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)
A Waste Land
Bryan Ferry Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's no one
A waste land
A ghetto
When love's gone
A tear on
A waste land
Your pillow
Bryan Ferry's song "A Waste Land" expresses the feeling of emptiness and loneliness when love is lost. The repetition of the phrase "When love's gone" emphasizes the idea that love is essential to human emotion and without it, life is meaningless. The use of metaphors, such as "A waste land" and "A ghetto," further strengthens the idea of a desolate, isolated existence without love. The phrase "A tear on Your pillow" highlights the sadness and grief that comes with a broken heart.
Furthermore, the song speaks to the power of love to transform and beautify life. It implies that love has the ability to create purpose and meaning and that without it, life is bleak and unfulfilling. The repetition of "A waste land" and "When love's gone" creates a dejected tone, emphasizing the feelings of sorrow and disappointment caused by losing love. Overall, the song conveys the importance of love in our lives and the emptiness that comes when it is absent.
Line by Line Meaning
When love's gone
In the absence of love
There's no one
There is nobody
A waste land
The environment is barren and sorrowful
A ghetto
It is an oppressively segregated place
When love's gone
In the absence of love
A tear on
A drop of water from your eyes
A waste land
The environment is barren and sorrowful
Your pillow
The place where you rest your head
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BRYAN FERRY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind