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
Get Me Away from Here I'm Dying
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Play me a song to set me free
Nobody writes them like they used to
So it may as well be me
Here on my own now after hours
Here on my own now on a bus
Think of it this way
You could either be successful or be us
With our catchy tunes, and us
Now we're photogenic
You know, we don't stand a chance
Oh, I'll settle down with some old story
About a boy who's just like me
Thought there was love in everything and everyone
You're so naive!
After a while they always get it
They always reach a sorry end
Still it was worth it as I turned the pages solemnly, and then
With a winning smile, the boy
With naivety succeeds
At the final moment, I cried
I always cry at endings
Oh, that wasn't what I meant to say at all
From where I'm sitting, rain
Washing against the lonely tenement
Has set my mind to wander
Into the windows of my lovers
They never know unless I write
"This is no declaration, I just thought I'd let you know goodbye"
Said the hero in the story
"It is mightier than swords
I could kill you sure
But I could only make you cry with these words"
Oh, get me away, I'm dying...
In "Get Me Away from Here I'm Dying," Belle and Sebastian's lead singer, Stuart Murdoch, finds himself in a compromised state, feeling out of place and wanting to break free. He seeks solace in music to temporarily distract him from his reality. In the opening lines, he makes his plea to escape, and he asks for a song to set him free. The next lines reflect on how music used to be made with more depth and meaning, but as no one writes like they did before, Stuart decides to write songs like that himself.
The following lines describe his loneliness as he rides a bus at night, and he compares his life to the glamorous music stars. He acknowledges that they have a better image and express themselves through catchy tunes. But, despite all of that, they don't stand a chance. In the verse's second half, Stuart reflects on a story that he might settle down with or write himself about a boy who is similar to him. The singer believes in the goodness of everything and everyone, and Stuart relates to that part. However, the ending always turns out to be sorrowful, yet still, he finds it worth his time. The outro line, "I always cry at endings," reminds us of the fragility of art and emotions.
The second verse sees Stuart change his mind and say what he meant to say. He observes the rainy weather and the endless tenement buildings that surround him. While gazing at the windows, he thinks of his lovers who are oblivious to his thoughts unless he writes them down. He then threatens them with the phrase, "This is no declaration, I just thought I'd let you know goodbye." Stuart describes himself in the third person as the hero in the story and speaks of the power of words over violence. He argues that threatening to kill someone can only instill fear, whereas the right words can make one cry or feel something deeper. The song ends with Stuart's plea to escape from his current situation, repeating the opening line.
Line by Line Meaning
Ooh! Get me away from here I'm dying
Expressing a desire to escape from present circumstances out of desperation
Play me a song to set me free
A plea for help to escape from negative emotions through music
Nobody writes them like they used to
Regret over a lack of good songs being produced compared to the past
So it may as well be me
Feeling a sense of responsibility to write good songs even though it's difficult
Here on my own now after hours
Being alone during a time where most people are not
Here on my own now on a bus
Being alone on a journey to an unknown destination
Think of it this way
Presenting an alternative perspective to consider
You could either be successful or be us
Implying that success may not bring happiness, and that their lifestyle is not enviable
With our winning smiles, and us
Using sarcasm to suggest that their appearances and success are not as great as they may seem
With our catchy tunes, and us
Suggesting that their music is only popular because it's catchy and not because it's good
Now we're photogenic
Commenting on how appealing they look in photographs
You know, we don't stand a chance
Admitting that their level of success is unlikely to last
Oh, I'll settle down with some old story
Choosing to escape from reality through the comfort of a familiar story
About a boy who's just like me
Identifying with the singer of the story and yearning for similar experiences
Thought there was love in everything and everyone
Believing in the beauty of the world and its inhabitants
You're so naive!
An expression of frustration or disappointment towards someone for being overly optimistic or idealistic
After a while they always get it
Suggesting that everyone eventually loses touch with their idealistic beliefs
They always reach a sorry end
Implying that life is full of disappointments and heartaches
Still it was worth it as I turned the pages solemnly, and then
Acknowledging that despite the difficulties of life, the experiences are still valuable
With a winning smile, the boy
A reference to the artist of the story succeeding with a confident smile
With naivety succeeds
Implying that the artist's success was possible due to their optimistic, youthful perspective
At the final moment, I cried
Expressing an emotional reaction to the bittersweet ending of the story
I always cry at endings
Commenting on the singer's tendency to cry at movie/book endings
Oh, that wasn't what I meant to say at all
A realization that what was just said was not what was intended
From where I'm sitting, rain
Describing the setting as looking out at the rain
Washing against the lonely tenement
The sound of rain against a desolate building
Has set my mind to wander
Feeling lost in thought due to the sound of the rain
Into the windows of my lovers
Imagining looking into the windows of loved ones nearby and reflecting on the complexity of relationships
They never know unless I write
Acknowledging that their loved ones may not understand their thoughts and emotions without written expression
"This is no declaration, I just thought I'd let you know goodbye"
A letter to a loved one explaining that they are leaving, despite not having a clear reason or plan
Said the hero in the story
Referencing the singer of the fictional story previously mentioned
"It is mightier than swords
Implying that words hold great power and can be used as a weapon
I could kill you sure
Self-awareness of the power of one's words and harm that could be caused
But I could only make you cry with these words"
An introspective realization of how hurtful words could be, but that actions are much more powerful
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Christopher Geddes, Isobel Campbell, Michael Cooke, Richard Colburn, Sarah Martin, Stephen Jackson, Stuart Murdoch
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind