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

Jonathan David
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics

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I know you like her
Well I like her too
I know she likes you
It's not as if I'm being sent off to War
There are worse things in the world
There's still room on my wooden horse for two
I was Jonathan to your David
You're still King

Well, I'd thought about her
I dreamed she'd come, I'd make my escape
I thought she liked me but somehow I was wrong
I know you don't want it this way
But it's O.K.
It's not like we'll be parted
It's not like we'll never know love
And she'll smile for you
She'll hold your hand
You'll be in love there's no other way
And I will make it some day
I know you like her
Well I like her too
I know she likes you
It's not as if I 'm being sent off to War
There are worse things in the world
There's still room on my wooden horse for two
I was Jonathan to your David
You're still King
Visions of love recollected
Have we ever been true?
I know that I have, it's time for you to go
It's all int he stones that you throw
I want you to know
It's not like we'll be parted
It's not like we'll never know love
And she'll smile for you
She'll hold your hand
You'll be in love there's no other way
People say that
"We'll never change"
"We'll never change"
But I have
You and her in the local newspaper

You will be Married and you'll be gone
Married and you'll be gone

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Belle and Sebastian's song "Jonathan David" explore the themes of young love, unrequited affections, and the pains of rejection in a friendship. The song depicts a narrator who is resigned to the idea that his friend Jonathan David will end up with the girl they both like. The singer acknowledges Jonathan's attraction to the girl and the girl's attraction to Jonathan but asserts that he also liked her. However, he accepts that Jonathan and the girl will end up together and attempts to cope with his unreturned love by imagining himself riding a wooden horse with both of them. The lyrics reveal the singer's inner pain and suffering as he tries to move forward despite being stuck in a love triangle.

The lyrics also reference the Biblical story of David and Jonathan, two friends who were very close and loyal to one another. The singer compares himself to Jonathan, who was second in command to King David, suggesting his role as a loyal but overlooked friend. The lyrics also contain references to changing times, with the singer admitting that he has changed and grown while his friend has stayed the same, still pursuing the same girl as before.

Overall, "Jonathan David" is a poignant and melancholy exploration of the emotions that surround unrequited love and the struggles of finding a place in a friendship.

Line by Line Meaning

I know you like her
I'm aware that you have a liking for her

Well I like her too
I also have a liking for her

I know she likes you
It's not a secret that she has feelings for you

It's not as if I'm being sent off to War
This is not a life-threatening issue in comparison to going off to war

There are worse things in the world
There are much more severe situations that we could be facing

There's still room on my wooden horse for two
I still consider us to be companions, and there is still space for the both of us to exist together

I was Jonathan to your David
I was a close friend or confidant to you, similar to the biblical relationship between Jonathan and David

You're still King
You still hold a strong position in our friendship, as the customary leading figure

Well, I'd thought about her
I have had some thoughts about her

I dreamed she'd come, I'd make my escape
I had daydreams about her appearing and me making my own way out

I thought she liked me but somehow I was wrong
I assumed she had feelings for me, but it appears that I was mistaken

I know you don't want it this way
I sense that you don't approve of how this is happening

But it's O.K.
Despite that, everything is alright

It's not like we'll be parted
Our friendship will continue, even if there is some distance between us

It's not like we'll never know love
We will both experience love in our own ways, regardless of the situation with her

And she'll smile for you
She will be happy with you

She'll hold your hand
She will take your hand and be close to you

You'll be in love there's no other way
You will experience love together, and there is no other possible outcome

And I will make it someday
I will achieve my aspirations sometime in the future

Visions of love recollected
Memories of previous love experiences

Have we ever been true?
Have we ever been honest or sincere with ourselves and each other about our emotions?

I know that I have, it's time for you to go
I am aware that I have been honest, but it is time for you to follow suit and acknowledge your feelings

It's all in the stones that you throw
You can observe your own feelings by analyzing your actions and reactions

I want you to know
This is important for you to understand

People say that 'We'll never change'
It's a common belief that people will always remain the same

But I have
I, however, have changed

You and her in the local newspaper
A prediction that you and her will be featured in the newspaper, potentially for your wedding or relationship

You will be married and you'll be gone
You will get married and eventually leave, which may change our friendship or dynamic

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CAMPBE, CHRISTOPHER GEDDES, ISOBEL CAMPBELL, MICHAEL COOKE, RICHARD COLBURN, SARAH MARTIN, STEPHEN JACKSON, STUART MURDOCH

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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