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
Sunday
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There is no plane to catch
No hotel room that's warm enough
No rent to a room that's quiet
A friend I've known through six degrees
Cools down to where I hide
A friend I've known through dreams and prayers
You're so far from wanting to talk
You're so far from wanting to say something good
Feel something good
The secret lives and loves of girls
The secret lives of boys
The storm, we are the both of us
Too close to ever love
Whisky from the Island of Sund
Whisky from the year you were born
Tastes like kidnap and ransom and exile
Somebody asked me what hell was like
Somebody asked me for help
Somebody asked me what hell was like
Lunging and happening, panting of souls
Every girl you ever admired
Every boy you ever desired
Every love you ever forgot
Every person that you despised is forgiven
In this song, Belle and Sebastian sing about the complexities of human relationships, the contrasts between the pleasant and unpleasant aspects of life, and the passage of time. The first verse sets the scene with a list of things that cannot provide a sense of peace or contentment: there is nowhere to hide, no easy escape, no comfortable place to stay, and no respite from noise and disturbance. The next part of the verse introduces a friend who has reached out to the singer, someone who they have known through various degrees of separation and who has come to their aid when they are feeling lost or lonely.
The second verse continues with the theme of distance and disconnection, talking about how hard it can be to communicate meaningfully with someone you care about. The singer is reaching out for a connection, but the other person seems to be closed off and unwilling to engage. The bridge of the song takes a more philosophical perspective, reflecting on the mysteries of human nature and how we all have secrets and inner lives that are hidden from view. The stormy metaphor seems to suggest that even when we find someone who we feel deeply connected to, there are always barriers and obstacles standing in the way of true intimacy.
The final verse offers some solace and hope, suggesting that no matter how flawed or fractured our relationships may be, there is always the possibility of forgiveness and redemption. The final line is particularly powerful, implying that all the people who we have ever wronged or felt bitter towards are included in this act of forgiveness: "Every person that you despised is forgiven". Ultimately, the song seems to be saying that life is full of ups and downs, and that finding moments of true connection and forgiveness is what makes it all worthwhile.
Line by Line Meaning
There is no hole in which to hide
There is no safe place to escape or take refuge
There is no plane to catch
There is no easy way out or quick solution
No hotel room that's warm enough
Not even a comfortable place to rest
No rent to a room that's quiet
Not even a peaceful or calm space available
A friend I've known through six degrees
A distant acquaintance who has now come back into my life
Cools down to where I hide
Comes to the place where I am hiding and provides comfort
A friend I've known through dreams and prayers
A spiritual or imaginary friend from the past
She comes back to my side
Returns to be by my side and provide support
You're so far from wanting to talk
You are unwilling to engage in conversation
You're so far from wanting to say something good
You are resistant to saying anything positive or uplifting
Feel something good
Try to experience positive emotions
The secret lives and loves of girls
The private thoughts and relationships of women
The secret lives of boys
The confidential experiences and romances of men
The storm, we are the both of us
We are part of the same chaotic situation
Too close to ever love
The intensity of our closeness prevents us from ever being able to love each other
Whisky from the Island of Sund
Whisky that has unique origins and flavor
Whisky from the year you were born
Whisky that is as old as you are
Tastes like kidnap and ransom and exile
Has a strong and unpleasant taste
Somebody asked me what hell was like
Someone inquired about the nature of the underworld
Somebody asked me for help
Someone requested my assistance
Lunging and happening, panting of souls
A description of the chaos and terror of hell
Every girl you ever admired
Every woman that you ever held in high regard
Every boy you ever desired
Every man that you ever wanted to be with
Every love you ever forgot
Every romance that you once cherished but eventually let go of
Every person that you despised is forgiven
All the people that you hate or hold grudges against are pardoned
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
@patatas7036
Palermo being rushed with glasses in his eyes
@tilin4113
El estaba en la mierda visual xd
@NowInAus
Yeah totally random Belle and Sebastian but so right for that scene
@thewariscomingtoatownneary7572
Islam is the truth
@anarshukurov206
La Casa De Papel Palermo❤
@miguelgomezvillarino8919
WTF
@laura-5669
this is one of those songs that is happy and sad at the same time
@Pd46.2
Perfect description of love and happiness and how all of those wonderful hopes and promises can change over night.
@AmberAmber
Yes❤😭💔😊
@AmberAmber
@@Pd46.2 Yup - Esp. Cos my ex husband (tho' I'm gay but whatever) got me into them...
I'll miss him forever despite loving my current partner soooo much.
Life is finite.
This song makes me ache...