By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles - a moderate UK hit - the drum machine had been replaced by Pete de Freitas.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.
Over You
Echo & the Bunnymen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Take the call
Were you pushed
Or did you fall?
Fell apart
Feeling low
Happy ride
And I always hear them singing
And complaining about the world
But my chiming bells are ringing out
The word the word the word
Love rebounds
Heart goes snap
Is she ever
Coming back?
Let her down
Break her fall
Never ever
Felt so small
And I always hear them singing
And complaining about the world
And my chiming bells are ringing out
The word the word the word
Feeling good again
Always hoped I would
Never believed
That I ever could
Felling blue again
Never wanted to
Under the weather
And it's over you
Over you (the hole in the holy)
(and the crack in our hearts)
Over you (it's love and love only)
(that sets our world apart)
Over you (worlds apart)
(joined at the heart)
Jump right in
Take the call
Were you pushed
Or did you fall?
Fell apart
Feeling low
Happy ride
The merry-go
And I always hear them singing
And complaining about the world
And my chiming bells are ringing out
The word the word the word
(repeat) feeling good again...
Over you (the hole in the holy)
(and the crack in our hearts)
Over you (it's love and love only)
(the sets our worlds apart)
(repeat) feeling good again...
Over you (and a dream is a means)
(to an end of the things)
Over you (that will tempt you away)
(from the path to the true way in)
(repeat) feeling good again...
Over you
Over you
In this song, Echo & the Bunnymen frontman Ian McCulloch sings about the mixture of emotions that come with falling in and out of love. The questions of whether the subject of his affection was pushed or if they fell into the situation is a metaphor for the uncertainty of their relationship. He also refers to the ups and downs of love as a “merry-go-round”, which can be both fun and dizzying. The line “Love rebounds, heart goes snap” is a powerful image of the impact of love on a heart.
McCulloch then sings about the pain of letting someone down and the feeling of being small when they fall. The repetition of the phrase “the word, the word, the word” suggests that he is trying to articulate something about love that is difficult to verbalize. The chorus emphasizes that the feelings associated with a past love can linger long after it is over, and can affect future relationships. McCulloch uses the metaphor of a hole in the holy and the crack in our hearts, suggesting that even when we have healed from the pain of lost love, the memory will always be a part of us.
Line by Line Meaning
Jump right in
Take a risk and dive into the situation
Take the call
Answer the phone call and listen to the message
Were you pushed
Did someone force you into this situation?
Or did you fall?
Did you come into this situation on your own free will?
Fell apart
Broke down emotionally
Feeling low
Not feeling your best and down about yourself
Happy ride
A joyful or exciting time
The merry-go
A metaphor that compares life to a carousel ride
And I always hear them singing
The artist is aware of others constantly complaining about the world
And complaining about the world
These individuals are vocal in their issues with the state of things
But my chiming bells are ringing out
The singer is counteracting the negativity of others with the positive impact they have
The word the word the word
This positivity is conveyed through a single word
Love rebounds
The singer is experiencing feelings of love again
Heart goes snap
However, this happiness is short-lived and the singer's heart is breaking again
Is she ever
The singer is questioning if their love interest will ever return
Coming back?
The artist is unsure if their love will come back to them
Let her down
The artist feels responsible for letting their love interest down
Break her fall
The singer wants to protect their love interest from experiencing negative emotions
Never ever
The singer has never felt this small before
Felt so small
The artist feels insignificant and powerless
Feeling good again
The artist is experiencing happiness again
Always hoped I would
The artist has always wished for this happiness
Never believed
The singer never thought this happiness was possible
That I ever could
The artist never thought they could be happy again
Felling blue again
The singer is experiencing sadness again
Never wanted to
The singer did not choose to feel this way
Under the weather
The singer is feeling unwell, both physically and mentally
And it's over you
The artist is feeling these emotions because of their love interest
Over you
The artist is plagued by thoughts of their love interest
(the hole in the holy)
A religious metaphor that suggests something is missing or incomplete
(and the crack in our hearts)
The love interest has caused pain and damage to the singer's heart
(it's love and love only)
Despite the pain, the artist still believes that love is the most important thing
(that sets our world apart)
Love separates us from others and makes us unique
(worlds apart)
The artist and their love interest feel disconnected from each other
(joined at the heart)
Despite this disconnect, the singer believes that their love is still strong
Over you (and a dream is a means)
A person's dream can be a way to escape the pain of missing someone
(to an end of the things)
A dream can help bring closure to a situation and help someone move on
Over you (that will tempt you away)
Missing someone can be all-consuming and can hold someone back from moving on
(from the path to the true way in)
However, the singer believes that there is a path to true happiness and fulfillment
Over you
The artist is expressing their continued emotions towards their love interest
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LESLIE THOMAS PATTINSON, IAN STEPHEN MCCULLOCH, WILLIAM SERGEANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind