Song
The song opens with the line:
I've been working on a cocktail, called grounds for divorce
Uncut magazine said it was "surely one of the best opening lines of any pop song in years" and NME compared it to something James Bond might say "this is kind of glorious one-liner he’d mutter before taking the bad guys down and then smooching a lofty Eastern European countess." The lyrics tell a story of excessive drinking in the local pub, ("There's a hole in my neighborhood / Down which of late I cannot help but fall") and an unhappy relationship ("And I’d bring you further roses, but it does you no good"). The word whoa is extended as "woah-oh-oh-oh" and repeated throughout the track.
Paste magazine writes: "The track explodes with their heaviest guitar line to date"[3] and Digital Spy described the song as "Perhaps the loudest and most 'rocking' track in Elbow's career, the combination of infectious riffing and emotional wrangling makes this a call-to-arms that's both joyous and cathartic."
The music video was directed by Dan Sully.
Background
The single was released on 10 March 2008 as the band's first release on Fiction Records across two 7" vinyl records and one CD single. The song marked the band's joint-highest charting single at the time, peaking at No. 19 on the UK Singles Chart, becoming also their third UK Top 20 success and their sixth UK Top 40 entry. It was to be bettered four years later by their succeeding single "One Day Like This" - which was performed by the band in the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics, peaking at No. 4 in August 2012. Frontman Guy Garvey told Uncut that "'Grounds for Divorce' was written when I was in an unhappy relationship."[citation needed] Garvey explained the song was about "that feeling of being sick and f***ing tired of everything around you and wanting to get out of there."
Guitarist Mark Potter said he had been playing the riff for years before using it in the song. "You know how most guitarists have something that they play every time they pick up a guitar? Well, that was my one. For 10 years the lads never seemed to notice it. I'd play it and look around the room expectantly and be like, 'Oh well, no reaction again.' Then about two years ago, I played it and Guy [Garvey, vocals] was like, 'What's that?' I said, 'What do you mean what's that? I've been playing it for 10 years!"
Awards
On 21 May 2009, "Grounds for Divorce" won the Ivor Novello award for Best Contemporary Song.
Promotion
"Grounds for Divorce" was featured in a TV advertisement for the video game Left 4 Dead. It is also featured in the trailer for the 2008 Coen Brothers film Burn After Reading. An instrumental version was also featured on Series 12, Episode 1 of the British motoring show Top Gear and was played at the opening montage which contained clips from the upcoming episodes, as well as in the third episode of the same series.
"Grounds for Divorce" was also featured in the eighth episode for the 5th season, and promos for the sixth season of the TV-show House MD. Also appeared in episode 521 of Rescue Me. It appeared in the soundtrack of DiRT 2, a rallying video game and was also used as the end credits song for an episode of Pete versus Life. In 2009, the riff was used on The Hairy Bikers' Food Tour of Britain TV show, whilst showcasing the professional chef opponent in the taste-off, as well as by The Apprentice contestant Chris Bates, in the final episode of series six in an advert for an alcoholic drink. The song is also on the soundtrack for a 2011 video game, Driver: San Francisco and also on the soundtrack for a 2015 video game, Guitar Hero Live.
In 2019 the song also appeared in the season 1 episode "No One's Gonna Harm You, Not While I'm Around" of The Morning Show, and is used as the closing song.
Grounds for Divorce
Elbow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I've been working on a cocktail called grounds for divorce
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Polishing a compass that I hold in my sleeve
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Down comes him on sticks but then he kicks like a horse
Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
There's a tiny cigarette case
And the rest you can keep
And the rest you can keep
And the rest you can keep
There's a hole in my neighborhood
Down which of late I cannot help but fall
There's a hole in my neighborhood
Down which of late I cannot help but fall
Mondays is for drinking to the seldom seen kid
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
There's this whispering of jokers doing flesh by the pound
To a chorus of supposes from the little town whores
There'll be twisted karaoke at the Aniseed Lounge
And I'll bring you further roses
But it does you no good
And it does me no good
And it does you no good
There's a hole in my neighborhood
Down which of late I cannot help but fall
There's a hole in my neighborhood
Down which of late I cannot help but fall
There's a hole in my neighborhood
Down which of late I cannot help but fall
Mmm
Someday we'll be drinking with the seldom seen kid
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
The song "Grounds For Divorce" by Elbow and the BBC Concert Orchestra is a somber reflection on the struggles and hardships experienced by the singer. The repeated line "Mondays is for drinking to the seldom seen kid" refers to the singer's way of coping with their difficulties by drinking and mourning the loss of a loved one or a better life. The mention of the "seldom seen kid" suggests that this person or thing is rare and precious, highlighting the singer's desperation to hold onto it, even if only in their memories.
The line "I've been working on a cocktail called grounds for divorce" is a clever play on words, using the idea of mixing drinks to express the singer's feelings of being emotionally and personally strained to the point of breaking. This is further emphasized by the line "Polishing a compass that I hold in my sleeve" which implies a desire to find direction or guidance in a turbulent time.
The repeating line "There's a hole in my neighborhood down which of late I cannot help but fall" emphasizes the singer's feelings of despair and hopelessness. The final lines, "Someday we'll be drinking with the seldom seen kid" express a hope that one day things will be better and the singer can find some kind of solace or peace.
Line by Line Meaning
Mondays is for drinking to the seldom seen kid
On Mondays, I drink to celebrate and honor the seldom seen kid
I've been working on a cocktail called grounds for divorce Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
I've been working on a drink recipe that signifies the reasons behind a divorce
Polishing a compass that I hold in my sleeve Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
I'm polishing an important tool that I keep hidden to help guide me
Down comes him on sticks but then he kicks like a horse Whoa, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
Someone who walks with crutches may seem weak, but can kick like a strong horse
There's a tiny cigarette case And the rest you can keep And the rest you can keep And the rest you can keep
I only care about the small things, everything else is unimportant
There's a hole in my neighborhood Down which of late I cannot help but fall
There's a problem in my community that I keep stumbling into
There's this whispering of jokers doing flesh by the pound To a chorus of supposes from the little town whores There'll be twisted karaoke at the Aniseed Lounge
People talk about those who engage in relationships solely based on physical appearance, and there will be a strange karaoke night at the Aniseed Lounge
And I'll bring you further roses But it does you no good And it does me no good And it does you no good
I keep trying to show my appreciation and love, but it's not benefiting either of us
Mmm
Humming sound
Someday we'll be drinking with the seldom seen kid Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
One day, we'll be drinking with the seldom seen kid in celebration of their return
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Guy Edward John Garvey, Craig Lee Potter, Mark Potter, Peter James Turner, Richard Barry Jupp
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@walter9724
12 years later and still a killer song
@echo4k915
Fr
@Grandad-Joe
Walter
@CritCris
13 🥸
@JOSHJW99
Deserves way more popularity
@Scrungge
Indeed
@hellterskellter2.0passman55
Yea
@theburningman5047
Indeed, indeed he does
@-lslpect-5958
Agreed
@YOYO-mx6ie
Yes yes