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
My Wandering Days Are Over
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Does that mean that I'm getting boring?
You tell me
I'm tired of listening to myself now
I'm tired of fixing things for Michael and the rest of them
You know my bip-bopping days are over
I hung my boots up and then retired from the disco floor
Now the centre of my so called being is
The space between your bed and wardrobe with the louvre doors
I said "My celibate days are over"
You put me straight on the finer points of my speech rehearsed
In the mirror of my steamy bathroom
Where the lino tells a sorry story in a monologue
Six months on, the winter's gone
The disenchanted pony
Left the town with the circus boy
The circus boy got lonely
It's summer, and it's sister song's
Been written for the lonely
The circus boy is feeling melancholy
It's got to be fate that's doing it
A spooky witch in a sexy dress has been bugging me
With the story of the way it should be
With the story of Sebastian and Belle the singer
I said "My one man band is over"
I hit the drum for the final time and I walked away
I sew you in Japanese restaurant
You were doing it for business men on the piano, Belle
You said it was a living Hell
You said that it was Hell
The first verse of Belle and Sebastian's song “My Wandering Days Are Over” questions the singer's state of mind as they come to realize their wild and adventurous days are over. The singer's fear is that their life will become mundane and boring without the thrill of adventure. He wonders if that means he's getting boring or if he's losing touch with his identity. He's tired of trying to fix things for his friend Michael and the old group of his friends, as he realizes he's grown up and set on a path different from junkie discos and violent friends. The singer accepts that his days of wandering and high energy music are over, and he has found a new center to his life: the space between his lover's bed and wardrobe. They have become celibate with each other, and he understands the importance of their relationship. He seeks her advice on grammar to refine his speech, now that he is more conscious of the impact of words. He transitions towards a fuller and calmer life.
In the second verse, Belle and Sebastian describe the melancholy of the circus boy who ran away with a pony. He has become lonely and disillusioned by the summer that hasn't brought him the fulfillment he thought he would have. In this verse, there is mention of a spooky witch in a sexy dress who tells the story of Sebastian and Belle the singer. It seems to suggest a love of destiny or fate has brought the singer to this new phase in his life. The song finishes with the singer acknowledging that he is no longer a one-man band and has hit the drum for the final time. He goes looking for Belle in a Japanese restaurant, where she plays piano for business men. She finds it a living hell and has grown tired of it.
Line by Line Meaning
You know my wandering days are over
I am no longer constantly roaming and seeking adventure
Does that mean that I'm getting boring?
Am I becoming uninteresting because of my newfound stability?
You tell me
I am seeking your opinion on the matter
I'm tired of listening to myself now
I am weary of hearing my own voice
I'm tired of fixing things for Michael and the rest of them
I am exhausted from constantly repairing things for my former friends
You know my bip-bopping days are over
I am no longer dancing and enjoying myself at clubs and discos
I hung my boots up and then retired from the disco floor
I am done with the nightclub scene forever
Now the centre of my so called being is
My entire existence revolves around
The space between your bed and wardrobe with the louvre doors
The small area between your bedroom and closet, specifically the louvered doors
I said "My celibate days are over"
I have decided to pursue a sexual relationship
You put me straight on the finer points of my speech rehearsed
You corrected my rehearsed speech and made it more refined
In the mirror of my steamy bathroom
Reflecting on myself in the hot and humid washroom
Where the lino tells a sorry story in a monologue
The floor covering tells a sad tale through a dramatic speech
Six months on, the winter's gone
Half a year has passed, and the cold season has ended
The disenchanted pony
The disillusioned person or animal
Left the town with the circus boy
The upset person or animal moved away with the young performer
The circus boy got lonely
The young performer became sad and alone
It's summer, and it's sister song's
It is summertime, and the related track is
Been written for the lonely
Intended for those who are alone
The circus boy is feeling melancholy
The young performer is experiencing sadness
It's got to be fate that's doing it
It must be destiny causing this situation
A spooky witch in a sexy dress has been bugging me
An eerie and seductive woman has been bothering me
With the story of the way it should be
Explaining the supposed correct path or outcome
With the story of Sebastian and Belle the singer
Telling the tale of the performers Sebastian and Belle
I said "My one man band is over"
I am no longer performing alone
I hit the drum for the final time and I walked away
I struck the drum one last time before departing permanently
I sew you in Japanese restaurant
I saw you playing piano in a Japanese eatery
You were doing it for business men on the piano, Belle
You were entertaining male clients on the piano, Belle
You said it was a living Hell
You described it as a torturous experience
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CHRISTOPHER GEDDES, ISOBEL CAMPBELL, MICHAEL COOKE, RICHARD COLBURN, STEPHEN JACKSON, STUART MURDOCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind