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.
The River
Doves Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What have you done?
You're caught by the river
You're coming undone
Life
You know it can't be so easy
But you can't just leave it
And you give it all away
Would you give it all away now?
Don't let it come apart
Don't want to see you come apart
Son
What are you doing?
You learned a hard lesson
When you stood by the water
You and I
Were so full of love and hope
Would you give it all up now?
Would you give in just to spite them all?
Cause you give it all away
And you give it all away now
Don't let it come apart
Don't want to see you come apart
Cause you give it all away
And you give it all away now
Don't let it come apart
Don't want to see you come apart
Lay
I lay in the long grass
So many people
So many people pass
Stay
Stay here and lie on back
Get down in the cornfields
Stay till we're caught at last
Give it all away
Give it all away now
Don't let it come apart
Don't want to see you come apart
And you give it all away
Would you give it all away now?
Don't let it come apart
Don't want to see you come apart
Would you give it all away?
Would you give it all away?
Would you give it all away?
Give it all away
Give it all away
Give it all away
Give it all away
The lyrics of Doves' song "Caught By The River" present a narrative of a son who seems to have lost control of his life and is being washed away by a metaphorical river. The singer, perhaps a concerned friend or family member, is trying to reach out to him and convince him not to let go of the hope and love he once had. The verse "you're not in control no more" implies that the son has lost his way and is struggling with something beyond his capacity.
The line "Would you give it all up now? Would you give in just to spite them all?" suggests that the son might be facing external pressures or criticism which have further added to his distress. The idea of "giving it all up" could mean succumbing to those pressures or abandoning his dreams and aspirations. The singer's tone is one of empathy and concern, urging the son not to give up and to cling on to whatever makes him happy.
Line by Line Meaning
Son
The singer addresses a younger person who has made a mistake
What have you done?
The singer is asking the person what they have done that has led them to trouble
You're caught by the river
The person is ensnared by a difficult situation reminiscent of a river's strong current in which it's hard to hold on
You're coming undone
The person is starting to lose control and fall apart
Life
The singer addresses the difficulties of life
You know it can't be so easy
Life is complicated and not straightforward
But you can't just leave it
You have to persevere and not give up
Cause you're not in control no more
The person is not in control of the situation anymore
And you give it all away
The person is risking everything in trying to resolve their situation
Would you give it all away now?
The singer is questioning if the person would risk everything to try and fix their problem at present
Don't let it come apart
The singer implores the person to hold things together
Don't want to see you come apart
The singer is worried the person will lose it if they don't hold it together
Son
The singer addresses the younger person again
What are you doing?
The singer asks what the person is currently up to
You learned a hard lesson
The person has learned a difficult lesson
When you stood by the water
Possibly referencing shame and acceptance of responsiblity by standing near water
You and I
The singer and the person were together at some point
Were so full of love and hope
They were optimistic about their future together
Would you give it all up now?
The singer is questioning if the person would throw their relationship away for their current problem
Would you give in just to spite them all?
The singer is asking if they would give in to the problem because of what others said
Cause you give it all away
Reiterating that the person is risking everything
And you give it all away now
The risk-taking is happening in the present
Lay
The singer is referencing a memory
I lay in the long grass
They recall a specific peaceful moment in the past
So many people
There were other people around at the time
So many people pass
Those people continued on with their lives, not knowing about the peaceful moment
Stay
The singer is encouraging the person to stay in the moment
Stay here and lie on back
The person is encouraged to lay down and relax, stay in the peaceful moment
Get down in the cornfields
The person is encouraged to really make themselves comfortable, and enjoy the moment in a cornfield
Stay till we're caught at last
Sit and enjoy it before being forced to continue dealing with reality
Give it all away
The person is risking everything
Give it all away now
The singer is emphasizing that the risk-taking is present
Would you give it all away?
The singer is asking if the person is willing to risk everything
Give it all away
The singer reiterates the previous line
Give it all away
Again, the singer emphasizes that the person is risking a lot
Give it all away
The singer repeats the idea of risking everything to drive its importance home
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ANDY WILLIAMS, JEZ WILLIAMS, JIMI GOODWIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@garymitchell277
A truly class tune. 🐕
@aburg10s
One of the most underrated albums of all time.
@carpademen1066
Agreed its just beautiful
@dominicdwhat420noreallysna9
yes
@magusmaximmus2172
Damn right. Gorgeous album.
@jamesdouglas8113
When my mother died while I was in university 17 years ago, I had a moment where I decided to end my life. My MP3 player at the time skipped through a bunch of songs randomly and fell on this song like a skipped record. Some say God doesn’t exist but I have seen things that would make me question that dismissive logic. Even today after the death of guardian angel pets and late miscarriages I find some solace in this song.
@MyAnto68
Love this song - was on a compilation given to me by a friend. Was listening to it for two years without knowing the name of the band. Then was given tickets to a Doves concert - had never heard of them but went along..nearly broke down when they started playing this!!!!!! Fantastic gig in Mayo, Ireland. Suas an Irish!!!!!
@PeterBalga
It must have been an amazing experience!
@zebraspot69
Cool..i didn't know Doves played there. .my dad from mayo Westport
@releasethebinky
+ant “Anto” cal Fate !! Don't you love when that happens !!