The two main members are vocalist Sonya Aurora Madan and guitarist Glenn Johansson. They briefly peaked during the Britpop craze of the mid-1990s with 2 UK Top 10 albums, 1994's everyone's got one and 1995's on.
Other albums include 1997's lustra, 2001's people are expensive and 2004's gravity pulls. A best-of compilation was released in 2002 called i can't imagine the world without me.
In 2008 a new best-of (simply entitled The Best Of Echobelly) has been released by SonyBMG while the band is working on new material.
For more information please visit www.echobelly.com or www.myspace.com/echobellymusic.
atom
Echobelly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A shame they took the sun away,
I could have done with some,
Today the world's a shade of blue,
Decidedly because of you,
Honey, I don't know why.
I've seen the sign, the silhouettes, the darker side,
I don't where I've fallen,
I don't where I've fallen,
Only one way to go,
I won't miss you.
Magic tales and pony tails and fingernails,
That should have been cleaned,
Yesterday, far away,
The memories swell,
The minutes fade,
Hours pass and decades fail,
Honey, I don't want to die.
And life is like unfaithful sand,
Slipping through this opened hand.
I don't where I've fallen,
I don't where I've fallen,
Only one way to go,
I won't miss you,
I won't miss you,
I won't miss you.
The first verse of Echobelly's "Atom" song paints a picture of a gray, sunken sky, and the singer expressing regret for the sun being taken away. The second line implies a sense of yearning for something to brighten up their day. However, the singer's mood remains blue because of someone else, someone who remains vague throughout the song. They have seen the sign and silhouettes, which could refer to certain behaviors, possibly questionable, exhibited by this person. The singer concludes by saying that they still know this person very well despite everything.
In the second verse, the lyrics continue with a reference to potentially innocent memories of childhood, of ponytails and fingernails, and how those memories bygone. The singer ponders about time, how the minutes fade and that decades go by fast. The singer acknowledges their fear of death, and how life is like unfaithful sand, slipping through their opened hand. The chorus repeats the phrase "I don't where I've fallen, only one way to go, I won't miss you" three times, with increasing intensity. These lines are repeated as a show of resolve or reassurance to the singer that they won't be mourning the loss of this person.
Line by Line Meaning
Sunken sky of silver gray,
The sky looks gloomy, like it's sinking and gray, possibly because the sun is not visible.
A shame they took the sun away,
It's unfortunate that the sun is not visible today and this could be why the sky looks so dull.
I could have done with some,
The person wishes the sun was out today, as it would have made their day better.
Today the world's a shade of blue,
The day feels sad or melancholic, possibly because of the absence of the sun.
Decidedly because of you,
The artist seems to attribute the melancholic mood to someone else, perhaps the person they are singing to or about.
Honey, I don't know why.
Despite the previous line, the singer honestly doesn't know why they feel melancholic.
I've seen the sign, the silhouettes, the darker side,
The singer has seen signs that their sadness may be related to something deeper or even sinister.
I know so well.
The artist recognizes the signs and possibly feels hopeless about their situation.
I don't know where I've fallen,
The person isn't sure when or how they hit rock bottom emotionally.
Only one way to go,
Despite not knowing how they got here, the person feels like there is only one way to move forward.
I won't miss you.
This line is repeated several times and could be directed towards the person who may have caused the singer's sadness.
Magic tales and pony tails and fingernails,
The artist is recalling things from the past that could have been enjoyable, but now just seem like faded memories.
That should have been cleaned,
Even though the memories from the past were good, there are still some things that could have been better, like taking care of their appearance or responsibilities in the past.
Yesterday, far away,
The singer is acknowledging that the past is now in the distant past and unattainable.
The memories swell,
The person seems to be overwhelmed by their memories of the past, possibly because they were happier times.
The minutes fade,
Time is moving on and the artist is recognizing that they cannot hold onto the past.
Hours pass and decades fail,
The artist is acknowledging that time is slipping away and that they may be running out of time to make things right in their life.
Honey, I don't want to die.
Death is usually associated with finality and the singer may not want their life to end without having achieved what they want.
And life is like unfaithful sand,
The singer is expressing their frustration that life constantly changes and that it is difficult to hold onto anything that is important to them.
Slipping through this opened hand.
The person feels like everything they try to hold onto is slipping away and they can't hold onto anything for long.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: GLEN MIKAEL JOHANSSON, SONYA AURORA MADAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@tedcantu1
I remember seeing this in Reckless Records in Chicago about a good 12 years ago -- I should have grabbed it, this single is awesome
@mhouseholter
I bought it at Reckless but 24 years ago!
@jrbgeog
Lovely song.
@AJ-ep9is
OMG. Where do I get to buy this beautiful song? I've looked everywhere but to no luck!
@AshMcAuliffe
A J you can find it on the CD single for Dark Therapy or there's the best of called I Can't Imagine The World Without Me. Also, they re-released "On" as a double disk package and it's on there too.