Originally formed in 1988 as Sub Sub, a dance act who coincided with the rise of the Hacienda and the rave scene from Manchester expanding outwards, they enjoyed moderate success for seven years including the hit single "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" (#3 UK), before suffering the disaster of their studio burning down in 1996, taking all their current recordings with them. The experience, tragedy and pressure of that would inspire their name-change, in 1998, to Doves, and ultimately their first full-length album, Lost Souls released in April 2000. "Lost Souls" was a dark, atmospheric effort, full of brooding keyboards and claustrophobic light grooves, yet charted at number 13, mainly due to the top 40 singles, "The Cedar Room", "Catch The Sun" and "The Man Who Told Everything".
Two years later, Doves enjoyed their commercial and critical peak with their second album, The Last Broadcast, which charted at number 1 in the UK charts, spawning a hit single, "There Goes The Fear", which reached number 3 in the chart. "The Last Broadcast" was characterised by huge, spacious recordings, and an overall feeling of euphoria and relief. Two more singles, "Pounding" and "Caught By The River" both charted inside the top 40, and in the summer of 2003, Doves headlined the Other Stage on the last night of the Glastonbury Festival.
Recording problems and writers' block delayed the emergence of their third album, Some Cities, until Spring 2005. This was a return to the more claustrophobic sounds of their debut, though still featured the top 10 single "Black & White Town". "Some Cities" sold well, debuting at #1 on the UK chart, and received some of the band's strongest reviews to date.
Jimi Goodwin and Jez Williams both contributed to other bands in the late 90's, Goodwin played bass for Bernard Sumner and Johnny Marr's band Electronic on their 1999 album Twisted Tenderness and Williams played guitar on Saint Etienne's albums, 1998's Good Humor, 2000's Sound of Water and finally 2002's Finisterre.
2009 saw the release of 'Kingdom of Rust' and a tour to support, soon followed by 'The Places Between', a greatest hits album - also released as a double album with DVD compilation of singles, non-single releases and remixes.
The band is on a break from recording, according to an interview with The Daily Record. Jimi Goodwin stated: "It's nice just to have a bit of breathing space... We just wanted to get off that whole album-tour-album-tour treadmill. None of us are ready to face going into the studio for another two years. This is wiping the slate clean, we have nothing else in the vaults now. That is it. Whatever we do from now on will be a new start."
On 2 October 2012, EMI International released a Doves anthology titled 5 Album Set featuring all four studio albums from Lost Souls to Kingdom of Rust and the 2003 re-issue of Lost Sides.
It has been announced that Jimi Goodwin will support British band Elbow on their Spring 2014 tour of the United Kingdom.
Catch the Sun
Doves Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Catch the things you might have missed
You say, get back to yesterday
I ain't ever going back
Back to the place that I can't stand
But I, I miss the way you lie
'Cause I've always been misunderstood
Pulled apart and ripped in two
Catch the sun, before it's gone
Here it comes, up in smoke and gone
Catch the sun, it never comes
Cry in the sand, lost in the fire
I never really understood
Why I did not feel so good
But I, I miss the way you lie
'Cause I've always been up and down
Never wanted to hit the ground
But I, I miss the way you lie
Catch the sun, before it's gone
Here it comes, up in smoke and gone
Catch the sun, it never comes
Cry in the sand, lost in the fire
The lyrics of Doves' song "Catch the Sun" revolve around a feeling of regret, longing for the past and the realization that it can never be recreated. The song is about trying to hold onto something that has slipped away, reflecting on missed opportunities and trying to move forward from the past. The opening lines convey a sense of urgency, a desire to catch up on lost time and make sense of the things that have been missed. This is followed by a reference to the past with the line “get back to yesterday”, but the artist reassures us that they are never going back, back to the place they can’t stand.
The chorus repeats the phrase “Catch the sun” multiple times, each time with a different connotation. Here, the sun is not just a physical entity to be caught but rather represents the fleeting nature of time, and the importance of seizing the moment - a message that is reinforced by the line “before it’s gone” used in each repetition. The repeated phrase creates a powerful resonance, as if urging the listeners to pay attention to the transience of time and the impermanence of everything we hold dear. The final lines of the song, “Cry in the sand, lost in the fire”, seem melancholic and full of longing; it is a poignant reminder that we can never recover what is lost but can always make peace with it and move forward.
Line by Line Meaning
Every day it comes to this
Every day I find myself in this situation
Catch the things you might have missed
Don't miss out on important opportunities or experiences
You say, get back to yesterday
You suggest going back in time to the past
I ain't ever going back
I refuse to go back to the past
Back to the place that I can't stand
Back to the place I hate being in
But I, I miss the way you lie
But I miss the comfort of the lies you told me
'Cause I've always been misunderstood
I've always been misinterpreted
Pulled apart and ripped in two
Torn apart and broken into pieces
But I, I miss the way you lie
But I miss the comfort of the lies you told me
Catch the sun, before it's gone
Seize the moment before it passes
Here it comes, up in smoke and gone
An opportunity is fleeting and unpredictable
Catch the sun, it never comes
An opportunity may never come again
Cry in the sand, lost in the fire
Regretting missed opportunities in vain
I never really understood
I never truly comprehended it
Why I did not feel so good
Why I didn't feel well or happy
But I, I miss the way you lie
But I miss the comfort of the lies you told me
'Cause I've always been up and down
I've always had my highs and lows
Never wanted to hit the ground
I never wanted to hit rock bottom
But I, I miss the way you lie
But I miss the comfort of the lies you told me
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANDY WILLIAMS, JEZ WILLIAMS, JIMI GOODWIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@BlindEyE32
Every day it comes to this
Catch the things you might have missed
You say, get back to yesterday
I ain't ever going back
Back to the place that I can't stand
But I, I miss the way you lie
'Cause I've always been misunderstood
Pulled apart and ripped in two
But I, I miss the way you lie
Catch the sun, before it's gone
Here it comes, up in smoke and gone
Catch the sun, it never comes
Cry in the sand, lost in the fire
I never really understood
Why I did not feel so good
But I, I miss the way you lie
'Cause I've always been up and down
Never wanted to hit the ground
But I, I miss the way you lie
Catch the sun, before it's gone
Here it comes, up in smoke and gone
Catch the sun, it never comes
Cry in the sand, lost in the fire
@2enti
2023 and still going. This one stuck with Me for life. If you are older than 35 u will understand ❤
@FarewellAphrodite
Yessss❤‼️💯
@davidcorcoran9959
The most wonderful band. This is as close to the perfect rock song as you get. Loved these guys, even though I'm getting old and cranky about my music.
@jjkerwin4677
I with you 100%. This is a great band, great song. Masterful actually. And I get cranky about new music today at age 58. There is very little 'good' new music unless you like county or rap, or as I combine as "c+rap".
@slappyrad
This is one of those tunes you roll down the window in the car, crank it up, and just drive. Great song to wake up to/start the day to. Love it!
@mattlink13
I heard this song years ago and never caught the band name. It's been driving me nuts for years.....finally I have closure!! Great song!
@erichshoup
Same. I found myself humming this on the way home from work tonight (in 2019) and I probably haven't heard this since 2001. Funny how the mind works.
@cszmax
Just think if not for a studio fire that burnt their previous work as Sub Sub, we may never have had this band let alone this song.
@Christopher-mk9tp
This is one of my favorite tracks in the early 2000s. Dope band.....
@MqBuffon
Doves deserved much more recognition. I hope they reunite someday.