Cranes are a shoegaze/dream pop group fronted by Alison Shaw and formed in … Read Full Bio ↴Cranes are a shoegaze/dream pop group fronted by Alison Shaw and formed in 1986. They were originally based on the south coast of England in Portsmouth.

The band released their first album on vinyl, Self Non Self in July 1989. The intensity of that album garnered very good reviews and caught the attention of John Peel, who picked up on the album right away, with the group recording a session for him in the album's first week of release. Shortly afterwards they signed to the label Dedicated (which also became home to Spiritualized and Beth Orton) and went on to record their EP "Espero" in 1990, with the album "Wings of Joy" following a year later. The release of "Wings of Joy" caught the attention of Robert Smith of The Cure who picked the Cranes to open for them on their world tour in 1992. They then went on to record the albums "Forever" (1993), "Loved" (1994), "La Tragedie d'Oreste et Electre" (1995), and "Population Four" (1997).

After a 4 year break, Cranes re-emerged on their own independent label Dadaphonic to release "Future Songs" (2001) and "Particles & Waves" (2004), which saw the band heading in a more electronic direction while retaining the trademark sound of previous releases. In January 2007 the band released a download only album, "Live at Amsterdam Paradiso," originally recorded in 1991. The show captures the darker, heavier days of the early Cranes and is available only via www.dadaphonic.co.uk.

In 2008 Cranes albums "Wings of Joy', 'Forever' and 'Loved' were re-issued by Cherry Red Records, www.cherryred.co.uk as part of their series of 'influential artists' re-releases.

In October 2008 Cranes released their self titled album 'Cranes', to which they did a supporting tour. After that there was the odd performance here and there up until 2012 after which Cranes fell silent again.

In 2022 they re-emerged with several newly opened social media accounts to which the purpose soon became clear: Cranes have reformed in their original nineties line-up to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the "Forever" album with some gigs in the UK (see events) and they are currently rehearsing.
In June 2023 they also released a 'new' album: their previously unreleased "Peel Sessions 1989-1990" which you can get on their Bandcamp site (see Linktree below) both digitally and on CD/Vinyl.

Current members
Alison Shaw – vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar (1985–1997, 2000–present)
Jim Shaw – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, drums (1985–1997, 2000–present)
Mark Francombe – guitar, bass guitar, keyboards, spanner (1989–1997, 2022-present)
Matt Cope – guitar (1989–1997, 2022-present)

Former members:
Kevin Dunford – lead guitar (1988–1989)
Paul Smith – guitar, keyboards (1995–1997, 2000–2012)
Manu Ross – drums (1996–1997)
Ben Baxter – bass guitar (2000–2012)
Jon Callender – drums (2000–2007)
Jon Mattock – drums (2008–2012)

Cranes official Linktree: https://linktr.ee/cranesofficial

Brazil
Cranes Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Maybe I'll glow..
And tap my toe
But somehow I know
I will feel low

Maybe I'll laugh...
Maybe I'll smile
And we'll have fun

For a little while

..But when I go
When there's no Hello
Somehow I know
I will feel low

The sun will rise
High in the sky

And maybe I'll grow
But today I feel low..

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Cranes's song Brazil are about someone who is trying to put on a happy face and have a good time, but deep down they know they are going to feel low. The first verse talks about how they might try to appear happy by glowing and tapping their toe, but even though they might laugh and smile, they know they will still feel low when they leave because there is no one there to greet them with a hello. The second verse talks about how the sun might rise and they might grow, but today they still feel low. The lyrics convey a sense of loneliness and isolation, as if the person is struggling to find happiness and connection with others.

Line by Line Meaning

Maybe I'll glow..
Perhaps I will radiate happiness and delight.

And tap my toe
I might even dance or move my feet in time with the beat of music.

But somehow I know
Nonetheless, I have a premonition or an intuition that something will make me unhappy.

I will feel low
My emotions will plummet, and I will feel melancholic and dispirited.

Maybe I'll laugh...
It's plausible that I will let out a giggle or chuckle.

Maybe I'll smile
I might also display a grin on my face.

And we'll have fun
We may enjoy ourselves to some extent.

For a little while
But it won't last long, and the feeling of sadness will resurface again.

..But when I go
However, when it's time for me to leave this place or this moment,

When there's no Hello
When there's no more interaction or greeting with one another,

Somehow I know
I can sense or feel that