Reader was born in Glasgow, the daughter of a welder, and the eldest of seven children (her brother, Francis, is vocalist with the band The Trash Can Sinatras). She began playing the guitar at the age of ten, and started her musical career busking, first in Glasgow's Sauchiehall Street, then in the early 1980s around Europe (where she also worked with circus and performance artists).
Back in Scotland, she joined the punk band Gang of Four as a backing singer which led to her first US tour. After leaving the band she started working as a session vocalist in London, singing with such acts as Eurythmics, Alison Moyet and Language.
In 1984, Reader sang for a brief time with disco group Outbar Squeek. Around the same time she teamed up with Mark E. Nevin, a guitarist and songwriter, to record a few of his songs. They subsequently formed Fairground Attraction, together with Simon Edwards and Roy Dodds. In 1988 the band released their first single, Perfect, which became a UK number one, winning best single at the 1989 Brit Awards. Their first album, The First of a Million Kisses, was also a success, reaching number two in the UK album chart, and winning best album at the 1989 Brit Awards.
This success was short-lived, however. In November, 1989, after a break, during which Reader had her first child, Charlie with her French-Algerian partner Milou, Mark Nevin abandoned a recording session for the second album, which would eventually lead to the splitting of the band. A makeshift second album, a collection of B-sides and live tracks, Ay Fond Kiss was rushed out the following year.
Reader returned to Scotland, but before she embarked on her solo career she took a temporary detour into acting. She played Jolene Jowett, a singer and accordionist, in John Byrne's Your Cheatin' Heart, a comedy-drama series for BBC television, set in the country music scene in Scotland.
Returning to London, Reader worked on new material with a backing band calling itself "The Patron Saints of Imperfection" (made up of Roy Dodds, Neill and Calum MacColl, and Phil Steriopoulos). This became her first solo album, recorded for RCA: 1992's Mirmama. It was followed by Eddi Reader (1994), which won her the "Best female singer" Brit Award that year, Candyfloss and Medicine (1996), Angels & Electricity (1998), Simple Soul (2001) and Driftwood (2002) - a "homegrown" release of songs recorded during the Simple Soul sessions.
In 2003, she recorded her album of material by Robert Burns with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra leading to excellent reviews and an international resurgence in interest in Scotland's Bard.
The Song "Bell Book And Candle" was included in the final soundtrack of the TV show by WB "Charmed", The name of the disc is "Charmed: The Final Chapter".
In the 2006 New Years Honours List, Reader was awarded the MBE for services to music.
Her eighth studio album Peacetime was released in the UK on 29 January 2007 on the Rough Trade label. Critically praised and produced by fellow Scottish folk musician John McCusker the album features a few Burns songs alongside brand new material with longtime collaborator Boo Hewerdine and Trashcan Sinatras' John Douglas. Reader promoted the album with a 15 date UK tour in February.
Postcard
Eddi Reader Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From a far and lonely sea
A dancer and a mandolin
They looked like you and me
I've been awake for hours and hours
I should be fast asleep
I lost the place and out it fell
Your postcard from the beach
Sometimes when I'm talking to myself
I'll swear it's all a dream
November babies and northern winds
The scars you said I'd keep
But if you'd never come here
You'd never have had to leave
And all the bones upon the beach
They all sung out to me
Grab it into your hands
Don't let go and grab it
But look the way it curls
Out of your fingers
I used to wish I was the cigarette
Inside your mouth
You'd roll me up and breathe me in
But then you'd blow me out
And I would float and curl my way
A vapour trail the end of me
All that's left a place that's kept
Your postcard from the sea
The song “Postcard” by Eddi Reader has evocative lyrics that describe loneliness, longing, and memories of a loved one who is far away. The sender receives a pretty postcard from someone who is in a far-off and lonely sea. The postcard has an image of a dancer and a mandolin player who look like the sender and the recipient. The recipient has been awake for hours and should be asleep, but the postcard has created feelings of nostalgia and loss that are difficult to shake.
The lyrics suggest that the sender of the postcard has left an indelible impression on the recipient, as they still find themselves talking to themselves at times and believing that the sender is present with them. Time has passed since the sender came into the recipient’s life, but the memories of their shared moments are still vivid. The lyrics also explore the idea that maybe the sender wouldn’t have left if they had never come to this place. The imagery of “all the bones upon the beach” and how they sing the recipient’s name reveals how physical objects in the world can serve as reminders of someone we’ve lost or left behind.
In summary, “Postcard” is a song that communicates the essence of missing someone who used to be present in the singer’s life. Eddi Reader’s voice is haunting, and the song has a sense of melancholia that hits right in the heart.
Line by Line Meaning
You sent a pretty postcard
The addressee received a beautiful postcard
From a far and lonely sea
The postcard was sent from a distant and isolated location
A dancer and a mandolin
The postcard contained an image of a dancing figure and a musical instrument
They looked like you and me
The dancing figure and mandolin resembled the sender and recipient
I've been awake for hours and hours
The recipient has been unable to sleep for a long time
I should be fast asleep
The recipient wishes to be sleeping instead of awake
I lost the place and out it fell
The recipient misplaced the postcard and it fell out of their possession
Your postcard from the beach
The postcard was from a beach location and belonged to the sender
Sometimes when I'm talking to myself
The recipient often talks to themselves
I'll swear it's all a dream
The recipient questions the reality of their experiences
November babies and northern winds
The sender mentioned memories of November and cold winds
The scars you said I'd keep
The sender referred to physical or emotional scars the recipient would be left with
But if you'd never come here
If the recipient had not visited a certain place
You'd never have had to leave
The recipient wouldn't have had to experience the pain of leaving if they had not gone in the first place
And all the bones upon the beach
The postcard's image may have shown bones on the beach
They all sung out to me
The postcard image seemed to speak to the recipient
Grab it into your hands
The recipient is urged to hold on tightly to the postcard
Don't let go and grab it
The recipient is encouraged to hold onto the memory represented by the postcard
But look the way it curls
The postcard paper may be curling and damaged
Out of your fingers
The postcard may be slipping from the recipient's grip
I used to wish I was the cigarette
The recipient once wished to be the cigarette smoked by the sender
Inside your mouth
The recipient wanted to be inside the sender's mouth with the cigarette
You'd roll me up and breathe me in
The recipient idealized being consumed by the sender
But then you'd blow me out
The recipient realizes the fleeting nature of their desire
And I would float and curl my way
If the recipient was smoke, they would float and curl around the sender
A vapour trail the end of me
The recipient's existence would be defined by a trail of smoke
All that's left a place that's kept
The postcard serves as a reminder of the sender and their relationship with the recipient
Your postcard from the sea
The postcard was sent from a seaside location and is a poignant symbol for the recipient
Contributed by Jordan F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
truthtrumpsdumbness
Fantastic - I once asked Eddi before a gig why she didn't include this magnificent song in her live set .......she had never learnt all the words, she replied. She is a charming, lovely person and her gigs are unmissable