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
The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner
Belle and Sebastian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To think about the things that we have done this year
The dog lies down the pouring rain
I'm underneath the smoker's railway arch again
The future's looking colorful
It's the color of blood, chaos and corruption of a happy soul
A happy soul will ride in the field
Ride in the field
Until the rain dies down
The railway ticket states the destination
But it doesn't mean that we will show
There's a fork upon the line
We'll pay the guard to switch the signs
Off we go
The future's looking wonderful
It's the wonder of the businessman's conspiracy to sell you wares
No one cares
Oh, you care, I know
You care, I know
You care, I know
I forgot for a while
On a sulky afternoon spent in dispute
You'll give yourself a headache, boy
So I spend the day in stories
And in dreaming of the time when we're on stage
Have you seen the loneliness of a middle distance runner
As he stops the race and looks around?
I like the stage you've seen it now
I'll walk to the station
Walk to the station
Walk to the station
Won't you follow me down?
Walk to the station
Walk to the station
Walk to the station
Won't you follow me down?
The Loneliness of a Middle Distance Runner by Belle and Sebastian is a song that reflects on the memories of the past year and contemplates about the future. The song begins with the singer urging the listener to take a moment to think about the things that have been done in the past year. As the song continues, the dog lies down the pouring rain and the singer retreats to the smoker's railway arch again. The singer is lost in thought about the future which is looking colorful but at the same time, chaotic and corrupted. Despite this, the singer is hopeful and is waiting for the rain to die down.
The lyrics go on to talk about a railway ticket that doesn't necessarily mean the passengers will reach their destination as there's a fork upon the line. However, the guard can be paid to switch the signs and it's off they go. The future is looking wonderful as the businessman's conspiracy to sell their wares continues. The singer acknowledges that the listener cares but had forgotten for a while. The song then goes on to talk about a sulky afternoon spent in dispute that causes the boy to have a headache. The singer spends the day in stories and dreaming of being on stage. The loneliness of a middle-distance runner is mentioned as a metaphor for reflection.
Overall, the song reflects on the uncertainty of life and the need for hope. The singer uses metaphors to express this and to portray the beauty of life despite its challenges.
Line by Line Meaning
Take a second of the day
Pause for a moment to reflect on our lives
To think about the things that we have done this year
Consider the events of the past year
The dog lies down the pouring rain
Amidst the rain, a dog lies down
I'm underneath the smoker's railway arch again
I find myself under the railway arch, surrounded by smokers
The future's looking colorful
The future appears promising
It's the color of blood, chaos and corruption of a happy soul
However, this promising future is tainted by violence, disorder and deceit
A happy soul will ride in the field
Someone who is content and carefree will enjoy life's simple pleasures
Until the rain dies down
Until the rain stops
The railway ticket states the destination
The ticket shows the intended endpoint of the journey
But it doesn't mean that we will show
However, we may not follow it
There's a fork upon the line
There is a decision point on the path
We'll pay the guard to switch the signs
We'll bribe the guard to change the direction
Off we go
And we'll proceed along the new path
The future's looking wonderful
The future now looks splendid
It's the wonder of the businessman's conspiracy to sell you wares
But this wonderful future is a product of corporate greed and manipulation
No one cares
No one is concerned about the negative implications of this future
Oh, you care, I know
The singer acknowledges that at least one person (the listener) does care
You care, I know
The singer reiterates that the listener does care
You care, I know
Once again, the singer reminds the listener that they care
I forgot for a while
The singer momentarily forgot that the listener cared
On a sulky afternoon spent in dispute
During a gloomy and quarrelsome afternoon
You'll give yourself a headache, boy
Trying to sort out the dispute will only cause more issues
So I spend the day in stories
So the singer passes the time by telling stories
And in dreaming of the time when we're on stage
And imagines the day when they will be on stage performing
Have you seen the loneliness of a middle distance runner
The singer questions whether the listener has ever experienced the loneliness of a long-distance runner
As he stops the race and looks around?
As the runner pauses in the middle of a race to survey their surroundings
I like the stage you've seen it now
The singer is pleased that the listener has had a glimpse into their life on stage
I'll walk to the station
The singer will make their way to the station
Walk to the station
The singer repeats their intention to walk to the station
Won't you follow me down?
The singer invites the listener to follow them to the station
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CAMPBE, COLBURN, COOKE, GEDDES, JACKSON, MARTIN, MURDOCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind