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 Last Days of December
David Sylvian Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A honeymoon brief as a walk in the park
What shall we tell them when they ask?
And they'll ask
Could you not see another way out?
Was the place without sun?
With the ache of the gas-oven
There at your path
A death-angel paces in boredom and waits
It shrieks from dark corners undermining your faith
What shall we tell them when they ask?
And they will ask
Could you not see another way out?
Where were the cape and the coast-line?
The wonder-kid's sunshine?
Your sanity shattered
In climbing the walls
Wet towels at the floor-lines
Stuffed under the doors
And the beating of powder-black wings left you blind
The last days of December are the loneliest kind
In the exit you made
There was no pause for thought
'Cause the lies that I told
Were the lies that you bought
There was no place to find you
No you to be found
In the margins of books you were reading
There were stages to grieving that won't let you down
Where was the coast-line?
The wonder-kid's sunshine?
Under northern skies
Anonymous and free
Your night-fisherman pushes
A boat out to sea
You'll surely meet shores
Though his faith is unsound
There are stages to grieving that won't let you down
David Sylvian's The Last Days of December begins with the question of what to say when people ask what happened. The song is about a suicide, and the singer is grappling with how to explain it to others. The opening lines suggest that the event was sudden and unexpected, something like a brief honeymoon that ends abruptly. But the chorus insists that those left behind must have seen the signs and wonders why they didn't act or find a better way to help.
As the song continues, it becomes clear that the person who committed suicide was struggling with depression and despair. They were living in a dark and hopeless place, unable to see beyond their pain. This is conveyed through images of black furnishings, gas-ovens, and death-angels, which create a disturbing and oppressive atmosphere. In the end, the person is consumed by their feelings, represented by the beating of powder-black wings, and the last days of December become the loneliest of all.
The song reflects on the complexity of suicide, the guilt and confusion felt by those left behind, and the terrible burden of depression. The image of the night-fisherman pushing a boat out to sea at the end suggests both the possibility of escape and the inevitability of faith, a recognition that life continues even in the face of death.
Line by Line Meaning
What shall we tell them?
What explanation should we give when asked?
A honeymoon brief as a walk in the park
A short-lived honeymoon, easy to undertake, with minimum preparations required
What shall we tell them when they ask?
What shall we say when asked the reason behind the situation?
And they'll ask
They will inevitably ask
Could you not see another way out?
Were you unable to find a different approach?
Was the place without sun?
Was the place dark and gloomy with no prospects of hope?
Was it furnished in black?
Was the place decorated in a manner that suggested darkness?
With the ache of the gas-oven
Depression and sadness that leads to suicidal thoughts
There at your path
It troubled you throughout your experience
A death-angel paces in boredom and waits
Death hovers around waiting for the right moment to strike
It shrieks from dark corners undermining your faith
It creates doubts in your mind, erodes your faith and weakens your resilience
Where were the cape and the coast-line?
Where were the expected sights and experiences that could have lifted your spirits?
The wonder-kid's sunshine?
The optimism associated with youth and innovation
Your sanity shattered
Your mental balance is ruined
In climbing the walls
Being trapped with no outlet
Wet towels at the floor-lines
Desperate attempts to restrain the gas leak
Stuffed under the doors
To keep the toxic gas from spreading to other rooms
And the beating of powder-black wings left you blind
The feeling of despair and hopelessness consumed everything else and blinded you to any other alternatives
The last days of December are the loneliest kind
End of the year is generally a time of retrospection and if faced with a crisis, it accentuates the feelings of loneliness and hopelessness.
In the exit you made
The solution you settled on in the hope of ending the crisis
There was no pause for thought
It was an impulsive decision without thinking through the consequences
'Cause the lies that I told
The deception that I propagated
Were the lies that you bought
You believed in the deceit and lost the courage to fight
There was no place to find you
You were not in a state to be found
No you to be found
In the gloom of the crisis, you lost your inner self and became unrecognizable
In the margins of books you were reading
The introspection and self-realization that came with reading books became a comforting companion
There were stages to grieving that won't let you down
The realization that grief is a long process with its own stages, but it eventually leads to an understanding and healing.
Under northern skies
In the remote and sparsely populated areas
Anonymous and free
Being anonymous and free is the only way to be liberated at times.
Your night-fisherman pushes
Your inner voice and strength drives you at times.
A boat out to sea
To get away from the shore and find new modes of existence
You'll surely meet shores
Life will eventually bring you to new experiences
Though his faith is unsound
Although you may not have trust in yourself, others will have faith in you.
There are stages to grieving that won't let you down
The process of grieving through various phases will eventually lead to a resolution
Contributed by Juliana A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.