This predominantly Glaswegian act became one of the top-selling UK bands of the late 1980s/early 1990s. The group's members were Ricky Ross, Lorraine McIntosh, James Prime, Dougie Vipond, Ewan Vernal and Graeme Kelling.
Ross, a former school teacher originally from Dundee, was the group's frontman, penning the vast majority of Deacon Blue's songs. He married female vocalist Lorraine McIntosh in the later years of the band's career. McIntosh, born May 1964 in Glasgow joined the band in 1987 as a vocalist.
The band's first album, Raintown, produced by Jon Kelly and released in 1987, is regarded by many as the band's finest effort, spawning the singles "Dignity", "Chocolate Girl" and "Loaded". Many consider Raintown to be a concept album, since nearly all the songs contribute to the overall theme of being stuck in a dead-end life in a deprived city longing for something better. The city that the album's title refers to is Glasgow, and the memorable cover art of the album is a shot of the River Clyde's docks taken on a miserable day from Kelvingrove Park.
The second album, 1988's When The World Knows Your Name, was the band's most commercially successful, with the mega-selling singles "Real Gone Kid", "Wages Day" and "Fergus Sings The Blues". However, music critics began deriding the band at this stage for pursuing commercial success over artistic quality, citing the earlier achievements of Raintown.
Jon Kelly returned to the producer's chair in 1991 for Fellow Hoodlums, and the album was met with more critical success, but by now the group's honeymoon period was over and their success started to wane. This album was followed up with Whatever You Say, Say Nothing in 1993, a much more experimental album which gained praise from the critics, but was a commercial failure.
The band released a Greatest Hits compilation the following year.
With Vipond's decision to quit the group in favour for a career in television, Deacon Blue split up in 1994.
Five years later, the band held an unexpected reunion gig in 1999, and this led on to a new album, Walking Back Home, with the band now working on a part-time basis.
The band released another album, Homesick, in 2001.
Though Graeme Kelling died from cancer in 2004, the band has vowed to continue in his absence.
The year 2006 saw Deacon Blue returning to the studio to record three new tracks for a Singles album - including the track "Bigger than Dynamite".
The band performed at Manchester United's Old Trafford stadium, as the pre-match entertainment for the Rugby League Super League Grand Final on the 14 October, and continued on to a full UK tour in November.
The album The Hipsters was released in 2012.
http://www.deaconblue.com/, followed by A New House, Believers, City of Love and Riding On The Tide Of Love.
In 2023 the band released a greatest hits set titled "All The Old 45's" along with a box set of all their albums titled "You Can Have It All".
Love And Regret
Deacon Blue Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cold coffee
Won`t see you through
Cold sheets
Won`t heal your heart
Your frozen fingers of your
Name so tarredI know so rarely
That things come your way
Your ways are tender
And your paths are straight
Your mind`s not lived in
The way ours are set
Your heart is open
To love and regret
Rings and letters they pass you by
You wish them well
And seldom cry
For stones and promises and wedding sighs
You`ve known the times that you`ve
Lived and died
These sailors come by
And spend time ashore
Their thoughts are hoarded
As yours have been stored
Your mind`s not lived in
The way ours are set
Your heart is open
To love and regret
Outside in the morning air
I hear the soundtrack of the
Blues harp player
It touches feelings that you
Don`t arouse
Knocks me back to that
Shuttered house
Take me back
When they`re all out
Take me back to that
Shuttered house
I know so rarely
That things come your way
Your ways are tender
And your paths are straight
Your mind`s not lived in
The way ours are set
Your heart is open
To love and regret
Love and regret
Love and regret
The lyrics of Deacon Blue's song Love and Regret convey the emotions of an individual who feels emotionally detached from the world even though they perceive themselves to have a good heart. The opening lines of the song paint a scene of someone who is isolated and alone, with nothing seemingly providing them with any comfort. Cold dawn, cold coffee, and cold sheets are all things that do not heal this person's heart. The repetition of the word "cold" reinforces the sense of isolation and emptiness.
As the song continues, it becomes clear that the person being described is someone who does not live their life in the same way as others. The lyrics suggest a sense of detachment from the material parts of life, such as rings, letters, and wedding sighs, which have not resonated with them. The song describes the individual as having known times of living and dying, which could suggest that they have experienced a deep sense of pain or loss that has separated them from others. The final lines of the song, "Love and regret, love and regret," suggest that the individual has experienced love, but that it has left them with feelings of regret or longing for something more.
Overall, the lyrics of Love and Regret describe a sense of emotional detachment and isolation experienced by someone who has felt the pains of love, loss, and regret. Despite these feelings, there is an underlying sense of hope that this individual's heart remains open to receiving love once again.
Line by Line Meaning
Cold dawn won`t comfort you
The cold feeling of a new day won't bring you any comfort.
Cold coffee won`t see you through
Drinking cold coffee won't help you get through the day.
Cold sheets won`t heal your heart
Sleeping on cold sheets won't mend your broken heart.
Your frozen fingers of your name so tarred
Your reputation precedes you and it's as if your name is stuck in tar, never to be cleansed.
I know so rarely that things come your way
You don't often experience good things coming your way.
Your ways are tender and your paths are straight
You have a kind and honest nature, and you don't deviate from your values.
Your mind`s not lived in the way ours are set
You have a unique perspective, and you don't conform to societal norms.
Your heart is open to love and regret
You are vulnerable to both the joy and pain of love.
Rings and letters they pass you by
You don't often receive tokens of love like rings and letters.
You wish them well and seldom cry
Although you don't often receive tokens of love, you harbor no resentment and rarely cry over it.
For stones and promises and wedding sighs
You don't place much value on material objects and grand romantic gestures, like proposing and getting married.
You`ve known the times that you`ve lived and died
You've experienced both the highs and lows of life.
These sailors come by and spend time ashore
People come in and out of your life briefly.
Their thoughts are hoarded as yours have been stored
Others hold onto their memories of you, just as you hold onto yours.
Outside in the morning air, I hear the soundtrack of the blues harp player
The sound of the blues harp in the morning brings back memories.
It touches feelings that you don't arouse
The memory of the blues harp evokes emotions that you don't typically elicit in others.
Knocks me back to that shuttered house
The emotions brought on by the blues harp transport the artist back to a time and place long gone.
Take me back when they`re all out
The singer wishes to revisit that place when everyone else has left it.
Love and regret
The song is ultimately about the emotions of love and regret.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RICKY ROSS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@patrickstocks3986
Cold dawn won't comfort you
Cold coffee
Won't see you through
Cold sheets
Won't heal your heart
Your frozen fingers of your
Name so tarred
I know so rarely
That things come your way
Your ways are tender
And your paths are straight
Your minds not lived in
The way ours are set
Your heart is open
To love and regret
Rings and letters they pass you by
You wish them well
And seldom cry
For stones and promises and wedding sighs
You've known the times that you've
Lived and died
These sailors come by
And spend time ashore
Their thoughts are hoarded
As yours have been stored
Your minds not lived in
The way ours are set
Your heart is open
To love and regret
Outside in the morning air
I hear the soundtrack of the
Blues harp player
It touches feelings that you
Don't arouse
Knicks me back to that
Shuttered house
Take me back
When they're all out
Take me back to that
Shuttered house
I know so rarely
That things come your way
Your ways are tender
And your paths are straight
Your minds not lived in
The way ours are set
Your heart is open
To love and regret
Love and regret
Love and regret
@pzakp311
First beats I close my eyes and in a second I am transferred to a time where worries were small and life wanted just to be lived. Gosh, I love your music.
@philipgage1072
I lost my wife last year after 43 years together. How did these young people capture the feelings of love and loss so perfectly? They are no longer young of course. They are close in age to me than the age when they performed this. I love them for this song and many others.
@petersydes1512
philip, I am sorry for your loss, I can almost feel it..
@philipgage1072
@@petersydes1512 It doesn't make the pain any less and never will. It does make me continue to believe that life is worth living when even peripheral contact with people like you show that it was all worth it. I'll be gone soon but we left behind a few children and grandchildren who realise that love, life and politics are all connected.
@petersydes1512
Yes Philip I agree with you
@eightiesmusic1984
I am sorry for your loss, Me and my wife suffered two bereavements of close relatives in the space of less than three weeks in 2020 and the shock and numbness have not faded so I know a little of what you are going through. I have always loved music through thick and thin and it has proved some consolation during the past two years though I have found it harder to listen to as a consequence of trauma. It makes no sense but I feel guilty listening to it as if I should not enjoy anything in the light of what has happened, if that makes sense.
@carlosgarcia8836
@@eightiesmusic1984sentidas palabras que te engrandecen amigo,te entiendo y sólo espero que pasado el tiempo hayas curado esas heridas,con mucho amor lo lograrás.saludos.
@redknight1825
I don't care what anyone else says but for me Deacon Blue had a completely original sound. Their songs were unique and timeless and this particular one is just stunningly beautiful. It has the power to soften my heart after a hard day.
@pottingshedgene
'...completely original...' agreed apart from the 'I ain't missing you at all' John Waite melody and arrangement. hahahhahahaha. Oh hang on... which song came out first? I'm not sure now. Either way I LOVE Deacon Blue. A GREAT Band.
@AlastairNicol-li4iu
Fukn brilliant group c them Wembley arena 1987 xxx