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By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles - a moderate UK hit - the drum machine had been replaced by Pete de Freitas.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.

Pictures on My Wall
Echo & the Bunnymen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Can you hear it?
The sound of
Something burning
Something changing
On the merry-go-round
Tonight

The pictures on my wall

Are about to swing and fall
Love it all
Love it all

Ooh, we should have
Should have got it right
Ooh, we should have
Should have got it right
Tonight

People come
I count everyone
Faces burning
Hearts beating
Nowhere left for us
To run

The pictures on my wall
Are about to swing and fall
Love it all
Love it all

Ooh, we should have
Should have got it right
Ooh, we should have
Should have got it right
Tonight

Can you hear it?
The sound of
Someone thinking
Someone thinking
On the merry-go-round
Tonight

The pictures on my wall
Are about to swing and fall
Love it all

Don't you just love it
All

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Echo & the Bunnymen's song "Pictures on My Wall" are filled with imagery reflecting change, chaos, and an impending sense of something about to fall apart. The first verse describes the sound of something burning and changing on a merry-go-round, symbolizing the idea of constant motion and the ephemeral nature of youth and innocence. The refrain speaks to the imminent collapse of stability as the pictures on the wall are about to swing and fall, representing the loss of something once cherished or stable. The line "love it all" suggests an acceptance or even enjoyment of chaos and ambiguity.

The second verse continues to paint a picture of impending doom, with the singer counting the faces of people around them while they are trapped with nowhere left to run. This speaks to the idea of being caught in a moment that is beyond their control, and the inevitability of change. The repeated refrain of "should have got it right" reflects a sense of regret or missed opportunities, a sentiment often associated with nostalgia for the past. The final verse returns to the imagery of the merry-go-round, with someone thinking as the ride continues on, suggesting a sense of introspection and temptation to look back and reminisce.

Overall, "Pictures on My Wall" is a song that captures a moment in time when things are about to fall apart, and the singer is left grappling with the inevitability of change and the fleeting nature of youth and stability.

Line by Line Meaning

Can you hear it?
Do you perceive or detect it?

The sound of
Aural sensation that reaches through the ears of the listener

Something burning
An object or area is being consumed by fire or flames

Something changing
An alteration is taking place, which could be for better or worse

On the merry-go-round
The circular ride that rotates around a central axis

Tonight
On the present evening, after nightfall

The pictures on my wall
The visual representations of objects or persons mounted or affixed to a vertical surface for decoration or display

Are about to swing and fall
The pictures will move and drop from their current position

Love it all
Fondness for everything that occurs or is within sight

Ooh, we should have
An exclamation of regret is expressed

Should have got it right
An idea that a different decision or action could have made things better

Tonight
On the present evening, after nightfall

People come
Human beings arrive or enter an area or building

I count everyone
Each person is numbered or reckoned

Faces burning
The skin of the face is red or hot to the touch

Hearts beating
The muscles that pump blood throughout the body are active

Nowhere left for us
There is no location available or suitable for us

To run
To move at a quicker pace from one location to another

Can you hear it?
Do you perceive or detect it?

The sound of
Aural sensation that reaches through the ears of the listener

Someone thinking
An individual is pondering or considering an idea or situation

On the merry-go-round
The circular ride that rotates around a central axis

Tonight
On the present evening, after nightfall

The pictures on my wall
The visual representations of objects or persons mounted or affixed to a vertical surface for decoration or display

Are about to swing and fall
The pictures will move and drop from their current position

Love it all
Fondness for everything that occurs or is within sight

Don't you just love it
An appeal to the listener's admiration or approval for the situation described

All
Refers to everything or everyone that is in the current space or situation

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IAN STEPHEN MCCULLOCH, LESLIE THOMAS PATTINSON, PETE DE FREITAS, WILLIAM SERGEANT

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS