By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles - a moderate UK hit - the drum machine had been replaced by Pete de Freitas.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.
Show of Strength
Echo & the Bunnymen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's hard to dig it all too happily
But I can see
It's not always that real to me
A funny thing
Is always a funny thing
Though sadly things
Just get in the way
Open to suggestion
Falling over questions
Hopefully
But that's as well as maybe
A shaking hand
Won't transmit all fidelity
Your stalwart smile
Would shame a politician
Typically
I'll apologise next time
Bonds will break and fade
Go snapping all in two
The lies that bind the tie
Come sailing out of you
Realistically,
Hard to dig it all too happily
But I can see,
Not always that real to me
A funny thing
Is always a funny thing
And those sadly things
Is always a sadly thing
Bonds will break and fade
A snapping all in two
The lies that bind the tie
Come sailing out of you
A show of strength
Is all you want
You can never set it down...
Guts and passion
Those things you can't
Even set down
All those things you think might count
You can't ever set them down
Don't ever set them down
Never set them down
Hey, I came in right on cue
One is me and one is you...
Hey, I came in right on cue
One is me and one is you...
In "Show of Strength," Echo & the Bunnymen's lead singer, Ian McCulloch, contemplates the fleeting nature of reality and how it's difficult to fully engage with it. He acknowledges that some things, like humor, are subjective and vary from person to person. He also recognizes that life can get in the way of truly experiencing things that are important to us. Despite his reservations, he remains open to suggestion and willing to learn new things. He feels a sense of shame or guilt for not fully committing to important things, such as fidelity or apologizing when necessary.
Line by Line Meaning
Realistically, it's hard to dig it all, too happily
Admittedly, it's difficult to fully embrace everything with unbridled joy
But I can see it's not always that real to me
Despite this, I recognize that some aspects don't feel authentic to my experience
A funny thing is always a funny thing
Humor will still be humor, regardless of personal perspective
And though sadly things just get in the way
Unfortunately, life circumstances can impede on our enjoyment
Open to suggestion
Willing to consider alternative viewpoints
Falling over questions
Becoming overwhelmed or unsure when faced with unknowns
Hopefully but that's as well as maybe
Optimistic but uncertain
A shaking hand won't transmit all fidelity
Trembling hands cannot convey complete honesty
And your golden smile would shame a politician
Your charming persona rivals that of a politician's practiced smile
Typically, I'll apologize next time
Usually, I'll say sorry at a later point
Bonds will break and fade
Emotional connections will weaken and eventually dissolve
Go snapping all in two
They can be abruptly severed
The lies that bind the tie
The falsehoods that hold the relationship together
Come sailing out of you
Emerge and become exposed
Show of strength, is all you want
You desire a demonstration of power
You can never set it down
This desire for strength is perpetual
Guts and passion
Courage and fervor
Those things you can't even set down
You cannot even relinquish these qualities
Don't ever set down, won't ever set down
Never let go of them
Hey, I came in right on cue
I arrived at the perfect moment
One is me and one is you
We are two distinct individuals
Hey, I came in right on cue
I arrived at the perfect moment
One is me and one is you
We are two distinct individuals
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IAN STEPHEN MCCULLOCH, LESLIE PATTINSON, PETE FREITAS, WILLIAM SERGEANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@beefheart1410
"Heaven Up Here" is an absolutely amazing album from start to finish. "A Show Of Strength" is one of the greatest opening numbers on any album by anyone. Everything from the astoundingly apposite sleeve design (inclusive of the inner bag) and Brian Griffin's stunning photography works in unison and is one of those albums to show to the "download generation" as demonstration of how the art work can be essential to the appreciation of the music itself.
I absolutely loved The Bunnymen at the time as a teenager and still think their work between 1978 and 1984 is up there with the very best. I do love the "Crocodiles" era but, for myself, the "Heaven Up Here" period is their very best followed by the "Porcupine" era.
I do like the "Ocean Rain" era material but it doesn't reach the peaks of the first three albums (and singles from the period) for me.
The eponymous album was just "ok" for my taste but they'd pretty much lost it to me from then on.
They should have stayed split up after that. Anything I've heard by them since reforming has been pedestrian in the extreme and McCulloch (my biggest hero in the early 80s) has seemingly turned into the complete antithesis of what he was as a young man (in much the same way John Lydon became consistently and progressively more awful each month that passed post 1982).
In essence, they were one of the greatest of the Post Punk bands; a genre they helped originate and define. They were really good for the album that they followed up the Post Punk era with,: Ocean Rain", but, by and large, pretty rubbish following that.
This here then, is the band - and McCulloch - at one moment during the glorious and essential two to three year peak they both created and, in part, embodied. Watch, listen and enjoy.
@mnmlstellar
🖤🖤🖤
#lyrics
Realistically, it's hard to dig it all, too happily
But I can see it's not always that real to me
A funny thing is always a funny thing
And though sadly things just get in the way
Open to suggestion
Falling over questions
Hopefully but that's as well as maybe
A shaking hand won't transmit all fidelity
And your golden smile would shame a politician
Typically, I'll apologize next time
Bonds will break and fade
Go snapping all in two
The lies that bind the tie
Come sailing out of you
Bonds will break and fade
Go snapping all in two
The lies that bind the tie
Come sailing out of you
Show of strength, is all you want
You can never set it down
Guts and passion
Those things you can't even set down
Don't ever set down, won't ever set down
Hey, I came in right on cue
One is me and one is you
Hey, I came in right on cue
One is me and one is you
@escherichiacoli6702
Realistically
It's hard to dig it all too happily
But I can see
It's not always that real to me
A funny thing
Is always a funny thing
Though sadly things
Just get in the way
Open to suggestion
Falling over questions
Hopefully
But that's as well as maybe
A shaking hand
Won't transmit all fidelity
Your stalwart smile
Would shame a politician
Typically
I'll apologise next time
Bonds will break and fade
Go snapping all in two
The lies that bind the tie
Come sailing out of you
Realistically,
Hard to dig it all too happily
But I can see,
Not always that real to me
A funny thing
Is always a funny thing
And those sadly things
Is always a sadly thing
Bonds will break and fade
A snapping all in two
The lies that bind the tie
Come sailing out of you
A show of strength
Is all you want
You can never set it down...
Guts and passion
Those things you can't
Even set down
All those things you think might count
You can't ever set them down
Don't ever set them down
Never set them down
Hey, I came in right on cue
One is me and one is you...
Hey, I came in right on cue
One is me and one is you...
@michaelmurphy2330
A tragedy for the Bunnymen when Pete died at a really young age, so integral to their wonderful sound, those four guys were a formidable unit.. I really loved the five albums from 1980 - 87,
@ZeldaFitz
The Bunnymen are Will, Les, Ian & Pete. Nothing else is the same.
@danielscissorhands
Pete died on this day in 1989. R.I.P.
@RobinParmar
So glad I got to see them play this together.
@JODIDO84
After 39 years, I am still enjoying "Heaven Up Here", a timeless album...!!!
@versioncity1
Yep, it really stands up. Their finest moment in my opinion.
@johntowle
@@versioncity1 Same here mate you can't get better than band.
@JODIDO84
@John Smith Welcome to the club then... !
@zelzahi7995
Ocean Rain will always be right there with The Beatles and Rolling Stones.’c Led Zeppelin greatest. They deserve the same.
@c.anderson3444
@@versioncity1 First 3 song on Heaven epitomize everything they've ever recorded.