be their worst selves

You're quite right to ask me what's wrong with me
You're right to question my sanity

You want to take a look in my head
You wonder what is going on inside my mind

Here I've been thinking, "what's wrong with me"?
I've been contemplating if something is really wrong with me

I'll watch the news instead
I'll distract myself by watching the news