Born to a working-class family, Ferry studied fine art and taught at a secondary school before pursuing a career in music. In 1970 he began to assemble the rock band Roxy Music with a group of friends and acquaintances in London, and took the role of lead singer and main songwriter. The band achieved immediate international success with the release of their eponymous debut album in 1972, containing a rich multitude of sounds, which reflected Ferry's interest in exploring different genres of music. Their second album, For Your Pleasure (1973), further cultivated the band's unique sound and visual image that would establish Ferry as a leading cultural icon over the next decade.
Ferry began a parallel solo career in 1973 by releasing These Foolish Things, which popularized for the first time the concept of a contemporary musician releasing an album covering standard songs and was a drastic departure from his ongoing work with Roxy Music. His second album, Another Time, Another Place (1974), featured as its cover image Ferry posing by a pool in a white dinner jacket and represented one of his most impactful fashion statements. Over the next two years, Roxy Music released a trilogy of albums, Stranded (1973), Country Life (1974) and Siren (1975), which broadened the band's appeal internationally and saw Ferry take greater interest in the role of a live performer, reinventing himself in stage costumes ranging from gaucho to military uniforms.
Ferry disbanded Roxy Music following the release of their best-selling album Avalon in 1982 to concentrate on his solo career, releasing further singles such as "Slave to Love" and "Don't Stop the Dance" and the UK no. 1 album Boys and Girls in 1985. Including his work with Roxy Music, Ferry has sold over 30 million albums worldwide.
As well as being a prolific songwriter, Ferry has recorded many cover versions, including standards from the Great American Songbook, in albums such as These Foolish Things (1973), Another Time, Another Place (1974), Let's Stick Together (1976), Taxi (1993) and As Time Goes By (1999), as well as Dylanesque (2007), an album of Bob Dylan covers. In 2019, Ferry was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Roxy Music.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryan_Ferry
Studio albums
These Foolish Things (1973)
Another Time, Another Place (1974)
Let's Stick Together (1976)
In Your Mind (1977)
The Bride Stripped Bare (1978)
Boys and Girls (1985)
Bête Noire (1987)
Taxi (1993)
Mamouna (1994)
As Time Goes By (1999)
Frantic (2002)
Dylanesque (2007)
Olympia (2010)
The Jazz Age (2012)
Avonmore (2014)
Bitter-Sweet (2018)
2HB
Bryan Ferry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Celluloid pictures of living
Your death could not kill our love for you
Take two people, romantic
Smoky nightclub situation
Your cigarette traces a ladder
Here's looking at you kid
Celebrate years
Wipe away tears
Long time, since we're together
Now I hope it's forever
Ideal love flies away now
White jacket, mmmn, black tie wings too
You gave her away to the hero
Words don't express my meaning
Notes could not spell out the score
But finding not keeping's the lesson
Here's looking at you kid
Hard to forget
Here's looking at you kid
At least not yet
Your memory stays
It lingers ever
Will fade away never
The lyrics of "2HB" by Bryan Ferry are a tribute to the iconic Hollywood actor Humphrey Bogart. The song starts with the singer being moved by the screen dream of Bogart, who had a substantial impact on the music and film industry of his time. Bryan Ferry goes on to say that even though Bogart is no longer with us, it has not killed our love for him.
The lyrics then shift to a romantic setting, where two people are in a smoky nightclub. The girl's cigarette smoke creates the illusion of a ladder that the singer visualizes. The lyrics "Here's looking at you, kid" is a famous quote from the Bogart movie, Casablanca, which has since become a symbol of a bygone era. The lyrics then continue to celebrate Bogart's life, and even though he has passed on, his memory lingers on.
The lyrics of the song hit the right notes and evoke a sense of nostalgia for a time when people celebrated life and romance with much grace and style. It's apparent that Bryan Ferry was smitten by the iconic screen dream of Humphrey Bogart, and this song was his way of honoring the actor who had left an indelible mark on the world of art.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh I was moved by your screen dream
I was captivated by the image of you on the silver screen
Celluloid pictures of living
Your likeness in the movies made you seem alive
Your death could not kill our love for you
Even in death, our affection for you persists
Take two people, romantic
Let us imagine a romantic relationship between two individuals
Smoky nightclub situation
The setting is a dimly-lit club filled with smoke
Your cigarette traces a ladder
Smoke rising from your cigarette forms a ladder-like pattern
Here's looking at you kid
I see you and acknowledge your presence
Celebrate years
Let us commemorate the time we've spent together
Here's looking at you kid
Again, I see you and acknowledge your presence
Wipe away tears
Let's dry our tears and move on
Long time, since we're together
It's been a while since we've been in each other's company
Now I hope it's forever
I hope that we can be together for eternity
Ideal love flies away now
The perfect romance we imagined is slipping away
White jacket, mmmn, black tie wings too
You're wearing a white jacket with black wings on your lapel
You gave her away to the hero
You sacrificed your love interest to the singer of the story
Words don't express my meaning
I'm struggling to express myself with words
Notes could not spell out the score
Music cannot convey the message I'm trying to express
But finding not keeping's the lesson
The lesson we learned is that it's better to cherish a moment than to try to hold onto it forever
Here's looking at you kid
Once again, I see you and acknowledge your presence
Hard to forget
It's difficult to forget you
Here's looking at you kid
One final time, I see you and acknowledge your presence
At least not yet
I haven't forgotten you, but maybe someday I will
Your memory stays
Your memory remains with me
It lingers ever
It persists and will not fade away
Will fade away never
Your memory will stay with me forever
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BRYAN FERRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind