By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles - a moderate UK hit - the drum machine had been replaced by Pete de Freitas.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.
Lost and Found
Echo & the Bunnymen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Under sliver studded skies
In a forest burning ashes
On the bonfires of our lives
As the sky fell down
I was lost and found
Saw my world spin round
Round and round
Come to tell me of a change
In the darkness that surrounds me
I am falling down again
On this haunted ground
I was lost and found
Lost
Lost and found
Lost
Lost and found
She will tell you her cathedral
Has no windows and no doors
And you know she doesn't need you
And that's why you want her more
As your heart melts down
You are lost and found
Lost
Lost and found
Lost
Lost and found
Lost
Lost and found
Lost
Lost not found
I was counting all the tombstones
Of the buried boys and girls
As the wind blew in like ice
And froze this cemetery world
And we all fell down
We were lost and found
And the sun went down
We were lost and found
Lost
Lost and found
Lost
Lost and found
Lost
Lost and found
Lost
Lost and found
Lost
Lost and found
Lost
Lost and found
The lyrics to Echo & the Bunnymen's "Lost and Found" describe a surreal and haunting experience in a forest during which the singer feels lost and found at the same time. The opening lines suggest a sense of isolation and desperation as the singer is standing alone under the stars in a forest that is burning to ashes. The sky falling down can be interpreted as a sense of collapse both of the physical and the emotional world. However, the singer is also found in the midst of all this darkness, implying a sense of hope or purpose. The ghosts that gather around the singer suggest a sense of acknowledgement of the past and the inevitability of change.
As the lyrics progress, the singer is still lost and found. The character is still dealing with darkness, but there are moments of light that shine through. The "cathedral" mentioned in the lyrics serves as a metaphor for a woman who doesn't need the singer, but that only makes the singer want her more. As the singer's heart "melts down," they are lost and found once again. The final lines refer to all the "buried boys and girls" which suggest a traumatic experience like war or plague. The sun going down is similar to the earlier image of the sky falling, but the fact that the characters are lost and found once again suggests that there is still hope even in these dark moments.
Line by Line Meaning
I was standing
The singer was in a specific place
Under sliver studded skies
The sky was clear and decorated with stars
In a forest burning ashes
The singer was in a forest that was on fire or had recently been on fire
On the bonfires of our lives
The fire in the forest represents the events and actions that make up people's lives
As the sky fell down
Something catastrophic had occurred
I was lost and found
The singer experienced something that led them to feel lost and then found again
Saw my world spin round
The singer's perception of their world changed
Round and round
This phrase emphasizes the cyclical nature of existence
All the ghosts have gathered round me
The artist perceives spirits or remnants of the past around them
Come to tell me of a change
The spirits are conveying to the artist that there is change occurring
In the darkness that surrounds me
The singer feels like they are in a dark, uncertain time
I am falling down again
The artist has experienced similar struggles before
On this haunted ground
The setting is eerie and unsettling
She will tell you her cathedral
There is a person being introduced
Has no windows and no doors
The person is unconventional
And you know she doesn't need you
The artist recognizes that this person is independent
And that's why you want her more
The artist is attracted to this person's independence and lack of dependence on them
As your heart melts down
The singer's emotions are intense and overwhelming
You are lost and found
The singer is experiencing a tumultuous internal struggle
Lost
The artist is feeling lost, confused, and uncertain
Lost and found
The artist feels lost at times but also finds moments of clarity and understanding
She will tell you her cathedral
Repetition of earlier line
Has no windows and no doors
Repetition of earlier line
And you know she doesn't need you
Repetition of earlier line
And that's why you want her more
Repetition of earlier line
Lost
Repetition of earlier line
Lost and found
Repetition of earlier line
Lost
Repetition of earlier line
Lost and found
Repetition of earlier line
Lost
Repetition of earlier line
Lost and found
Repetition of earlier line
Lost
Repetition of earlier line
Lost and found
Repetition of earlier line
I was counting all the tombstones
The artist is now in a different setting
Of the buried boys and girls
The graves belong to young people who have died
As the wind blew in like ice
The weather is cold and unpleasant
And froze this cemetery world
The setting feels lifeless and cold
And we all fell down
Something negative occurred
We were lost and found
The situation caused the singer to feel lost and then found again
And the sun went down
The day ends
We were lost and found
Repetition of earlier line
Lost
Repetition of earlier line
Lost and found
Repetition of earlier line
Lost
Repetition of earlier line
Lost and found
Repetition of earlier line
Lost
Repetition of earlier line
Lost and found
Repetition of earlier line
Lost
Repetition of earlier line
Lost and found
Repetition of earlier line
Lost
Repetition of earlier line
Lost and found
Repetition of earlier line
Lost
The artist continues to feel lost
Lost and found
Repetition of earlier line
Lyrics © TuneCore Inc., Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LESLIE THOMAS PATTINSON, IAN STEPHEN MCCULLOCH, WILLIAM SERGEANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind