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
Judy and the Dream of Horses
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics
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She showed it to a boy in school today
Judy, where did you go wrong?
You used to make me smile when I was down
Judy was a teenage rebel
She did it with a boy when she was young
She gave herself to books and learning
She gave herself to being number one
Judy, I don't know you if you're gonna show me everything
Judy got a book at school
She went under the covers with her torch
She fell asleep till it was morning
She dreamt about the girl who stole a horse
Judy never felt so good except when she was sleeping
Judy never felt so good except when she was sleeping
Judy, let's go for a walk
We can kiss and do whatever you want
But you will be disappointed
You will fall asleep with ants in your pants
Judy, you're just trying to find and keep the dream of horses
And the song she wrote was Judy and the Dream of Horses
Dream of Horses, Dream of Horses
You dream of horses
The best looking boys are taken
The best looking girls are staying inside
So Judy, where does that leave you?
Walking the street from morning to night
With a star upon your shoulder lighting up the path that you walk
With a parrot on your shoulder, saying everything when you talk
If you're ever feeling blue
Then write another song about your dream of horses
Write a song about your dream of horses
Call it Judy And The Dream Of Horses
Call it Judy And The Dream Of Horses
You dream of horses
The song "Judy and the Dream of Horses" by Belle and Sebastian is a sad song about a teenage girl named Judy who is struggling to find her place in the world. The lyrics showcase how Judy has gone through many things in her young life, such as being a rebellious teenager who gave herself to books and learning, and even writing the saddest song ever written. The song is also about her dream of horses and how it is something that she cannot let go of, maybe because it is the only thing that makes her feel good.
The lyrics go on to suggest that Judy is searching for something more, something that will not disappoint her like the boys she has liked or the girls who are more interested in staying inside. She dreams of horses as an escape from her everyday life and as a symbol of freedom. She even falls asleep with a torch and a book about horses under her covers. Overall, the lyrics of "Judy and the Dream of Horses" represent the struggle of finding oneself and the importance of never giving up on one's dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
Judy wrote the saddest song
Judy created the most melancholic music piece
She showed it to a boy in school today
She presented it to a male classmate today
Judy, where did you go wrong?
Judy, what happened that led you to this state?
You used to make me smile when I was down
You once had the capability to uplift me when I was feeling low
Judy was a teenage rebel
Judy was an adolescent who defied conventions
She did it with a boy when she was young
She had sexual intercourse with a male partner at a young age
She gave herself to books and learning
She devoted herself to education and reading
She gave herself to being number one
She devoted herself to being top in everything
Judy, I don't know you if you're gonna show me everything
I do not recognize you if you are exposing all of yourself to me
Judy got a book at school
Judy obtained a book from school
She went under the covers with her torch
She read under the bedspread with her flashlight
She fell asleep till it was morning
She dozed off until it was daylight
She dreamt about the girl who stole a horse
She dreamed of the girl who took away a horse
Judy never felt so good except when she was sleeping
Judy was never so content apart from during slumber
Judy, let's go for a walk
Judy, let us take a stroll together
We can kiss and do whatever you want
We can express our love and do anything you desire
But you will be disappointed
But you will be let down
You will fall asleep with ants in your pants
You will awaken with an irritating sensation in your nether region
Judy, you're just trying to find and keep the dream of horses
Judy, you are merely attempting to rediscover and retain the vision of horses
And the song she wrote was Judy and the Dream of Horses
Furthermore, she entitled the composition 'Judy and the Dream of Horses'
The best looking boys are taken
The most attractive male individuals are already in a relationship
The best looking girls are staying inside
The most handsome female individuals are being secluded
So Judy, where does that leave you?
Therefore, Judy, what is your situation now?
Walking the street from morning to night
Roaming the streets from daybreak to midnight
With a star upon your shoulder lighting up the path that you walk
With a shining emblem on your shoulder brightening your route
With a parrot on your shoulder, saying everything when you talk
With a parrot squawking everything you say on your shoulder
If you're ever feeling blue
In case you are ever feeling unhappy
Then write another song about your dream of horses
Then pen another melody about your desire for horses
Call it Judy And The Dream Of Horses
Title it 'Judy and the Dream of Horses'
You dream of horses
You envision horses
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