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
Take Your Carriage Clock and Shove It
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics
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Takes a second to think what to do
He's out of his seat and he's starting to speak
And he hears his own voice
For years and years he's done nothing but bow down
And put up with all their demands
She sits like a viper and offers the clock
He takes it
Honor forbids me, but honor be damned
You have whined till you got what you want
I did the working when things were going badly
You left us to rot
He locked the door of the boardroom
And turned like the scene from the old country song
Towering over the table he's lost
He is drunk with it all
You only came back to us when we'd turned it around
When we'd rescued your arse from the fire
Your contribution to all that we did
Was to say it was dire
Night after day after night I've been working
Despite of you fucking us all
Now I'm gonna die, I don't care if you cry
Just please leave me alone
And spare your tears for yourself
We've had those till we're sick
You should leave while you still have the chance
The others were shocked at this shameful disgrace
At the end of an honored career
He paused in the silence to pull down his tie
And observe the mele
The song "Take Your Carriage Clock and Shove It" by Belle and Sebastian tells the story of a long-term employee who has had enough of his job and the mistreatment he has faced by management. The song describes the employee standing up to his boss and rejecting a retirement gift - a carriage clock - that was offered without any regard for his feelings or value to the company. Instead, he denounces his boss and colleagues for taking credit for the company's success without recognizing the hard work of those who were truly responsible. The employee's anger and frustration are palpable as he criticizes his boss for only returning to the company when things were already on the mend and for neglecting his duties when times were tough.
The song presents a strong message about the importance of recognizing and respecting the efforts of all employees within an organization. The quiet man in the boardroom finally speaks up and challenges the power structures that have kept him silent for so long. The song highlights the sense of injustice and frustration that can arise when hard work goes unnoticed, and power and wealth are concentrated in the hands of a select few.
Line by Line Meaning
In the board room the quiet man
The scene takes place in a boardroom, where a reserved man is present.
Takes a second to think what to do
The man pauses to reflect on his course of action.
He's out of his seat and he's starting to speak
The man stands up and begins to address the situation.
And he hears his own voice
The man is surprised to hear himself speaking up after years of subservience.
For years and years he's done nothing but bow down
The man has been obedient and submissive for a long time.
And put up with all their demands
He has accepted all their demands without objection.
She sits like a viper and offers the clock
One of the colleagues of the quiet man, who is cold and calculating, offers him a carriage clock.
Without giving a damn
She cares little for the man or his accomplishments.
He takes it
The man accepts the carriage clock.
Honor forbids me, but honor be damned
The man is conflicted between his sense of honor and his current situation.
You have whined till you got what you want
The quiet man accuses his colleagues of complaining until they got their way.
I did the working when things were going badly
The man claims responsibility for doing hard work in difficult times.
You left us to rot
The man blames his colleagues for abandoning him and others in their time of need.
He locked the door of the boardroom
The man physically secures himself in the room.
And turned like the scene from the old country song
The man's behavior parallels a romanticized representation of rural life.
Towering over the table he's lost
The man looms over the table, uncertain of his next move.
He is drunk with it all
The man is overwhelmed by his emotions and situation.
You only came back to us when we'd turned it around
The man accuses his colleagues of only returning when the situation was no longer dire.
When we'd rescued your arse from the fire
The quiet man helped his colleagues during a crisis, but is not receiving due recognition for his efforts.
Your contribution to all that we did
The man is questioning the true value of his colleagues' contributions.
Was to say it was dire
The man implies that his colleagues were not helpful and only expressed negativity.
Night after day after night I've been working
The man recalls working tirelessly for an extended period of time.
Despite of you fucking us all
The man blames his colleagues for causing difficulties while he was trying to work.
Now I'm gonna die, I don't care if you cry
The man is willing to face death without consideration for his colleagues' feelings.
Just please leave me alone
The man wants to be left in peace as he faces his situation.
And spare your tears for yourself
The man suggests his colleagues have already cried enough and are in no position to feel sympathy.
We've had those till we're sick
The man implies his colleagues' expressions of emotion are insincere or unhelpful.
You should leave while you still have the chance
The man advises his colleagues to leave the room while they have the opportunity to do so.
The others were shocked at this shameful disgrace
The quiet man's behavior is seen as inappropriate and unexpected by his colleagues.
At the end of an honored career
The quiet man has reached the end of his career, which was previously highly respected.
He paused in the silence to pull down his tie
The man takes a moment to collect himself and remove his tie.
And observe the melee
The man watches as his colleagues frantically react to his outburst.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CAMPBE, COLBURN, COOKE, GEDDES, JACKSON, MARTIN, MURDOCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind