Japan, which also included Mick Karn, Rob Dean, Richard Barbieri and Sylvian's brother Steve Jansen, started out as a confusing hybrid rock/sleaze outfit in the mould of David Bowie and The New York Dolls. Their music quickly evolved as, at least to begin with, they drew heavily on the influence of Roxy Music's art rock stylings. Their visual image developed in parallel and the band were (unwillingly) tagged as forerunners of the New Romantic movement.
Japan recorded five studio albums between March 1978 and November 1981. Their biggest hit single, the minimalist Ghosts, which reached the Top 5 in the UK charts in 1982, was a clear pointer to Sylvian's future direction. After a successful tour, the band split in late 1982, and Sylvian embarked upon a solo career.
Around the time of Sylvian's first solo album he collaborated with 坂本龍一 (Ryuichi Sakamoto) on the soundtrack music for the Nagisa Oshima film Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983), which produced a Top 20 hit single, Forbidden Colours.
Sylvian's debut solo album, the jazz and ambient-influenced Brilliant Trees (1984), met with critical acclaim and yielded the single Red Guitar, another Top 20 hit. Guest artists included Jon Hassell and Holger Czukay. His follow-up was an instrumental EP Alchemy which cemented his drift away from commercial pop
The EP was in turn followed by the double album Gone to Earth (1986), which flouted convention (and perhaps commercial wisdom) by featuring one record of songs (predominantly atmospheric ballads) and one consisting almost entirely of ambient instrumental tracks. Guest artists included guitarists Robert Fripp and Bill Nelson.
His third album, Secrets of the Beehive (1987), was more acoustic and oriented towards somber, emotive ballads laced with string arrangements by 坂本龍一 (Ryuichi Sakamoto). It yielded one of Sylvian's most well-received songs, Orpheus, and was supported by his first solo tour, 1988's "In Praise of Shamans". Sylvian's touring band included ex-Japan bandmates Jansen and Barbieri along with trumpeter Mark Isham, bassist Ian Maidman and guitarists David Torn and Robbie Aceto.
Never one to conform to commercial expectations, Sylvian then collaborated on several ambient music projects with artists including Holger Czukay and Russell Mills.
In 1991, a highly-anticipated Japan reunion (excluding Rob Dean) ended in acrimony. Sylvian insisted on calling the project and the album Rain Tree Crow, to the dismay of both his label Virgin Records (who were hoping for a hit "comeback" album) and his former bandmates. Guitarists Bill Nelson, Phil Palmer and Michael Brook augmented the quartet for the recording of the album.
In late 1991, Robert Fripp approached Sylvian and asked him to be part of a new King Crimson. Sylvian declined and instead suggested they work on a future collaboration resulting in the release of The First Day.
A period of relative musical inactivity followed, during which time Sylvian moved to the United States. Eventually in 1999, Sylvian released Dead Bees on a Cake. It showed the most eclectic influence of all his recordings, ranging from soul music to jazz fusion to Eastern spiritual chants, and most of the songs' lyrics reflecting Sylvian's inner peace with his marriage (to the wonderful poet/singer Ingrid Chavez), family and beliefs. Guest artists included longtime friend 坂本龍一 (Ryuichi Sakamoto), as well as Talvin Singh, Marc Ribot, Kenny Wheeler and Bill Frisell.
Sylvian parted ways with Virgin and launched his own independent label, Samadhi Sound. Sylvian experimented alone with treated sounds made from his guitar and computer. The results were recorded during February of 2003. A few months later, he released the album Blemish. The disc was stark in its sound and content. The lyrical subject matter dealt primarily with the impending dissolution of Sylvian's marriage. In 2005 The Good Son vs The Only Daughter was released, which was comprised of remixes of tracks from Blemish.
With the conclusion of "A Fire In The Forest Tour" in 2004, work resumed on a joint project between Sylvian and Jansen. Yet the course of the album took on a completely new tone after Sylvian decided to add keyboardist/vibraphonist/programmer Burnt Friedman to the proceedings and make him an equal partner in the collaboration. The band name of Nine Horses was adopted and the CD, titled Snow Borne Sorrow, was released in October of 2005. The sound was a return to more traditional avenues for Sylvian after the radical departure he took with Blemish. Elements of avant-garde jazz, pop, folk and electronic music were all blended together
Nine Horses' Money For All EP was released in 2006, which included new material as well as Burnt Friedman remixes of songs selected from their first disc.
News on Sylvian's website was released in March stating that "We're preparing for the release of David’s new album Manafon. It’s a powerfully bold, uncompromising work featuring contributions from Evan Parker, John Tilbury, Keith Rowe, Christian Fennesz, Otomo Yoshihide, and many more."
David Sylvian's official website: www.davidsylvian.com
Boy With the Gun
David Sylvian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Are 'cause of bitterness
A grudge held from his childhood days
As if life had loved him less
Reading down his list of names
He ticks them one by one
He points the barrel at the sky
Firing shots off at the sun
I am the law and I am the King
I am the wisdom, listen to me sing
He carves out the victim's names
In the wooden butt of the gun
He leans well back against the tree
He knows his Kingdom's come
He'll breath a sigh self satisfied
The work is in good hands
He shoots the coins into the air
And follows where the money lands
I am the law and I am the King
I am the wisdom, listen to me sing
He pauses at the city's edge
Of hellfire and of stone
He summons up the devil there
To give him courage of his own
He'll free the sinners of deceit
They'll hear his name and run
His justice is his own reward
Measured out beneath the sun
I am the law and I am the King
I am the wisdom, listen to me sing
And my name's on the gun
The lyrics to David Sylvian's song "The Boy With The Gun" suggest a character who assumes the power of the law, the King, and wisdom. The singer of the song is a person who holds a grudge from his childhood and seeks revenge by using his gun to shoot in the sky as he points it to the sun. The character is checking off a list of names of people he has victimized and when he carves their names in the wooden butt of the gun, he knows his power has come. He leans on a tree and shoots coins in the air, later following where the money lands; the work is in good hands.
Furthermore, the character is willing to go to the ends of the earth or even summoning the devil himself to give him courage to carry out his justice. The character is confident that the justice he was dispensing measured out beneath the sun would satisfy him since his name was on the gun, and it gave him power, and he was the embodiment of the law, the king, and wisdom. The lyrics suggest a character with a deep psychological issue caused by bitterness and a sense of having been unloved by life, which has encouraged him to put himself in a position of power, which he believes he controls with the gun.
Line by Line Meaning
He knows well his wicked ways
Are 'cause of bitterness
He is aware that he has become wicked because of the bitterness he holds towards life and the grudge he has held since childhood.
A grudge held from his childhood days
As if life had loved him less
The grudge he holds is because he believes life has not shown him enough love.
Reading down his list of names
He ticks them one by one
He goes through the list of names he has carved on the wooden part of his gun and ticks them off one by one.
He points the barrel at the sky
Firing shots off at the sun
He shoots the gun at the sky, aiming for the sun, as an act of rebellion and defiance.
I am the law and I am the King
I am the wisdom, listen to me sing
He considers himself to be the ultimate authority - the law, the king and the wise one.
He carves out the victim's names
In the wooden butt of the gun
He engraves the names of his victims on the wooden part of the gun.
He leans well back against the tree
He knows his Kingdom's come
He leans against a tree, feeling like he has established his own kingdom through his actions.
He'll breath a sigh self satisfied
The work is in good hands
He feels satisfied with his work and believes he has made the world a better place.
He shoots the coins into the air
And follows where the money lands
He randomly shoots coins into the air and follows where they land, indicating that he is unpredictable and possibly mad.
He pauses at the city's edge
Of hellfire and of stone
He stops at the edge of the city, which he sees as a place of destruction and despair.
He summons up the devil there
To give him courage of his own
He calls upon the devil to give him the strength and courage he needs to carry on his mission.
He'll free the sinners of deceit
They'll hear his name and run
He believes he is freeing people from the dishonesty and deceit of society, causing them to fear him and run away.
His justice is his own reward
Measured out beneath the sun
He believes that by carrying out his own brand of justice, he is being rewarded, measured by the sun as a symbol of a higher power.
And my name's on the gun
The fact that his name is on the gun indicates a sense of ownership and pride in his actions.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DAVID SYLVIAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind