Belle and Sebastian released their first two albums in 1996: Tigermilk, recorded over three days, and If You're Feeling Sinister, recorded in a week, at the peak of the chamber pop movement. At first, some critics in Britain's music weeklies tied the band into the subgenre, yet the group was too pretty, too delicate, to bear that label. Through their first two years of public existence, the band shielded their personalities, submitting publicity photos featuring a girl, who was a friend of the band and reluctantly posing for photo shoots. Furthermore, they performed in odd venues, playing not only the standard coffeehouses and cafes, but also homes, church halls, and libraries.
Prior to the formation of Belle and Sebastian, Murdoch suffered from a protracted battle with chronic fatigue syndrome, which forced him to drop out of school and spend seven years living in his parents' home crippled by his condition.Whilst in his parents home, Murdoch wrote a short story about a boy named Sebastian and a girl named Isabelle based on the names from Madame Cecile Aubery's children's book Belle et Sebastian. On New Year's Day 1996, Stuart attended a party at which he met a young singer and cellist named Isobel Campbell. In a letter to his brother Fraser, Murdoch explained how he was making a single for Stow college at the end of February. Murdoch opted to use the name Belle&Sebastian for the project because it was occupying him at the time. Murdoch took to songwriting as an escapism from the four walls surrounding him in his room and eventually recorded demos with bassist Stuart David whom he met at a government training programme called Beatbox. Murdoch quickly met a series of other musicians through social and musical circles in his hometown Glasgow and they agreed to help with the Stow project. The members he found for this initial lineup were Stevie Jackson (guitar), Mick Cooke (trumpet), Chris Geddes (keyboards), Stuart David (bass), Richard Colburn (drums), and Isobel Campbell (cello). The Stow College record was to be issued by Electric Honey, but it turned into a full album. The course instructor Alan Rankine determined that Murdoch had enough good material to record a full LP and could do so if they could get it all done in three days, studio time allotted for the single. Murdoch and his musicians rose to the challenge and recorded ten tracks putting the songs in order as they would appear on the record and mostly completing them in just a few takes.
In May of 1996, Belle and Sebastian self-released their debut album, Tigermilk, on Electric Honey Records. Only 1,000 copies of the album, which was only pressed on vinyl, were released, but it unexpectedly became a sensation, earning terrific word of mouth throughout the UK. As a result, the band became slightly more than a school project — it became an actual band. If You're Feeling Sinister, released on the independent Jeepster label, followed in November of 1996. By the time the album was released in America on the EMI subsidiary The Enclave, it had earned considerable critical acclaim in the U.K. — not only from music weeklies, but from newspapers like The Sunday Times and magazines like The Face — and a large cult following; by some accounts, Tigermilk was being sold for as much as 75 pounds. Over the course of 1997, word of mouth continued to grow in America, even as the band pulled out of an American tour because The Enclave went bankrupt and closed.
As the band cult continued to build in 1997, Belle and Sebastian released three EPs — Dog on Wheels (May), Lazy Line Painter Jane (July), and 3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light (October). Each subsequent EP placed higher on the indie charts and received great critical acclaim. Later in the year, violinist Sarah Martin became a member of the band. By the end of the year, the group finalized an American deal with Matador Records, issuing The Boy With the Arab Strap in September 1998. The following year saw the eagerly anticipated wide re-release of Tigermilk, the album that started it all. It was the biggest selling album but is unpopular with the group themselves. Following completion of 2000's Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant, Stuart David left Belle and Sebastian to focus full-time on his solo project, Looper, being replaced by Bobby Kildea of V-Twin. In 2001, the group released two EPs — Jonathan David and I'm Waking Up to Us — and recorded the soundtrack for Todd Solondz's film Storytelling. Just before the soundtrack's release in spring 2002, Belle and Sebastian embarked on a comprehensive tour of the United States and Canada before returning to Europe for the summer festival season. Midway through the tour, Isobel Campbell left the band, citing the usual differences.
Another major change that soon took place was the band leaving Jeepster and Matador to sign with Rough Trade, with their next record, late 2003's Dear Catastrophe Waitress, produced by the inimitable Trevor Horn (who also produced Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Yes, and scores of others). The record spawned the brilliant "Step into My Office, Baby" and "I'm a Cuckoo" singles, the latter of which was the group's biggest U.K. hit, reaching number 14 in early 2004. After a long worldwide tour that found Belle and Sebastian reaching new levels of success, they retired to Scotland and began preparing for the recording of their seventh full length album, The Life Pursuit, released in 2006.
In 2010, they released their eighth full length album, Write About Love.
Official website: www.belleandsebastian.com
Act of the Apostle II
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics
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Too sick to even care
I'll take a little walk
Nobody's going to know
I'm in senior year
It gives you a little free time
I'll just use it all at once!
The bus then the train
Bought an 'Independent' to make me look like I got brains
I made a story up in my head if anybody would ask
I'm going to a seminar!
I'm a genius
A prodigy
A demon at Maths and Science
I'm up for a prize
If you gotta grow up sometime
You've to do it on your own
I don't think I could stand to be stuck
That's the way that things were going
The bible's my tool
There's no mention of school!
My Damascan Road's my transistor radio
I tune in at night when my mum and my dad start to fight
I put on my headphones
And I tune out
I am devout
The girls are singing about my life
But they're not here, they've got the wild life
If you want to find out, find out
You got to look them in the eye
That's why my only choice
Is find the face behind the voice?.
She asked the man if the service was open
Not today, just the choir from the radio
Couldn't I sit in? I've come all this way
Will you bugger off, I've got work to do.
The city was losing its appeal
God was asleep
He was back in her village, in the fields
Oh, if I could make sense of it all!
I wish that I could sing
I'd stay in a melody
I would float along in my everlasting song
What would I do to believe?
The song Act of the Apostle II by Belle and Sebastian tells the story of a young student in senior year who is bored and sick of everything around them. The student takes a walk, and while on this journey, they begin to weave a story in their head about going to a seminar when asked where they are going. To escape their mundane reality, the student turns to a Damascan Road's transistor radio for comfort.
The lyrics of the song describe a sense of disconnection and disillusionment felt by the young student. They are tired of school and the expectations put upon them. They feel like they are expected to grow up and figure everything out on their own – all while feeling lost and unsure of themselves. The student looks for meaning and understanding in the world around them but is left feeling confused and searching for answers. The song's chorus asks the question, "What would I do to believe?" – a poignant reflection on the journey of self-discovery and the search for meaning.
Overall, Act of the Apostle II is a reflection on the challenges and complexities of growing up and the struggle to find oneself in the midst of it all. The song poetically captures the experience of feeling lost, searching for answers, and attempting to make sense of the world around oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm bored out my mind
I am extremely bored and uninterested in what is happening around me.
Too sick to even care
I am unwell and apathetic towards everything.
I'll take a little walk
I will go for a stroll.
Nobody's going to know
No one will be aware of me leaving.
I'm in senior year
I have reached the final year of my high school education.
It gives you a little free time
Senior year provides a bit of leisure time.
I'll just use it all at once!
I will utilize all of it at once.
Took the fence and the lane
I crossed the fence and went through the lane.
The bus then the train
I boarded a bus, and later a train.
Bought an 'Independent' to make me look like I got brains
I purchased 'The Independent' newspaper to appear intellectual.
I made a story up in my head if anybody would ask
I created a fictional tale to tell if anyone inquires where I am headed.
I'm going to a seminar!
I will claim to attend a seminar.
I'm a genius
I am a brilliant person.
A prodigy
I am gifted.
A demon at Maths and Science
I excel at Mathematics and Science.
I'm up for a prize
I am in the running for an award.
If you gotta grow up sometime
Everyone is obligated to mature at some point.
You've to do it on your own
One must mature independently.
I don't think I could stand to be stuck
I would not endure being stuck in my current situation.
That's the way that things were going
My life appeared to be headed in this direction.
The bible's my tool
I use the Bible as a resource.
There's no mention of school!
School is not referenced in the Bible.
My Damascan Road's my transistor radio
My transformative path is through my transistor radio.
I tune in at night when my mum and my dad start to fight
I listen to the radio at night to avoid hearing my parents arguing.
I put on my headphones
I wear my headphones.
And I tune out
I block out my surroundings.
I am devout
I am strongly committed.
The girls are singing about my life
The girls are expressing themselves through music which resonates with me.
But they're not here, they've got the wild life
They are not present; they are enjoying an unrestrained lifestyle elsewhere.
If you want to find out, find out
To obtain information, find it yourself.
You got to look them in the eye
It is essential to face people directly to get information.
That's why my only choice
That is the reason behind my only option.
Is find the face behind the voice?.
To learn more about someone, I must identify their face.
She asked the man if the service was open
She inquired whether or not the establishment was available.
Not today, just the choir from the radio
Today, only the choir from the radio will be singing.
Couldn't I sit in? I've come all this way
May I partake? I have traveled a long distance.
Will you bugger off, I've got work to do.
Please leave; I have tasks to attend to.
The city was losing its appeal
The charm of the city was decreasing.
God was asleep
God was not present or attentive.
He was back in her village, in the fields
He was in her hometown, working in the countryside.
Oh, if I could make sense of it all!
I wish that I could understand everything.
I wish that I could sing
I yearn for the ability to sing.
I'd stay in a melody
I would dwell in a melody.
I would float along in my everlasting song
I would happily sing my entire life.
What would I do to believe?
What actions must I take to have faith?
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BOB KILDEA, CHRISTOPHER GEDDES, MICHAEL COOKE, RICHARD COLBURN, SARAH MARTIN, STEPHEN JACKSON, STUART MURDOCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind