It begins with samples of Peter Christopherson chanting Tibetan Buddhist chants and then rapidly morphs into a relentlessly gothic / psychedelic rhythm track, in which these samples are sent hurtling back and forth into space. Over this, Balance relates the tale of a real life mugging on the Marylebone Road in London, as a result of which his notebook was stolen. Characteristically, Balance semi-improvises the piece, punning throughout and packing the song with arcane, private references - not least to the Horse Hospital in Camden - an arts space where he'd recently kindled a relationship with the artist Ian Johnstone.
It was only ever performed once and was never given a studio outing.
A Slip in the Marylebone Road
Coil Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A slip was made on Marylebone Road
A slit was made on the Marylebone Road
A slit was made on Marylebone Road
A slip was made in the middle of the road
I sat down in the middle of the road
They were full of medication I didn't wanna take
They were full of medication I didn't wanna take
I left them in the middle of the road
In the middle of the road, in the middle of the road
And a precious green notebook
And a precious green notebook
And a precious green notebook
In the middle of the road
A slit opened; I fell
A? kiss from your angel
Your angel, your angel, an angel, an angel
And two people came up to me
Two people came up to me
They asked, was I all right?
And they asked me was I all right?
I said no, I was all wrong, you were wrong for asking
Me
Oh
And a slit opened, a slit opened
A chink, a chink opened, a whole slit
And I slipped inside of it
I slipped inside of it
And a slit opened on the Marylebone Road
The Marylebone Road, the marrowbone road
And a slit opened up the Marylebone Road
And I left my bags there
Slit, cut, slit, cut, open, cut, slit, slit, slit, slit
And somewhere, nowhere, in a hospital
Was a horse, I'll
And somewhere, in a hospital
Was a horse that was I'll
And I tried to find my way there
And I tried to find my way there
And somewhere, in a wood
There are two friends waiting, two friends waiting
And I tried to find my way there
In air, ?
And I got lost in the wood
And I got lost in the wood
So someone left a biscuit trail
No-one left a biscuit trail
No-one left a biscuit trail
No-one left a list of betrayals
Someone left a list of betrayals
Someone left a list of betrayals
Has someone left a list of betrayals?
Someone left a list of betrayals
Someone left a list of betrayals
Someone left a list of betrayals
And a fracture occurred in a fracture
A dislocation, a dislocation appeared, a fraction
A fraction of what I should have had happen to me
A fraction of what is in my handbag
A fraction of what should have happened to me
A fraction of what should have happened to me as I lost
It
I was all tied up in a green valuable notebook
On the Marylebone Road
The Coil song "A Slip in the Marylebone Road" is a surrealistic exploration of disorientation and dissociation. The repeated chant at the beginning, "Ra, bai, be, om, uyi, ucha, beyom, om," is a kind of mantra that sets the tone for the dreamlike quality of the lyrics. The opening lines describe a physical misstep on Marylebone Road which has a metaphorical resonance throughout the song. The singer of the song sits down in the middle of the road, burdened by heavy bags full of medication he doesn't want to take. He abandons the bags and a precious green notebook in the road as a kind of purging of his past. He slips into a fissure on the road, where he encounters two people who ask him if he's all right. He responds cryptically, feeling a sense of wrongness both in himself and in their question. From there, the song spirals into a series of fragmented images and memories, including a horse who is ill in a hospital, and two friends waiting in a wood.
The song creates a complex atmosphere of uncanny foreboding, with the singer feeling lost and bewildered in a world where nothing quite makes sense. The use of repetition in the lyrics, as well as the distorted electronic soundscape of the music, helps to heighten the sense of disorientation. The final lines about the green valuable notebook reinforce the sense that the singer is shedding his past identity in order to find some kind of new way forward.
Line by Line Meaning
A slip was made on Marylebone Road
A mistake occurred on Marylebone Road
A slit was made on Marylebone Road
A cut opened up on Marylebone Road
I sat down in the middle of the road
I positioned myself in the center of the road
My bags were too heavy
My luggage was too weighty to carry easily
They were full of medication I didn’t wanna take
My bags contained treatments I preferred not to use
I left them in the middle of the road
I abandoned my bags in the road’s center
And a precious green notebook
I had with me a valuable green notebook
In the middle of the road, in the middle of the road
My bags and notebook were situated in the center of the road
A slit opened; I fell
A cut arose, and I experienced a sudden downward movement
A kiss from your angel, your angel, your angel, an angel, an angel
A tender gesture of love from a divine being
And two people came up to me
Two persons approached me
They asked, was I all right?
They inquired if I was okay
And they asked me was I all right?
They asked me if I was okay
I said no, I was all wrong, you were wrong for asking me
I negated, saying that I was unwell and that they were incorrect to be concerned
A slit opened, a slit opened, a chink, a chink opened, a whole slit
An opening occurred
And I slipped inside of it
I moved into the opening
And somewhere, nowhere, in a hospital was a horse, I'll
In a hospital, there was an unwell horse somewhere, but the location is uncertain
And somewhere, in a wood, there are two friends waiting, two friends waiting
Two friends expect me somewhere in the forest
And I got lost in the wood
I became disoriented and lost my way in the forest
No-one left a biscuit trail
No one left a trail of food crumbs
No-one left a list of betrayals
No one provided a summary of deceitful acts
Someone left a list of betrayals
Someone gave me a record of treacherous behavior
A fraction of what should have happened to me
Only a small part of what was anticipated materialized
I was all tied up in a green valuable notebook on the Marylebone Road
I was holding and experiencing a mix of emotions regarding the green notebook in my possession on Marylebone Road
Contributed by Lucy H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
IamKeyth
this is my favorite COIL track ever
Delhi Delirium
At least it has to be the " More me " Coil song ... this is "ME" , you know that feeling you could had easily written this , or live this for that matter ? Yeah , in that sense this is my favourite Coil song as well . This and bloody " Red Queen " ... I´m " All wrong " too .
Patrick Cole
It is an awesome piece of music. Part of me hates the people who actually mugged John on Marylebone Road in real life, and stole his precious green notebook, and part of me is grateful that they inspired him to write this song.
Delhi Delirium
Mate ... there is only 1 option . You love the geezers who took a notebook Jhonn forgot somewhere in Marylebone Road due to Alcohol/Pharms/Rhyno tranqs intoxication ... then he wrote this Spell .
Ignazio Taiocchi
Intelligent contemporary music...
Proto Mago
From what I found, the words he says at the beginning of the song: Ra, bai, be, om, uyi, ucha, beyom, om... are a Tibetan Buddhist mantra.
Paul Genevzki
It's not a Tibetan Buddhist mantra. It's Thai language.
ตา ไป ปี พ่อ ผู้หญิง ผู้ชาย เพื่อน ผม
= eye, go, year, father, woman, man, friend [them], me [I]
Peter Christopherson possibly recorded these random words from one of many of his Thai boys in Bangkok.
BlueKephra
+Astro Luxe that was Sleazys Speak and Spell
Smeagle Head
excess makes the heart grow fonder
93sens93
Just awesome !!!