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
Song for Sunshine
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics
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Millions of people never start in the race
There's stuff on out plates that has not been alive
Someone pays full price for my cheap flight life
Sunshine, we all see the same sky
I am a man filled with longing desire
A look and a label are all I require
Enough's not enough, I never ask why
Sunshine, we all see the same sky
Looking, learning, asking the same 'why?'?
Honey'd sweet apples, they're rotting away
Millions of people never start in the race
There's stuff on out plates that has not been alive
Someone else pays the real price of my cheap flight life
Wheel of fortune spins,
But the wheels on fire come crashing on you
Honey'd sweet apples, they're rotting away
Sunshine, we all see the same sky
Looking, learning, asking the same 'why?'
Sunshine, we all see the same sky
The lyrics of Belle and Sebastian's Song for Sunshine are a commentary on the complicated and often unjust nature of modern life. The opening lines, "Honey'd sweet apples, they're rotting away / Millions of people never start in the race" refer to how many people in the world are unable to access basic necessities such as food and opportunities to succeed. The reference to rotting apples is an image of the fruits of life going to waste due to the struggles of others. The next lines, "There's stuff on our plates that has not been alive / Someone pays full price for my cheap flight life" speak to the environmental and ethical costs of consumer society. The singer acknowledges that their way of life is built on the exploitation of other people and the planet, yet they continue to partake in it.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of longing and disenchantment. The singer desires more than what they have, yet feels trapped by the labels and expectations of society. "Enough's not enough, I never ask why" expresses a sense of resignation and a lack of introspection. The chorus, "Sunshine, we all see the same sky / Looking, learning, asking the same 'why?'" suggests that despite the differences in our lives, we all share a common humanity and curiosity about the world around us. The lyrics end with the line, "Wheel of fortune spins, but the wheels on fire come crashing on you," which can be interpreted as a warning that the consequences of our actions will eventually catch up with us.
Line by Line Meaning
Honey'd sweet apples, they're rotting away
The good things in life are often wasted or spoiled
Millions of people never start in the race
Many people are disadvantaged from the start and never have the chance to succeed
There's stuff on out plates that has not been alive
We consume food that has been heavily processed and may not be healthy for us
Someone pays full price for my cheap flight life
People who are less fortunate may bear the cost of our privileges and luxuries
Sunshine, we all see the same sky
No matter who we are or where we come from, we all share the same world and experiences
I am a man filled with longing desire
I have a strong desire for material possessions and experiences
The gifts of creation are ready for hire
Everything in the world can be bought or sold, including natural resources
A look and a label are all I require
I am shallow and care only about materialistic things and social status
Enough's not enough, I never ask why
I am constantly seeking more and more, without questioning why I need it or if it's necessary
Looking, learning, asking the same 'why?'?
We should all be curious and question the world around us
Wheel of fortune spins,
Life is unpredictable and often unfair
But the wheels on fire come crashing on you
When bad things happen, they tend to happen all at once and can be overwhelming
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