By the time of their debut album, 1980's Crocodiles - a moderate UK hit - the drum machine had been replaced by Pete de Freitas.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.
Zimbo
Echo & the Bunnymen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you know I'm not coming down
You're trying
But you know you must soon go down
All my colours
Turn to clouds
All my colours
Turn to cloud
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
What d'you say
When your heart's in pieces
How to play
Those cards in sequence
That box you gave me
Burned nicely
That box you gave me
Burned nicely
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Flying down
Flying down
All my colours
Turn to clouds
All my colours
Turn to cloud
Hey I'm flowing
Hey I'm flowing
That box you gave me
Burned nicely
That box you gave me
Burned nicely
Hey I've flown away
Hey I've flown away
All my colours
The song "Zimbo" by Echo & the Bunnymen is a hypnotic and dream-like exploration of the fleeting nature of life and the search for meaning in the face of mortality. The lyrics describe a sense of floating, of being lifted out of the everyday world and into a state of elevated awareness. The singer is flying, but he knows that he must come back to earth eventually, that all things are impermanent and subject to change.
The repetition of the word "Zimbo" creates a kind of mantra, emphasizing the cyclical nature of existence and the inevitability of death. The singer is grappling with complex emotions, trying to make sense of his feelings even as they slip away from him. The box that he was given has burned, representing the loss of something precious and irreplaceable. But even as he mourns what he has lost, the singer is also experiencing a sense of freedom and release, as he lets go of his old self and embraces the unknown.
Overall, "Zimbo" is a haunting and poetic meditation on the transience of life and the search for meaning in an uncertain world. The lyrics, with their dreamy symbolism and evocative imagery, capture the sense of disorientation and wonder that comes with experiencing the sublime.
Line by Line Meaning
Flying
I am soaring high without any intention of coming down
And you know I'm not coming down
My flight is going to be uninterrupted and prolonged
You're trying
You are attempting to keep up with me
But you know you must soon go down
But you can't keep up forever, unlike me
All my colours
All of the things that characterize me
Turn to clouds
Are beginning to dissolve and disappear
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
A chant that is expressing an inner turmoil of sorts
What d'you say
What is your response
When your heart's in pieces
When your emotions are scattered and unmanageable
How to play
What strategy to employ
Those cards in sequence
How to organize the elements in a logical progression
That box you gave me
A symbolic object that has significance
Burned nicely
Ended up being destroyed in a satisfactory way
Hey I'm flowing
I am still moving without restraint
Hey I've flown away
I have escaped and am no longer bound
Flying down
Coming back to the earth below
All my colours turn to cloud
Everything that I had previously identified with is now dissipated and gone
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IAN STEPHEN MCCULLOCH, LESLIE THOMAS PATTINSON, PETE DE FREITAS, WILLIAM ALFRED SERGEANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Helen Wong
Flying
And you know I'm not coming down
You're trying
But you know you must soon go down
All my colours
Turn to clouds
All my colours
Turn to cloud
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
What d'you say
When your heart's in pieces
How to play
Those cards in sequence
That box you gave me
Burned nicely
That box you gave me
Burned nicely
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo…
Canal do Berga
27 years, the life really isn't fair sometimes. God bless him.
Beelzebubbbbles
A tribute to the late Pete De Freitas, RIP. An awesome drummer, and very nice person to boot.
Paul john pinky Bennett
Such a haunting song, fittingly. My best band of my youthful days, the best days of my life. What memories all their albums gave me is phenomenal. Ever lasting impression. Flying down 👇.
dizzypuppy
Loved this comment. Exactly how I've felt all along listening to the Bunnymen.
Brandt C.
What an amazing version of an incredibly deep and beautiful song. RIP Pete.
Peter Shields
The Bunnymen were simply incomparable. They will live forever because of their music - long after some of the hyped so called superbands are but a distant memory. I saw them many times in the early 80's and they moved me like no other band before or since. Pete*
Nicky D
This is truly amazing clip - thanks for posting. I too listen to them EVERYDAY and never get bored. They are a great band. No one sounds like the Bunnymen!
Miles Oakley
Ethereal; elegiac; pure Echo.😢 Seems an eternity ago that this song was released; but is timeless and will echo down the ages.
peterpuck365
Probably one of the best songs ever.
Helen Wong
Flying
And you know I'm not coming down
You're trying
But you know you must soon go down
All my colours
Turn to clouds
All my colours
Turn to cloud
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
What d'you say
When your heart's in pieces
How to play
Those cards in sequence
That box you gave me
Burned nicely
That box you gave me
Burned nicely
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo zimbo
Zimbo zimbo…