By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles - a moderate UK hit - the drum machine had been replaced by Pete de Freitas.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.
Forgiven
Echo & the Bunnymen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gave a love in vain
Sold it out for pennies
Saved up all my reign (rain)
What do you want from me
The ocean or the sea
The salt inside the rising tide
Tears you got from me
Got from me, yeah
One day I'll be ready
To take what could be mine
Everything I'd buried
I lay out on the line
What d'you want to see
The truth or mystery
A blinding light, a blackest night
They're both inside of me
Inside me
Inside me, yeah
I'm just one of many
Took a love in vain
Sold it out for pennies
Saved up all my reign (rain)
What d'you want from me
The truth or mystery
The salt inside the rising tide
Tears you got from me
Got from me
Got from me, yeah
I don't want to be forgiven
All I want is to be free
I know I'll never be forgiven
I know I'll never be free
The song "Forgiven" by Echo & the Bunnymen tells a story of a person who has given love in vain, as they feel that they have sold it out for pennies. The person knows that they have made a mistake and that they have been too cautious with their love, which has created a barrier between them and the person they love. The lyrics are written in a melancholic tone, and the person singing is introspective, trying to figure out what they want and what they need from their relationship.
The lyrics in "Forgiven" are ambiguous, leaving the listener to make their own interpretation of what the ocean, the sea, and the salt inside the rising tide might represent. The line "tears you got from me" is symbolic of the hurt and pain the person has experienced due to their guardedness with their emotions. The song concludes with the person acknowledging that they know they can't be forgiven, but all they want is to be free. They have come to terms with their past mistakes and want to move forward.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm just one of many
I am not unique
Gave a love in vain
I loved someone who didn't love me back
Sold it out for pennies
I settled for less than what I deserved
Saved up all my reign (rain)
I held onto my emotions and didn't express them
What do you want from me
What is it that you desire from me?
The ocean or the sea
Do you want something vast or something familiar?
The salt inside the rising tide
The pain experienced with strong emotions
Tears you got from me
The sorrow I shared with you
Got from me
Taken from me
One day I'll be ready
I am not ready yet
To take what could be mine
To claim what I deserve
Everything I'd buried
All of the emotions I've repressed
I lay out on the line
I am being vulnerable
What d'you want to see
What is it that you wish to witness?
The truth or mystery
Do you want to know the facts or the unknown?
A blinding light, a blackest night
Extreme emotions, whether positive or negative
They're both inside of me
I have experienced both of these things
Inside me
Part of me
I'm just one of many
I am not unique
Took a love in vain
I loved someone who didn't love me back
Sold it out for pennies
I settled for less than what I deserved
Saved up all my reign (rain)
I held onto my emotions and didn't express them
What d'you want from me
The truth or mystery
Do you want to know the facts or the unknown?
The salt inside the rising tide
The pain experienced with strong emotions
Tears you got from me
The sorrow I shared with you
Got from me
Taken from me
I don't want to be forgiven
I don't need someone else's absolution
All I want is to be free
I want to escape my emotional burdens
I know I'll never be forgiven
I don't need someone else's absolution
I know I'll never be free
I am not able to escape my emotional burdens
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HARLIN JAMES, CLAV, HANNAH THERESA WILDES, MARLA A. ALTSCHULER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
the cat 96
My fav "Evergreen" song. So beautiful 💜
Gerardo Chávez
I'm just one of many
Gave a love in vain
Sold it out for pennies
Saved up all my reign (rain)
What do you want from me
The ocean or the sea
The salt inside the rising tide
Tears you got from me
Got from me
Got from me, yeah
One day I'll be ready
To take what could be mine
Everything I'd buried
I lay out on the line
What d'you want to see
The truth or mystery
A blinding light, a blackest night
They're both inside of me
Inside me
Inside me, yeah
I'm just one of many
Took a love in vain
Sold it out for pennies
Saved up all my reign (rain)
What d'you want from me
The truth or mystery
The salt inside the rising tide
Tears you got from me
Got from me
Got from me, yeah
I don't want to be forgiven
All I want is to be free
I know I'll never be forgiven
I know I'll never be free
Juan RamÃrez
I love Echo & the Bunnymen, but this is a blatant plagiarism of R.E.M.'s Find the River.
Hugh Manne
similar, but different. both good. blatant plagiarism? nah. no judge would convict. cheers.