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".
Your Swaying Arms
Deacon Blue Lyrics
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Tell me secrets of her days when she was young
Show me nights when she laughed
So innocent
I`ll be happy
Waiting till they come
Love the people that she smiled upon
Walk with me in streets
Say if it could be that we once passed like strangers
Long before the love we ever new
`Cause I've been longing
For a new world waiting
I've been hoping
To be sent
I've been picking up
All the love we squandered
Until you
Hold me in your swaying arms again
One day I can see us walking
Arm and arm in sheltered Kelvin way
Talking and tripping and teasing
And heading for the best part of the day
When your head
Falls softly on my pillow
No fear will make you cry or turn you grey
And we will wake
So early in the morning
Knowing you`ll never
Never
Never go away
`Cause I've been longing
For a new world waiting
I've been hoping
To be sent
I've been picking up
All the love we squandered
Until you
Hold me in your swaying arms again
I've been longing
For a new world waiting
I've been hoping
To be sent
I've been picking up
All the love we squandered
Until you
Hold me in your swaying arms again
Until you
Rest me in your swaying arms again
In your arms
In your swaying arms
Your swaying arms
Hold me
Bless me now
Hold me
Hold me now
Hold me hold me hole me
In your arms
Your swaying arms
Your swaying arms
Hold me
The lyrics of "Your Swaying Arms" by Deacon Blue speak of the longing of the singer to reconnect with a lost love. They desire to know everything about the person, to be taken to the places where their loved one once stood, and to relive the moments they shared. The singer is hoping to be reunited with their love, to hold them in their arms again, and to push away the fear of losing them. They long for a new beginning, where they can start over and make the most of the love they once had but lost.
The imagery used in the lyrics is vivid, painting a picture of the streets and places where their love once flourished, and the singer's desire to go back there and relive those moments. The use of repetition of the line "I've been longing" emphasizes the strong emotions the singer is feeling, and their determination to hold their love in their arms again.
Overall, the song is a bittersweet expression of a lost love and the desire to reconnect and start anew.
Line by Line Meaning
Send me back all the thing she ever wrote
Please give me all the writings she left behind
Tell me secrets of her days when she was young
Reveal to me the stories of her youth
Show me nights when she laughed
Let me see her joyful times
So innocent
When she was pure and innocent
I'll be happy
I will be content if you grant my requests
Waiting till they come
I will wait patiently for them to arrive
Love the people that she smiled upon
Let me cherish those whom she loved
Walk with me in streets where she once stood
Come walk with me where she once walked
Say if it could be that we once passed like strangers
Consider the possibility that we may have crossed paths before without knowing
Long before the love we ever knew
Even before we knew love existed
'Cause I've been longing for a new world waiting
I've been yearning for a fresh start and a better future
I've been hoping to be sent
I've been hoping for a sign or a message
I've been picking up all the love we squandered
I've been trying to make amends for all the love we wasted
Until you hold me in your swaying arms again
Until I am in your arms once more
One day I can see us walking arm and arm in sheltered Kelvin Way
Someday, I envision us strolling together down Kelvin Way, arm in arm
Talking and tripping and teasing
Laughing, stumbling, and playfully prodding one another
And heading for the best part of the day
Making our way towards the most enjoyable part of the day
When your head falls softly on my pillow
When your head rests gently on my pillow
No fear will make you cry or turn you grey
You will not weep or age with worry
And we will wake so early in the morning
Early in the day, we will rise from slumber
Knowing you'll never, never, never go away
With the assurance that you will always stay
'Cause I've been longing for a new world waiting
I've been yearning for a fresh start and a better future
I've been hoping to be sent
I've been hoping for a sign or a message
I've been picking up all the love we squandered
I've been trying to make amends for all the love we wasted
Until you hold me in your swaying arms again
Until I am in your arms once more
Until you rest me in your swaying arms again
Until I am comforted in your arms once more
In your arms, in your swaying arms
In the safety and serenity of your embrace
Your swaying arms, hold me
Your comforting and soothing embrace, hold me
Bless me now, hold me
Please bless me with your comfort and hold me
Hold me now, hold me, hold me, hold me
Please hold me now, hold me tight
In your arms, your swaying arms, your swaying arms
In the safety and serenity of your embrace, your comforting and soothing embrace
Hold me
Please hold me in your embrace
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: RICKY ROSS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jeff Septime
J'adore !
Kathleen Maley
The best scottish group ever deacon bluexxxxx
WineSippingCowboy
Scottish band who got less attention than Big Country, et al. Cool song!