Deacon Blue is a Scottish pop band formed in Glasgow in 1985. Their name ca… Read Full Bio ↴Deacon Blue is a Scottish pop band formed in Glasgow in 1985. Their name came from the title of the Steely Dan song "Deacon Blues". Success came for the band in 1989 when their second studio album, When The World Knows Your Name, topped the UK Album Charts. The album included "Real Gone Kid" which became their first UK top ten single. After releasing further albums in 1991 and 1993, they split up in 1994. Five years later, in 1999, the band held a reunion gig and this led to the album, Walking Back Home. Since then they have released Homesick (2001) , The Hipsters (2012), A New House (2014), Believers (2016), City Of Love (2020) and Riding On The Tide Of Love (2021)

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".

The One About Loneliness
Deacon Blue Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Walking on broken stones

And listening to a foreign radio

I never knew where you'd gone

I only knew where you're going

I sing about you

Cause nothing's the same without you

I know what the truth is

And what your excuse is

Are you getting on where you stay

The same blue sky every day

I never saw the time you chose

And still the wonder's growing

I sing about you

Cause nothing's the same without you

I know what your excuse is

Sometimes I wonder.., what the use is

I wonder

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey

Everyone's bleeding but me

Now I sing about you

Cause I lost the truth about you

All that surrounds me

Is everything...

I found when you were near me

I sing about you

cause nothing's the same without you

I know what the truth is

and what your excuse is

I know.., what it is about you

That still makes me never doubt you

There's no day without you

That wouldn't be better

sticking together

I know

You say

Everything will go away

I know

You say everything

Everything

Overall Meaning

The song starts with the singer walking on broken stones and listening to a foreign radio, feeling lost and not knowing where the object of his affection has gone. Despite this, he still sings about this person because nothing is the same without them. He knows the truth about this person and their excuse for leaving, yet he still wonders if they are doing well where they are. The singer reflects on how he never saw the time this person left, but his wonder about them only continues to grow.

As the song progresses, the singer begins to question what the use is in thinking about this person so much, especially when everyone around him seems to be experiencing hardship except for him. However, he still cannot help but sing about this person because he has lost the truth about them and they were everything that surrounded him when they were near. He knows that nothing would be better without this person and that he cannot imagine a day without them. The song ends with the singer acknowledging that this person has said that everything will go away, but he still holds onto hope that everything will work out in the end.

Overall, The One About Loneliness is a poignant and relatable song about longing for someone who has left and grappling with the complex emotions that come with it. It addresses themes of loss, hope, and the power of memory and demonstrates Deacon Blue's talent for crafting deeply emotional lyrics that resonate with listeners.

Line by Line Meaning

Walking on broken stones
I'm wandering around in a desolate, inhospitable place

And listening to a foreign radio
I'm tuning in to stations that I don't understand, searching for a connection

I never knew where you'd gone
I never had a clear idea of where you were heading

I only knew where you're going
I had a sense of the direction you were taking, even if I couldn't pinpoint your exact location

I sing about you
I'm expressing my feelings in a creative way

Cause nothing's the same without you
My life has been deeply impacted by your absence

I know what the truth is
I have insight into the reality of the situation

And what your excuse is
I understand why you made the choices you did

Are you getting on where you stay
Are you managing to cope with your current circumstances

The same blue sky every day
The monotony of every day life, in contrast with my deeper emotions

I never saw the time you chose
I wasn't able to witness the exact moment you made your decision

And still the wonder's growing
I'm still grappling with my disbelief and amazement at what happened

Sometimes I wonder.., what the use is
I find myself questioning the meaning and purpose of everything

Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey
A vocalization of emotion that can't be put into words

Everyone's bleeding but me
Everyone is suffering around me, but I feel as though I'm the only one who is not actively experiencing physical pain

Now I sing about you
I'm still exploring my feelings about you and the situation

Cause I lost the truth about you
I'm struggling to make sense of what happened and what your true intentions were

All that surrounds me
My environment and everything that makes up my life

Is everything...I found when you were near me
I'm still searching for the same sense of completion and fulfillment that I felt when you were a part of my life

I know what your excuse is
I understand why you made the choices you did

I know.., what it is about you
I have insight into what made you so special and important to me

That still makes me never doubt you
There's a part of me that remains absolutely certain of your intrinsic goodness and that you always meant well

There's no day without you
I can't imagine a day when I won't feel your absence

That wouldn't be better sticking together
I know that everything would be improved if we could work together to better our situation

You say everything will go away
You offer reassurances that things will eventually resolve themselves, even if I can't see it yet

I know
I understand and accept what you're telling me

You say everything
You're offering a broad, sweeping statement that applies to all aspects of this situation

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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