By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles - a moderate UK hit - the drum machine had been replaced by Pete de Freitas.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.
Parthenon Drive
Echo & the Bunnymen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Must have been just five
Five parts alive
On Parthenon Drive
Pencils and pen-knives
On Parthenon Drive
Into an eight
And you made me wait
At the garden gate
And you were always late
When I was eight
Clocks hit twelve
And dreams will fall
Off my shelves
And off my walls
Turned into
A twenty two
And airplanes flew
When I was twenty two
And growing pains grew
When I was twenty two
Spinning round a thirty three
Trying to find
The worth in me
Yeah trying to find
Gave all the earth to be
Clocks hit twelve
And dreams will fall
Off my shelves
And off my walls
Revolving round
A forty five
Glad to be alive
Around a forty five
Yeah glad to be alive
Around a forty five
Here I am
The age of five
Five parts alive
On Parthenon Drive
Glad to be alive
From Parthenon Drive
The lyrics in Echo & the Bunnymen's song "Parthenon Drive" are full of nostalgia and memories from the past. The first stanza takes the listener back to the singer's childhood on Parthenon Drive, where they remember being just five years old and feeling "five parts alive". They reminiscence about the simple things from their childhood, like pencils and pen-knives. The second stanza talks about growing up and waiting for someone who was always late, while dreaming and hoping for the future. The clocks continue to tick, and dreams are shattered, but the singer keeps searching for their worth. In the final stanza, the singer comes full circle and ends where they began - on Parthenon Drive, glad to be alive.
The lyrics in "Parthenon Drive" evoke a lot of emotion and trigger a feeling of nostalgia for the listener. The song offers a glimpse into the singer's childhood memories while also touching on the larger themes of growing up, waiting, and dreaming. The vibrant and vivid lyrics serve as an invitation to take a trip down memory lane and reflect on one's own life experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
There I am
I exist and am present in this moment
Must have been just five
I believe I was only five years old at the time
Five parts alive
I am fully alive and present in five different ways
On Parthenon Drive
Located on the street named Parthenon Drive
Pencils and pen-knives
School supplies commonly used at that age
Years turned
Time has passed
Into an eight
I became eight years old
And you made me wait
You were not on time and I had to wait for you
At the garden gate
Waiting for you at the entrance of the garden
And you were always late
You were consistently not on time
When I was eight
At the age of eight
Clocks hit twelve
It became midnight
And dreams will fall
My dreams and aspirations may not come to fruition
Off my shelves
My dreams and aspirations are represented by things on my shelves
And off my walls
My dreams and aspirations are represented by things on my walls
Turned into
Transformed into
A twenty two
I became twenty-two years old
And airplanes flew
I witnessed airplanes flying in the sky
When I was twenty two
At the age of twenty-two
And growing pains grew
I experienced both physical and emotional discomfort as I became an adult
Spinning round a thirty three
My life is now revolving around the age of thirty-three
Trying to find
Attempting to discover
The worth in me
My sense of self-worth and value as a person
Yeah trying to find
Yes, I am still trying to discover this about myself
Gave all the earth to be
I am willing to do anything to find my self-worth and value
Revolving round
My life is still revolving around
A forty five
Now I am forty-five years old
Glad to be alive
I am happy to still be alive
Here I am
I am present and here in this moment
The age of five
I am five years old
Glad to be alive
I am grateful for my life
From Parthenon Drive
Originating from the street named Parthenon Drive
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: IAN STEPHEN MCCULLOCH, WILLIAM SERGEANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind