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
String Bean Jean
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah I got my fingers dirty so I took a walk
I went up to the country park and hung around till after dark
Till the girls got home
Till the girls got home
Did I tell you 'bout the one I know, she's on the rag
She spent the summer day inside her sleeping bag
And she works all night
Cause the girl's all right
The girls have got a house that's like a caravan
And it's like your holidays whenever you go round
And we always have a laugh and then we all get in the bath
To save on the leccy bill
Me & Jo & Phil'
I had to leave them in the morning
I left the keys around the way
I had to go to work
I had to leave them in the morning
I left the keys down in the caf'
I had to catch a bus
And when Jo was short of cash I had to give her some
But I didn't really mind cause I was fit for once
So she paid the leccy bill and got the shopping and she still had
Some for the cinema
So we all went out
She asked me "Do I need to lose a bit of weight?"
And I told her "Don't be stupid 'cause you're looking great"
And I call her String Bean Jean because the label on her jeans says
Seven to eight years old, well that's pretty small
Seven to eight years old, that's pretty small
Seven to eight years old, that's pretty small
Seven to eight years old
I had to leave them in the morning
I left the keys around the way
I had to go to work
I had to leave them in the morning
I left the keys down in the caf'
I had to catch a bus
The lyrics of Belle and Sebastian's song "String Bean Jean" is a testament to the band's playful approach to pop music. In the song, the singer speaks of hanging out with a group of girls who live in a caravan-like house. The singer talks about his experiences with these girls and how they all hang out and have a good time. He also talks about how one of the girls, whom he affectionately calls "String Bean Jean," asked him if she needed to lose weight, to which he told her that she looked great.
The song paints a picture of a group of young people enjoying each other's company in a carefree manner. The singer portrays himself as someone who cares for his friends and is willing to help them when they need it. He also seems to have an appreciation for the simple things in life, like hanging out with friends and going to the cinema.
Overall, "String Bean Jean" is a charming pop song that celebrates the beauty of youth and the joys of friendship. Its catchy melody and playful lyrics make it a perfect song for anyone who wants to let loose and have some fun.
Line by Line Meaning
I got my fingers dirty at the school of rock
I learned to play rock music, getting my fingers dirty as I practiced
Yeah I got my fingers dirty so I took a walk
I took a break from playing rock, went for a walk, and enjoyed the outdoors
I went up to the country park and hung around till after dark
I spent time in the park until it got dark outside
Till the girls got home
I waited for the girls to return home
Did I tell you 'bout the one I know, she's on the rag
Have I shared with you about a person I know who is menstruating?
She spent the summer day inside her sleeping bag
She stayed inside her sleeping bag all day during the summer
Yeah she spent the summer day inside until it's time to work
She remained inside her sleeping bag until it was time for her to work
And she works all night
She works during the night hours
Cause the girl's all right
Despite her tough work schedule, she is doing okay
The girls have got a house that's like a caravan
The girls' house is similar to a mobile home
And it's like your holidays whenever you go round
Visiting their house feels like going on vacation
And we always have a laugh and then we all get in the bath
We have fun together and then take a group bath
To save on the leccy bill
We take a group bath to save on the electrical bill
Me & Jo & Phil'
Referring to the people present, including myself, Jo, and Phil
I had to leave them in the morning
I had to depart from their house in the morning
I left the keys around the way
I left the keys somewhere nearby
I had to go to work
I had to leave to attend my job
I had to catch a bus
I had to take the bus to get to work
And when Jo was short of cash I had to give her some
When Jo needed money, I provided her with some
But I didn't really mind cause I was fit for once
I did not mind lending her money because I was able to do so without feeling financially strained
So she paid the leccy bill and got the shopping and she still had
Jo used the money to pay for the electricity bill, grocery shopping, and still had some money left over
Some for the cinema
She had money left over to go to the movies
So we all went out
We all went out to the movies together
She asked me "Do I need to lose a bit of weight?"
Jo asked me if she should lose some weight
And I told her "Don't be stupid 'cause you're looking great"
I reassured her that she looks great and should not worry about her weight
And I call her String Bean Jean because the label on her jeans says
I refer to her as String Bean Jean due to the size on her jeans label
Seven to eight years old, well that's pretty small
The jeans size indicates that it is pretty small, comparable to clothing for customers in the age range of seven to eight years old
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MURDOCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Rocky’s Musical Rarities
This is maybe my favourite of their songs. What a great era of their career.
AK Brechin
The first song of theirs I heard was Dog on Wheels. I was driving and had to pull up at the side of the road, I was in tears! Soppy sod. One of those ‘been waiting all my life for this song’ moments.
Rocky’s Musical Rarities
@AK Brechin That song is amazing. All of those early eps are perfect.
kozysnacker
@Rocky’s Musical Rarities Dog on Wheels -> State I Am In -> String Bean Jean -> Belle & Sebastian. Timeless, beautiful, perfect.
hashbury stumble
@Rocky’s Musical Rarities I was lucky enough to have witnessed B&S early gigs both before & after the release of Tigermilk. (I gave away several copies of the original Electric Honey copy limited to 1,000 copies.
Sean Curran
@hashbury stumble you wally
Bianca
My favorite song ❤
Scraps deSelby-Bowen
The 3 eps are their pinnacle.
pandaproducts
Beautiful people
Simon Murray
I know it is your Jobs and all but seeing this makes me so happy and sad. Sad that times change ; happy that we can remember them