Bear's Den are a British folk rock band from London, formed in 2012. The ba… Read Full Bio ↴Bear's Den are a British folk rock band from London, formed in 2012. The band consists of Andrew Davie (lead vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar) and Kevin Jones (vocals, drums, bass, guitar). Joey Haynes (vocals, banjo, guitar) left the band in early 2016. Joey has been replaced by Dutch artist Christof van der Ven in the studio and on tours since 2016 but not as an official member.

Bear's Den have released four studio albums: Islands (2014), Red Earth & Pouring Rain (22 July 2016), So that you might hear me (26 April 2019), and Blue Hours (13 May 2022). Islands peaked at number forty-nine on the UK Albums Chart. The band has also issued six EPs: Agape (2013), Without/Within (2013), Only Son of the Falling Snow (2019), Christmas, Hopefully (2020), The Quiet Winter Light (2022), and First Loves (2023).

The band has been nominated for several music awards throughout their career, with "Above the Clouds of Pompeii" earning the band a nomination for the Ivor Novello Award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically in 2015. The band received two nominations at the UK Americana Awards in 2016, Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "Agape".

Think Of England
Bear's Den Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You're not drinking as much as you used to
I'm the same old, same old
And all those fires that died in our bedroom
I was out fetching wood

Do you lie back
And think of England
Do you lie back?

Do you lie back
And think of England with fireworks flashing?
Do you lie back
Learn to feign your feelings

You know I tried my best to love you
To bear all your pride
But you shook all the habits I gave you
As you shake off the snow in your stride

Do you lie back
And think of England
Do you lie back?
Do you lie back
And think of England with fireworks flashing?

Do you lie back
Learn to feign your feelings

Overall Meaning

The song "Think Of England" by Bear's Den is a melancholic reflection on a fading relationship. The opening verse, "You're not drinking as much as you used to, I'm the same old, same old. And all those fires that died in our bedroom, I was out fetching wood," reveals that the two people in the relationship are not as passionate as they used to be, and one of them has maybe become complacent in their routine. They don't have the same spark that was once there, and they seem to be ignoring the fact that their relationship is slowly fading away.

The chorus of the song, "Do you lie back and think of England? Do you lie back? Learn to feign your feelings," suggests that one of the people in the relationship is simply going through the motions, not really feeling anything, and just going along with things because they feel it's expected of them. The phrase "Think of England" is a British Victorian euphemism for having sex without passion or enjoyment; it was supposedly what women were told to do during sex to make it more bearable. In the song, the phrase is used to paint a picture of a relationship that has lost all its passion and has become a chore rather than a joy.

In the second verse, the singer speaks of trying their best to love their partner, only to have them reject it. "You know I tried my best to love you, to bear all your pride. But you shook all the habits I gave you, as you shake off the snow in your stride," describes the rejection the singer feels when their partner doesn't take their love seriously. The chorus is repeated, driving home the idea that this relationship has lost all its passion and is now just a hollow shell.

Line by Line Meaning

You're not drinking as much as you used to
You have changed your behavior and no longer indulge in your customary habits, such as drinking excessively.

I'm the same old, same old
I remain unchanged and consistent, while you have shown signs of transformation.

And all those fires that died in our bedroom
The passion and intensity that once existed in our relationship have waned and disappeared over time, leaving us feeling unfulfilled.

I was out fetching wood
I was out trying to reignite the spark between us by gathering resources and making an effort to keep the relationship alive.

Do you lie back
Do you mentally withdraw or disengage from our physical intimacy and emotional connection?

And think of England
Do you dissociate from the experience and focus on your responsibilities and obligations as a duty-bound English person?

Do you lie back?
Are you passive and uninvolved in our relationship, leaving it up to me to do all the work and make things happen?

Do you lie back
Do you retreat and avoid confronting any issues or conflicts that may arise in our relationship?

And think of England with fireworks flashing?
Do you escape into a fantasy world where you imagine elaborate and exciting scenarios, in order to distract yourself from the reality of our relationship?

Do you lie back
Do you pretend to be content and satisfied in our relationship, despite feeling unfulfilled and unhappy?

Learn to feign your feelings
You should become skilled at pretending to feel a certain way, in order to maintain the illusion of a happy and functional relationship.

You know I tried my best to love you
I attempted to give you my all and make this relationship work, despite any challenges or obstacles that came our way.

To bear all your pride
I took on the burden of your ego and self-importance, and tried to navigate around it to make things work between us.

But you shook all the habits I gave you
You rejected the changes and adjustments that I suggested in order to improve our relationship, and instead continued to cling to your old habits.

As you shake off the snow in your stride
You moved forward confidently and gracefully, seemingly unencumbered by the issues that were creating obstacles in our relationship.

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Andrew Donald John Davie, Johannes Egenberg Refsdal, Kevin Jones

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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