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
I Can See Your Future
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you were young and free
How did I know?
Try, but I can't remember
How it began (back in the day)
Was there a plan? (Follow my way)
I'm living in the past.
You're making history
The road into town,
That's when it came to me
I'm not alone
I felt the world stop turning
Stop in your tracks (where could I go?)
Cover my back (let yourself show)
I took the long way home.
My feet are blistery
Listen up and make a deal
And I'll tell you what I see
And when the second hand
Hits the morning
You will hear me calling
Come to me
Come to me
Don't leave me behind,
Stuck in a memory
Caught on a line
Something that once you told me
Fortune and fate (look in the glass)
Please don't be late (let the day pass)
Watch and a world will form in the sand
Forward's the only way to go
You catch me up, I'll take it slow
I can see your future
There's nobody around
Forward's the only way to go
You catch me up, I'll take it slow
I can see your future
There's nobody around
Forward's the only way to go
You catch me up, I'll take it slow
I can see your future
There's nobody around
Forward's the only way to go
You catch me up, I'll take it slow
I can see your future
There's nobody around
Forward's the only way to go
You catch me up, I'll take it slow
I can see your future
There's nobody around
Forward's the only way to go
You catch me up, I'll take it slow
I can see your future
There's nobody around
The song "I Can See Your Future" by Belle and Sebastian is a reflection of the singer's nostalgia for a past relationship while also acknowledging that the future is uncertain. The song's opening lines reveal the singer's familiarity with their subject, reminiscing about their youth and freedom. Despite not being able to remember how their relationship began, the singer recognizes that the person they are addressing is making history while they are living in the past. The singer struggles to reconcile this nostalgia with the awareness that the future is unknown and that they cannot be left behind in a memory.
The chorus of the song speaks to the singer's desire to know what the future holds. They offer to make a deal with the person they are addressing, promising to share their foresight. The second verse refers to a specific moment when the singer recognized their feelings for the other person. The singer describes feeling as though the world had stopped turning and, using a metaphor of blistery feet, suggest they have taken the long way home, suggesting that their relationship has been uneven and difficult.
The final verse speaks to the singer's belief in moving forward, even if that means taking things slowly. They reiterate their ability to see the future, insisting that there is "nobody around" to dispute their claims. The song, in general, is a bittersweet reflection on the past and future of a relationship that is both familiar and uncertain.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw you around
I remember seeing you when you were younger and had more freedom in your life.
When you were young and free
You were young and had fewer responsibilities and constraints in your life.
How did I know?
I do not remember how I first became aware of you or came to see you.
Try, but I can't remember
I have attempted to recall past events, but I am unable to do so.
How it began (back in the day)
I am uncertain of how our relationship or interactions started, but it was some time ago.
Was there a plan? (Follow my way)
I wonder if there was a specific intention or direction for our interactions in the past, and I am suggesting that now you follow my lead.
I'm living in the past.
I am spending too much time thinking about things that have already happened, instead of focusing on the present or the future.
You're making history
You continue to live your life and create a story unique to you, with each decision and action shaping the events that will become your history.
The road into town,
When I was traveling into town,
That's when it came to me
I had a sudden realization, insight or inspiration at that moment.
I'm not alone
I am not the only one experiencing what I felt at the time, whatever that may be.
I felt the world stop turning
I felt as though time was suspended or that everything around me came to a standstill.
Stop in your tracks (where could I go?)
I was stopped in my own movement, and I didn't know where I should go from there.
Cover my back (let yourself show)
I felt a sense of vulnerability or insecurity and wanted someone to watch out for me while I allowed myself to be more open and honest.
I took the long way home.
I chose a path that wasn't the quickest or easiest route back to where I needed to be (home) after experiencing this realization or insight.
My feet are blistery
I've developed blisters on my feet due to the long (and possibly difficult) path I chose to take earlier.
Listen up and make a deal
Pay attention and agree to a bargain or agreement.
And I'll tell you what I see
If you agree to my offer, I will describe to you what I have foreseen or learned through my experiences.
And when the second hand
When the second hand on a clock
Hits the morning
Reaches the early hours of the day
You will hear me calling
I will make an effort to communicate what I have learned or observed to you, and I hope that you will be receptive to it.
Come to me
I would like you to come to where I am to discuss my revelations with you more thoroughly.
Don't leave me behind,
I am requesting that you not forget about me or abandon me as you move forward in life.
Stuck in a memory
I am caught up or trapped in a specific memory or set of memories, and I have difficulty escaping them.
Caught on a line
I am like a fish caught on a line, or I am trapped by a specific situation or circumstance.
Something that once you told me
There is something that you have said to me in the past that continues to stick with me or influence me now.
Fortune and fate (look in the glass)
The events of our lives are influenced by both our own choices and forces beyond our control, and we can see this reflected in the world around us (perhaps through a window or reflective surface).
Please don't be late (let the day pass)
Please make sure you arrive on time or move quickly, but at the same time allow the day to progress at its own pace.
Watch and a world will form in the sand
Pay attention and you will notice that even the seemingly mundane or trivial things can reveal a story, a pattern, or a greater meaning (like how even random marks in sand can form images with significance).
Forward's the only way to go
It is important to keep moving ahead, rather than getting bogged down in the past or present.
You catch me up, I'll take it slow
If you can keep up with my pace, I am willing to move forward at a reasonable speed.
I can see your future
I have some idea or awareness of what may lay ahead for you.
There's nobody around
No one is currently present or able to hear us as we move forward into the future.
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