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
The Greatest Living Englishman
David Sylvian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Notes from a suicide
And he will never ever be
The Greatest Living Englishman
It's such a melancholy blue
Or a grey of no significance
Plastic coated surfaces
As it's passed from A to B
But it's such a melancholy blue
The curtains round the bed are drawn
Broadcast voices from the ward
The humming of machines hurt
But there are distances between
Yes there are distances between
His aspirations visited him nightly
And amounted to so little
Too much self in his writing
Now he will never, ever be
The Greatest Living Englishman
The engine shifts into second gear
They're all aboard, accounted for
It's a journey he must make alone
The black sheep boy is leaving home
It's been rehearsed a thousand times or more
He's well prepared of that he's sure
But still it's such a melancholy blue
As he erased a page of history
Much as he'd intended to
He wouldn't speak or show you he was happy
Though you'd meet him with your eyes
There was a wall that always stood between you
He'd shut himself outside
And the love that he engendered
Would never be enough
For him to feel alive
Warm and tender
He'd shut himself outside
Not a fake or a sham
But dug in deep and fighting
The world could not embrace a man
With so much self in his writing
And he was never gonna be
The Greatest Living Englishman
He had ideas above his station
Minor virtues go unmentioned
Little England you fit like a straight jacket
Hemmed by the genius of others
He said
'To conquer the world is not to the trace
Remove even the shadow of the memory of your face'
David Sylvian's song "The Greatest Living Englishman" talks about the life of a man who has committed suicide and how he will never achieve his dream of being the greatest living Englishman. The song is melancholic and depicts the sadness and feelings of isolation felt by the man who has passed away. The first verse of the song mentions "Notes from a suicide", which implies that the song is about someone who has written notes before committing suicide. The chorus establishes the fact that this man will never achieve his dream of being the greatest living Englishman.
The second verse talks about the hospital room that the man is placed in, and how everything around him reminds him of his sadness. He stays secluded and does not want to share his feelings with anyone. The lyrics "His aspirations visited him nightly and amounted to so little, too much self in his writing" suggests that he was disappointed that his aspirations never came to fruition, and there was too much ego involved in his writing. The man feels unloved, and even though he engendered love, it was never enough for him to feel alive.
The song talks about how the man is leaving his past behind and is leaving home. The lines "Little England, you fit like a straight jacket, hemmed by the genius of others" suggests how he felt trapped by the expectations of society, and the world around him. The final line, "To conquer the world is not to the trace, remove even the shadow of the memory of your face" implies that the best way to conquer the world is to leave behind the memory of your existence.
Line by Line Meaning
Here we are then, here we are
Acknowledging our current situation and state of mind
Notes from a suicide
A glimpse inside the mind of someone struggling with suicidal thoughts
And he will never ever be
The Greatest Living Englishman
Accepting the reality that he won't achieve this grandiose title
It's such a melancholy blue
Or a grey of no significance
Describing the color of his emotions, which feel neither strong nor particularly meaningful
Plastic coated surfaces
A space to place his suitcase
As it's passed from A to B
A description of the impersonal, transitory spaces he passes through in his travels
The curtains round the bed are drawn
Broadcast voices from the ward
The humming of machines hurt
But there are distances between
Yes there are distances between
A description of the drab, sterile hospital environment that feels isolating, despite the presence of people and machines
His aspirations visited him nightly
And amounted to so little
Too much self in his writing
Now he will never, ever be
The Greatest Living Englishman
Reflecting on his unfulfilled dreams, recognizing that his ego and self-centeredness may have been obstacles to achieving greatness
The engine shifts into second gear
They're all aboard, accounted for
It's a journey he must make alone
The black sheep boy is leaving home
Heading out into the world, facing a new chapter in life, feeling like an outsider or misfit
It's been rehearsed a thousand times or more
He's well prepared of that he's sure
But still it's such a melancholy blue
As he erased a page of history
Much as he'd intended to
With mixed emotions, he heads towards a new future, letting go of the past as planned
He wouldn't speak or show you he was happy
Though you'd meet him with your eyes
There was a wall that always stood between you
He'd shut himself outside
Reflecting on his difficulty connecting with others emotionally, feeling isolated and estranged
And the love that he engendered
Would never be enough
For him to feel alive
Warm and tender
He'd shut himself outside
Acknowledging that he struggles to feel genuine happiness or warmth from the love of others
Not a fake or a sham
But dug in deep and fighting
The world could not embrace a man
With so much self in his writing
Believing in his authenticity but recognizing that his ego and self-centeredness may have made it harder for others to accept him
He had ideas above his station
Minor virtues go unmentioned
Little England you fit like a straight jacket
Hemmed by the genius of others
He said
'To conquer the world is not to the trace
Remove even the shadow of the memory of your face'
Feeling trapped in a society and culture that doesn't value his unique talents and perspectives, recognizing the need to distance oneself from memories of the past in order to achieve true success
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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