Belle and Sebastian is a band from Glasgow. Led by guitarist/vocalist Stuar… Read Full Bio ↴Belle and Sebastian is a band from Glasgow. Led by guitarist/vocalist Stuart Murdoch, the seven-piece band has an intimate, majestic sound that is equal parts folk-rock and '60s pop. Murdoch has a gift not only for whimsy and surrealism, but also for odd, unsettling lyrical detail which keeps the songs grounded in a tangible reality.

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

Dear Catastrophe Waitress
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Dear catastrophe waitress
Dear catastrophe waitress
I'm sorry that you seem to have the weight of the world over you
I cherish your smile
There's a word of peace on your lips
Say it, and with tenderness I'll cherish you

Dear catastrophe girlfriend

Dear catastrophe girlfriend
I'm sorry if he hit you with a full can of coke
It's no joke
Your face is bleeding
You'll soon be leaving this town to the clowns who worship
No one but themselves
No one but themselves

Dear catastrophe waitress
Dear catastrophe waitress
I'm sorry if the kids hold you in cool disregard
I know it's hard
Stick to what you know
You'll blow them all to the wall
When they realize what you've been working for

You've been working for
You've been working for

Overall Meaning

The song "Dear Catastrophe Waitress" by Belle and Sebastian might seem like a simple song sung by a compassionate and remorseful narrator, but in true Belle and Sebastian fashion, it's full of deeper meanings hidden beneath the surface. The song opens with the singer addressing a waitress as a "catastrophe waitress," which could signal that the singer perceives her as a person who is doomed to fail or someone who's not qualified for her job. However, using the words "Dear" and "I cherish your smile" show that the singer wishes to empathize with the difficulties that the waitress faces. The word "catastrophe" might also connote something larger, such as personal or global problems like climate change or political instability that the waitress might be dealing with in addition to the hardships of her work. The singer also implores the waitress to speak a word of peace with tenderness so that he can cherish her too.

The second verse speaks to a girlfriend who's been physically hurt by an abusive partner, and the singer shows empathy and concern for her situation. He recognizes that she's had a tough time living in a town that is ruled by self-serving people, but he believes that she will soon leave these clowns behind because of her strength and resilience. The chorus that follows repeats "Dear Catastrophe Waitress," but the tone changes a bit as he expresses his condolences to the waitress who is ignored and demeaned by the kids in town. He urges her to stick to what she knows and tells her that she'll prove them all wrong when they realize how hard she's been working.

Overall, the song tells the story of a narrator who sees people stuck in their situations, experiencing difficulty and despondency, and wants to acknowledge that they are not alone, and their efforts matter. It's like a ray of sunshine to people stuck in dark clouds. The message of the song is clear: even when things are difficult or hopeless, keep working, keep pushing on, and someday you'll have something to show for it.

Line by Line Meaning

Dear catastrophe waitress
The singer is addressing a waitress, whom they believe has experienced some kind of significant trouble.

Dear catastrophe waitress
The singer reiterates their acknowledgment of the waitress's difficult situation.

I'm sorry that you seem to have the weight of the world over you
The singer is expressing compassion for the waitress, as she appears to be carrying an immense burden.

I cherish your smile
The artist values the waitress's positive disposition, despite the challenges she's facing.

There's a word of peace on your lips
The artist detects an aura of serenity surrounding the waitress's countenance.

Say it, and with tenderness I'll cherish you
The singer suggests that the waitress can confide in them, and they will treat her with consideration and kindness.

Dear catastrophe girlfriend
The singer is addressing another woman, whom they believe has suffered some kind of domestic violence.

I'm sorry if he hit you with a full can of coke
The artist expresses sorrow for the girlfriend's physical abuse at the hands of her partner.

It's no joke
The artist emphasizes the severity of the girlfriend's situation, and that it is not something to trivialize or ignore.

Your face is bleeding
The artist draws attention to the girlfriend's injuries, which are visible and disturbing.

You'll soon be leaving this town to the clowns who worship
The singer envisions the girlfriend escaping her abusive relationship and the town that condones such behavior.

No one but themselves
The artist implies that the abusers in the town are selfish and uncaring about others' wellbeing.

I'm sorry if the kids hold you in cool disregard
The singer sympathizes with the waitress, who may experience disrespect from young customers.

I know it's hard
The singer acknowledges that dealing with rude customers can be challenging and discouraging.

Stick to what you know
The singer advises the waitress to focus on her strengths and abilities.

You'll blow them all to the wall
The artist is confident that the waitress will surpass her detractors and succeed beyond their expectations.

When they realize what you've been working for
The artist suggests that once the customers see the waitress's diligence and perseverance, they will respect and value her more.

You've been working for
The singer underscores the fact that the waitress has been putting in effort and deserves recognition and appreciation.

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

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