Echo & the Bunnymen is a British Post-punk band formed in Liverpool in 1978… Read Full Bio ↴Echo & the Bunnymen is a British Post-punk band formed in Liverpool in 1978. The original line-up consisted of Ian McCulloch (of The Crucial Three), Will Sergeant and Les Pattinson. There are many stories, probably apocryphal, that the quartet was completed by a drum machine known as "Echo".

By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles - a moderate UK hit - the drum machine had been replaced by Pete de Freitas. Their next, the critically-acclaimed Heaven Up Here, reached the Top Ten in 1981, as did 1983's Porcupine and '84's Ocean Rain. Singles like "The Killing Moon" (later used in the soundtrack to Donnie Darko, a film whose imagery owed much to the artwork of the band's early records.), "Silver," "Bring on the Dancing Horses," and "The Cutter" helped keep the group in the public eye as they took a brief hiatus in the late 1980s. Their 1987 self-titled LP was a small American hit, their only LP to have significant sales there.

McCulloch quit the band in 1988. De Freitas was killed in a motorcycle accident one year later. The others decided to continue, recruiting Noel Burke to replace McCulloch on vocals in Reverberation (1990), which did not generate much excitement among fans or critics. Burke, Sargeant and Pattinson split after that, but the surviving three fourths of the original band reformed in 1997 and released Evergreen (1997), What are You Going to Do with Your Life? (1999), Flowers (2001) , Siberia (2005), and the latest addition, The Fountain (2009). The group's old audience liked the return to their classic sound, and they also managed to gain a number of new, younger listeners.

Echo and the Bunnymen were managed early on by Bill Drummond, who went on to be a founder member of The KLF.

All My Life
Echo & The Bunnymen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Oh how the times have changes us
Sure and now uncertain
Men not devils have claimed us
Purity deserting
God's one miracle
Lost in circles

All my all my life

Revolves around
Laughter and crying
As my life turns
Round and round

Cannon fire burning
On the hillside
You and I are side by side
Listen
Tin soldiers playing our tune

All my all my life
Revolves around
Laughter and crying
As my life turns
Round and round

Songs for life's lost lovers
Bitter sweet their healing
Their prayers prayed under covers
Need not kneeling
God's one miracle
Moves in circles

All my all my life
Revolves around
Laughter and crying
As my life turns
Round and round

All my all my life
Revolves around
Laughter and crying

As my life turns
Round and round

Overall Meaning

The opening lines of "All My Life" by Echo & The Bunnymen reflect on the changes in life that have affected the singer. The progression of time has brought about uncertainty and the actions of men have caused a loss of purity. The phrase "God's one miracle lost in circles" is a reference to the idea that the presence of the divine is still present, but it is difficult to recognize because of the chaos of the world. The central theme that runs throughout the song is the tumultuous nature of life, with its ups and downs of laughter and crying, and the singer's acknowledgement of this as a constant in their life.

The second verse of the song has a distinct nod to soldiers and war: "Cannon fire burning on the hillside / You and I are side by side / Listen / Tin soldiers playing our tune." The metaphor of soldiers playing a tune brings to mind the idea of soldiers marching in unison, with a sense of camaraderie that is almost musical. The juxtaposition of the image of soldiers and the idea of "cannon fire burning" emphasizes the violence and destruction of war. The singer's desire for companionship in the face of such violence is poignant and emphasizes the importance of human connection in difficult times.

Line by Line Meaning

Oh how the times have changes us
The passage of time has transformed us from what we used to be.

Sure and now uncertain
Although we were once confident, we are now filled with doubt and confusion.

Men not devils have claimed us
We have been possessed by men, not by demons.

Purity deserting
Our virtue is abandoning us.

God's one miracle
The only marvel that God has given us.

Lost in circles
We are trapped in a constant cycle with no escape.

All my all my life
Throughout the entirety of my existence.

Revolves around
Is centered on or focused on.

Laughter and crying
Both joyful and sorrowful emotions.

As my life turns
As my existence progresses.

Round and round
In a cyclical, unending pattern.