Hewerdine (born Mark Hewerdine) moved to Cambridge as a child, but returned to London in his late teens, and worked in a record shop. Suffering from agoraphobia, it was not a happy time of his life, and he was fired from his job after being wrongly accused of theft. Returning to Cambridge, he teamed up with a friend with similar experiences and started to write songs. They formed the short-lived Placebo Thing, later renamed The Great Divide. They were heard by Mike Scott of The Waterboys, who recommended them to Ensign Records, where they cut two commercially unsuccessful singles. In 1985 Hewerdine, working once again in a record shop in Cambridge, formed The Bible, recruiting jazz drummer Tony Shepherd. They released an album of songs through the independent Norwich label Backs Records called Walking The Ghost Back Home.
The Bible became a fairly successful independent band, with a cult following spread mostly through word of mouth and live performances. Two tracks from the first album, Graceland and Mahalia were released as singles, but did not achieve very significant sales. The album however was very well received by music pundits, and this brought the band to the attention of Chrysalis Records. Signing to Chrysalis, Graceland and another track, Honey Be Good were (re)released as singles, and reached the lower end of the UK singles chart. A new album, Eureka followed, but failed commercially. In 1988, Hewerdine decided to leave the group and pursue solo projects. Calum MacColl and Neill MacColl from the group went on to form Liberty Horses.
At around this time Hewerdine met US "new country" singer Darden Smith, and this set him off in a new direction. Working together, he and Smith released a collaborative album, Evidence. Hewerdine also worked simultaneously on new solo songs, largely based on his earlier traumatic experiences in London. Eventually these were distilled down to produce the Ignorance album, released in 1992. Invited by Tori Amos to play support promoting these songs, Hewerdine managed to find a new audience and Ignorance and a single from the album, History, did relatively well commercially.
As Hewerdine's star rose, he started to write for other artists, among them Eddi Reader, Clive Gregson and Christine Collister. The Bible reformed for a tour in 1994. Further solo album releases followed, such as 1996's Baptist Hospital and 1999's Thanksgiving. Meanwhile Hewerdine was asked by long-time friend Nick Hornby to contribute music to the soundtrack for the movie version of his book High Fidelity, whose subject (working in a record shop) was also very close to Hewerdine's experiences.
Hewerdine continues to write and perform his own songs. Harmonograph, released on MVine/Red Grape Records in February 2006, is a collection of his songs written for other artists such as Eddi Reader and Hepburn, recorded by Hewerdine for the first time. 2008 saw two mini CD releases - Toy Box 1 and Toy Box 2 with art work by Hewerdine's grandmother. Hewerdine continues to tour regularly, playing a set featuring songs from through out his career from The Bible to Toy Box.
Bell Book and Candle
Boo Hewerdine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The colour of your eyes
I remember holding you
A fall through summer skies
You're everything that I've become
In every word I say
I need a bell, book and candle
To keep your ghost away White horses on a troubled sea
Up ahead a blackbird's wing
Your hair will come to mind
Every night I see your face
When I have to pray
I need a bell, book and candle
To keep your ghost away Keep your ghost away
Keep your ghost away
I need a bell, book and candle
To keep your ghost away Just before the thunder roars
I sense you next to me
And as I move through nature
I know where you will be
So I must keep myself apart
And here is where I'll stay
With a bell, book and candle
To keep your ghost away
In Boo Hewerdine's song Bell Book and Candle, the singer reminisces about a past love and the struggles of trying to keep their memory at bay. The lyrics evoke a sense of longing, nostalgia and melancholy. The first verse describes the memory of the lover's eyes and the feeling of falling through summer skies while holding them. The second verse describes the lover's smile, hair and how their memory comes to mind at unexpected times. The singer also feels a strong connection to their past love in nature and feels their presence just before a thunderstorm.
The chorus reveals the singer's desperate attempt to keep the ghost of their past love away through the use of a bell, book and candle. In which the bell represents the sound, the book the spoken word, and the candle for light. These elements are often used in a religious ceremony, perhaps suggesting that the singer is using them as a form of exorcism. In the last verse, the singer recognizes that they need to stay away from any reminders of their past love, which is why they are isolating themselves with the aid of their spiritual items to ward off the ghost.
Overall, this song beautifully portrays the struggle that individuals go through when trying to let go of a love that is no longer present. It is a story of post-breakup heartache and a testimony to how hard it is to move on.
Line by Line Meaning
The blue around a morning moon
Describing the color of the sky around a full moon during the early morning
The colour of your eyes
Comparing the color of the sky to the color of the singer's lover's eyes
I remember holding you
Recalling a past memory of the singer holding their lover
A fall through summer skies
Describing the feeling of falling in love during the summertime
You're everything that I've become
Acknowledging that the singer's lover has had a great impact on their life
In every word I say
Reflecting how the singer's lover is present in every aspect of their life, including their words
I need a bell, book and candle
Expressing the desire to use traditional tools of exorcism to keep the lover's ghost away
To keep your ghost away
Repeating the phrase as a refrain to emphasize the singer's fear of being haunted by their lover's memory
White horses on a troubled sea
Using a metaphor to describe the tumultuous nature of the singer's emotions
Your smile will flash through time
Reflecting that the lover's memory will always be present in the singer's mind
Up ahead a blackbird's wing
Using imagery to evoke the memory of the lover's hair
Your hair will come to mind
Acknowledging that certain sights and sounds will always remind the singer of their lover
Every night I see your face
Revealing that the singer is haunted by the memory of their lover in their dreams
When I have to pray
Reflecting that even in moments of solitude and reflection, the singer cannot escape thoughts of their lover
Just before the thunder roars
Using a metaphor to describe the impending emotional turmoil the singer feels
I sense you next to me
Admitting that the singer feels their lover's presence even when they are gone
And as I move through nature
Reflecting on how the natural world reminds the singer of their lover
I know where you will be
Acknowledging that the memory of the lover will always be present in certain places
So I must keep myself apart
Realizing that the singer needs to detach from the memory of their lover to move on
And here is where I'll stay
Choosing to stay in a place where the singer feels safe and removed from the memory of their lover
With a bell, book and candle
Repeating the earlier line to emphasize the singer's need for traditional exorcism tools to banish the memory of their lover
To keep your ghost away
Reiterating the message that the singer is afraid of being haunted by memories of their lover
Contributed by Adeline N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.