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
Put The Book Back On The Shelf
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics
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You had a dream, they called you king
Of all the hipsters, is it true?
Or are you still the queen?
Like getting blood out of a stone
The city left you all alone
You came to dance, but there's no poignancy
When they all leave you standing alone
Don't interest you, you'll have to pay
For looking at the floor
When people talk to you
You wrote a book about yourself
The people left it on the shelf
You'll write another one
Now you've got a story that's worth talking about
Are you happy with yourself?
Are you talking to yourself?
Are you happy with yourself?
Put the book back on the shelf
I know the company you keep
You're on the sofa hidden deep
While on the telly Sid James speaks
To you like God
You're always looking for a sign
But boy you blow it every time
You hear a voice begin to speak
You ignore it and go softly to sleep
The song "Put the Book Back on the Shelf" by Belle and Sebastian is a melancholic but playful indie pop tune. The lyrics are quite introspective and deal with the struggles of a character named Sebastian who is trying to find his place in the world but is left feeling lost and alone. The opening lines establish the character's dilemma: he had a dream that made him feel like a king of the hipster scene, but is that really who he is, or is he still the queen, unsure of his own identity? The song continues with the idea that Sebastian is left feeling like he is trying to get blood out of a stone, meaning he is struggling to understand and find meaning in a city that has abandoned him.
Throughout the song, there is a repeated motif of Sebastian being left alone and ignored by others, symbolized in the lyric "You came to dance, but there's no poignancy when they all leave you standing alone." The song then turns to Sebastian's own self-doubt and introspection, wondering whether he is happy with himself and questioning his own identity. The line "You wrote a book about yourself, the people left it on the shelf" speaks to the idea that Sebastian has tried to express himself and his struggles through writing but has ultimately been ignored by those around him. The song concludes with Sebastian feeling lost and alone, always looking for a sign but never finding one, and ultimately deciding to go to sleep and ignore his problems.
Overall, this song deals with themes of identity, alienation, and introspection, and is a beautiful and melancholic examination of a character's struggles in a world that often feels cold and uncaring.
Line by Line Meaning
Sebastian you're in a mess
You're in a difficult situation, Sebastian.
You had a dream, they called you king
You had an aspiration to be a successful artist, and some people admired you for it.
Of all the hipsters, is it true?
Amongst all the trendy, fashionable young people, were you truly the most admired?
Or are you still the queen?
Perhaps you're actually a woman disguised as a man. Or, maybe you're called 'queen' due to your personality, which is often associated with the word.
Like getting blood out of a stone
Your recent experiences have been like trying to obtain something that is difficult or even impossible to obtain.
The city left you all alone
You feel isolated by the city and the people around you.
You came to dance, but there's no poignancy
You had an expectation to feel deep emotion while dancing or to connect on a meaningful level, but those expectations were not met.
When they all leave you standing alone
It seems like when you needed support and companionship most, everyone deserted you.
The wider issues of the day
World events and problems that affect everyone.
Don't interest you, you'll have to pay
You don't take an interest in the wider issues because it's easier and more convenient for you, but your lack of interest might have consequences.
For looking at the floor
You seem to look down or avoid eye contact with others.
When people talk to you
When others speak to you or ask you a question.
You wrote a book about yourself
You've created an artistic work based on your personal experiences or thoughts.
The people left it on the shelf
Others didn't show much interest in your creation.
You'll write another one
You're not giving up and still plan to create more art.
Now you've got a story that's worth talking about
You've had some recent experiences that will make for interesting material for your art.
Are you happy with yourself?
Are you content with your life, your actions and decisions?
Are you talking to yourself?
Are you reflecting on your own thoughts or giving yourself advice?
Are you happy with yourself?
The same question as earlier - are you content with your own identity.
Put the book back on the shelf
Perhaps it's time to forget about your artistic pursuits and focus on other things.
I know the company you keep
I'm aware of who you spend time with and how they might influence you.
You're on the sofa hidden deep
You're couch-surfing or avoiding responsibility and living a limited life.
While on the telly Sid James speaks
You're distracted by a TV show or other form of media.
To you like God
The media personality is worshipped or regarded highly in some way.
You're always looking for a sign
You seek guidance or answers from the outside world.
But boy you blow it every time
Despite your attempts, you always seem to mess up or make things worse.
You hear a voice begin to speak
You believe you're receiving some sort of guidance or message from an external source.
You ignore it and go softly to sleep
You brush off this possible message and fall asleep, potentially missing out on important guidance.
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