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
If She Wants Me
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I asked somebody "Could you send my letter away?"
"You are too young to put all of your hopes in just one envelope"
I said goodbye to someone that I love
It's not just me, I tell you it's the both of us
And it was hard
Like coming off the pills that you take to stay happy
Someone above has seen me do alright
Someone above is looking with a tender eye
Upon her face, you may think you're alone but you may think again
If I could do just one near perfect thing I'd be happy
They'd write it on my grave, or when they scattered my ashes
On second thoughts I'd rather hang about and be there with my best friend
If she wants me
And far away somebody read the letter
He condescends to read the words I wrote about him
And if he smiles, it's no more than a genius deserves
For all his curious nerve and his passion
I'm going deaf, you're growing melancholy
Things fall apart, I don't know why we bother at all
But life is good and "It's always worth living at least for a while"
If I could do just one near perfect thing I'd be happy
They'd write it on my grave, or when they scattered my ashes
On second thoughts I'd rather hang about and be there with my best friend
If she wants me
If you think to yourself "What should I do now?"
Then take the baton, girl, you better run with it
There is no point in standing in the past cause it's over and done with
I took a book and went into the forest
I climbed the hill, I wanted to look down on you
But all I saw was twenty miles of wilderness so I went home
The lyrics of Belle and Sebastian's "If She Wants Me" start off with the singer writing a letter on a "nothing day" to someone they love. They ask if someone could send the letter away as they are too young to put all their hopes into one envelope. This shows the vulnerability of the singer and how they are seeking assurance in their love for this person. The next few lines reveal that the singer has said goodbye to someone they love, and it was hard - like coming off the pills to stay happy. This is an interesting metaphor as it highlights the pain and difficulty of letting go of someone they love.
The song then touches upon an unknown person above who is looking at the singer and the person they love with a "tender eye." These lines suggest that there is hope for the singer and their love. The next stanza picks up from this with the singer wishing to do one near-perfect thing so they can be happy, and if they achieve it, it could be written on their grave or where their ashes would be scattered. However, upon second thoughts, the singer realizes they'd rather be with their best friend if she wants it. This suggests that the singer values companionship more than anything and that being with the people they love is what makes them happy.
The next few lines touch upon the fact that the singer feels like they and their loved one are drifting apart. They are growing melancholy, and things are falling apart, but they still think that life is good and worth living. The song then ends with the singer going into the forest and climbing a hill to look down on their loved one but all they see is wilderness. This image is poignant as it suggests that even though the singer has sought guidance from the "someone above," they find no easy answers to their questions.
Line by Line Meaning
I wrote a letter on a nothing day
I wrote a letter on a day when nothing happened
I asked somebody "Could you send my letter away?"
I asked someone to mail my letter for me
"You are too young to put all of your hopes in just one envelope"
You shouldn't rely on just one chance at success at a young age
I said goodbye to someone that I love
I parted ways with someone I loved
It's not just me, I tell you it's the both of us
The separation affected both of us
And it was hard
The separation was difficult
Like coming off the pills that you take to stay happy
The pain was akin to withdrawal from happiness-inducing medication
Someone above has seen me do alright
A higher power has seen me succeed
Someone above is looking with a tender eye
The higher power is compassionate
Upon her face, you may think you're alone but you may think again
At first, you may think you're alone, but upon closer inspection, you realize you're not
If I could do just one near perfect thing I'd be happy
One act of near perfection would bring me happiness
They'd write it on my grave, or when they scattered my ashes
The act would be remembered even after my death
On second thoughts I'd rather hang about and be there with my best friend
However, I'd rather spend time with my best friend instead
If she wants me
If my best friend wants me to be there
And far away somebody read the letter
Someone far away read my letter
He condescends to read the words I wrote about him
He reads the words I wrote about him with an air of superiority
And if he smiles, it's no more than a genius deserves
If he's pleased with what I wrote, it's because he's a genius and deserves the recognition
For all his curious nerve and his passion
He deserves recognition for his adventurous spirit and enthusiasm
I'm going deaf, you're growing melancholy
I'm losing my hearing, and you're becoming sad
Things fall apart, I don't know why we bother at all
Things keep falling apart, and it's unclear why we keep trying
But life is good and "It's always worth living at least for a while"
Despite the difficulties, life is still good and worth living for a time
If I could do just one near perfect thing I'd be happy
One act of near perfection would bring me happiness
They'd write it on my grave, or when they scattered my ashes
The act would be remembered even after my death
On second thoughts I'd rather hang about and be there with my best friend
However, I'd rather spend time with my best friend instead
If she wants me
If my best friend wants me to be there
If you think to yourself "What should I do now?"
If you're wondering what to do next
Then take the baton, girl, you better run with it
Take control of the situation and move forward
There is no point in standing in the past cause it's over and done with
There's no use dwelling on the past because it's finished
I took a book and went into the forest
I went into the forest with a book
I climbed the hill, I wanted to look down on you
I climbed the hill to see you from above
But all I saw was twenty miles of wilderness so I went home
But all I could see was wilderness for twenty miles, so I returned home
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
@dellanaavioryrenatta9749
I wrote a letter on a nothing day
I asked someone "Hey, could you send my letter away?"
"You are too young to put all of your hopes in just one envelope"
I said goodbye to someone that I love
It's not just me, I tell you it's the both of us
And it was hard, like coming off the pills that you take to stay happy
Someone above has seen me do alright
Someone above is looking with a tender eye
Upon your face, you may think you're alone but you may think again
If I could do just one near-perfect thing, I'd be happy
They'd write it on my grave or when they scattered my ashes
On second thoughts I'd rather hang around
And be there with my best friend if she wants me
And far away, somebody read the letter
He condescends to read the words I wrote about him
And if he smiles, it's no more than a genius deserves
For all your curious nerve and your passion
I'm going deaf, you're growing melancholy
Things fall apart, I don't know why we bother at all
But life is good and "It's always worth living at least for a while"
If I could do just one near-perfect thing, I'd be happy
They'd write it on my grave or when they scattered my ashes
On second thoughts I'd rather hang around
And be there with my best friend if she wants me
If you think to yourself "What should I do now?"
Then take the baton, girl, you better run with it
'Cause there is no point in standing in the past
'Cause it's over and done
I took a book and went into the forest
I climbed the hill, I wanted to look down on you
But all I saw was twenty miles of wilderness so I went home
If I could do just one near-perfect thing, I'd be happy
They'd write it on my grave or when they scattered my ashes
On second thoughts I'd rather hang around
And be there with my best friend if she wants me
If I could do just one near-perfect thing, I'd be happy
They'd write it on my grave or when they scattered my ashes
On second thoughts I'd rather hang around
And be there with my best friend if she wants me
If she wants me, yeah
If she wants me, yeah
If she wants me, yeah
@aridrinkswater
As I get older, I come back to Belle and Sebastian when my heart hurts. And it nourishes me. Thanks old friend.
@lalramengmawiakhenglawt2922
Eva?
@evaofthestars
@@lalramengmawiakhenglawt2922 nope
@shaynaschuster3878
I don’t even listen to new music anymore, despite the fact I used to spend so much time doing so. I know I can always put on a Belle & Sebastian song whenever I’m feeling alone, unfulfilled or unhappy, ands it honestly all I need
@skeems2g
Same, well said
@baddie1shoe
Bitch turn around
@colorfullyme
I have loved belle & sebastian within living memory, but after a recent heartbreak I truly understand this song for the first time. wow.
@stephenmurtough8673
Every once in a while, I find a song that I completely, instantaneously, fall in love with, This is that track.
@violetbishop7836
I wish they made music like this now. I'm 15 and I don't like the music they play on the radio. But this song makes me happy, It puts me in a good mood.
@johnohara3453
im so in love with this song. never get tired of hearing it