Ben met Tracey when they were at Hull University and she was singing in pop girl-band Marine Girls. Ben contributed a photograph, for a forthcoming album cover, after which, the pair became partners (later getting married). They formed Everything But the Girl in 1982, the name inspired by a Turner's Furniture advertising slogan (a popular store near the university). For a period, Tracey was active in both bands and the album with Ben's photo materialised, Lazy Ways (Apr 1983), which was to be Marine Girls' last. EBTG soon achieved national success and singles from The Language of Life (1990), got VH-1 airtime - heralding USA notoriety.
Once internationally established, they successfully achieved one of the greatest stylistic changes in modern music; originally a 'folk-pop with jazz influences' band, their fortunes changed with Amplified Heart (Jul 1994) and Todd Terry's successful remix of its track "Missing" (Aug 1994). Since then, EBTG have become more widely known as an electronic act, with Walking Wounded (May 1996), being a well-received example of their metamorphosed sound.
As of 1999, EBTG as a duo are currently on hiatus, as the couple raise their children, out of the public eye. Watt is a very successful club DJ, Buzzin Fly label-manager and remixer, releasing several 'Lazy Dog' mix compilations (named after his London-based deep house night).
Thorn's 2006 collaboration with Tiefschwarz, on the underground hit song "Damage", seems to have re-awoken her artistic spirit and she released a second solo album, Out of the Woods (Mar 2007).
As of March 2023 evidence that the hiatus will end soon emerges in an interview with Alexis Petridis, in which the release date of the new album 'Fuse' is given as 21 April. This new music was first mentioned by Tracy Thorn on twitter in late 2022, and now it emerging, with 2 new singles already released
Oxford Street
Everything but the Girl Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He'd lie in bed and turn out the light with a fishing rod.
I learned the names of all his football team,
Aid I Still remembered them when I was nineteen.
Strange the things deal that I remember still
Shouts from the playground when I was home and ill.
My sister taught me all that she learned there;
When I was seventeen, London meant Oxford Street.
Where I grow up there were no factories.
There was a school and shops and some Fields and trees,
And rows of houses one by one appeared.
I was born in one and Lived there for eighteen years.
Then when I was nineteen.
I thought the Humber would be the gateway from my Little world into the real world.
But there is no real world -
We live side by side, and sometimes collide. .
When I was seventeen, London meant Oxford Street.
It was a little world;
I grew up in a little world.
The song Oxford Street by Everything But the Girl is a nostalgic and reflective piece about a person's origins, coming of age, and realizations about the world around them. The opening lines: "When I was ten I thought my brother was God - He'd lie in bed and turn out the light with a fishing rod" sets the tone for the song as a representation of how children often view adults and siblings that are older than them. They are larger than life figures that have a sort of omniscience about them. The nostalgic tone of the song is largely carried in the way the lyrics depict the memories of the singer, reminding them of a time when their brother was their ultimate role model and when their sister and they would dream of moving in together when they would grow up.
As the song progresses, it traces the singer's growth and disillusionment with their surroundings, as they realize that the "real world" is not all that it's cracked up to be. The line "But there is no real world - We live side by side, and sometimes collide" is a reflection of the fact that the world is not just one thing; it is layered and complex, with different beliefs, experiences, and ways of living that sometimes come into conflict. The singer's thoughts on London and Oxford Street are also telling, as it shows how their perception of the city has changed as they have grown older, from a place of wonder and excitement to a place that reminds them of the larger world outside their small town.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was ten I thought my brother was God -
At the age of ten, I idolized my brother so much that I believed he was a divine entity.
He'd lie in bed and turn out the light with a fishing rod.
My brother was so lazy that he would use a fishing rod to turn off the light from his bed.
I learned the names of all his football team,
I was so interested in my brother's life that I even memorized the names of all the players in his football team.
And still remembered them when I was nineteen.
Even years later, I still remembered those football players' names that my brother used to tell me about.
Strange the things that I remember still
It's strange how some memories stick with us through the years.
Shouts from the playground when I was home and ill.
I can still recall hearing kids shouting and playing while I was home sick and unable to join them.
My sister taught me all that she learned there;
My sister shared everything she learned at school with me.
When we grow up, we said, we'd share a flat somewhere.
As children, my sister and I made a promise that when we grew up, we'd live together in an apartment.
When I was seventeen, London meant Oxford Street.
At the age of seventeen, London was synonymous with Oxford Street in my mind.
Where I grew up, there were no factories.
My hometown didn't have any manufacturing plants or factories.
There was a school and shops and some fields and trees,
My town had a school, some stores, and green spaces with trees.
And rows of houses, one by one appeared.
The houses in my town were built in a uniform, consecutive pattern.
I was born in one and lived there for eighteen years.
I was born and raised in one of those houses, and I lived there for eighteen years.
Then when I was nineteen,
At the age of nineteen,
I thought the Humber would be the gateway from my little world into the real world.
I believed that crossing the Humber River would symbolize my transition from my small town life to the broader world beyond it.
But there is no real world -
I soon realized that there is no clear distinction between my small town life and the larger world. It's all one big world.
We live side by side, and sometimes collide.
We all live alongside each other and our lives sometimes intersect or clash.
It was a little world;
Looking back, my hometown was a small and limited world.
I grew up in a little world.
I spent my formative years living in that small and insular world.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: THORN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Desiire
Underrated song from back in the day
Paul Maney
Born in '53--loved the 60's, HATED the 70's, but the 80's were a godsend and Everything But The Girl was right there with the Beat, Elvis, XTC, Lloyd Cole, Kate Bush, U2, the Church, Echo & the Bunnymen, Graham Parker, Squeeze, Split Enz & Crowded House, and all those other great artists who were NEVER played on the radio here in the USA! To me, "Idlewild" is still their best lp. and I've probably played it at least 500 times over the last 34 years and the vinyl still sounds great!
Kidwaryod Production
"When I was ten, I thought my brother was God"
At first I thought she will sing "I thought my brother was Gay" haha.
Eugene Jacquescoley
"When I was ten."....
Gary Eaton
Thank you
Gary Eaton
Is it true that they were named after a women’s clothes shop Everything
But The Girl
Gary Eaton
@MJ Bachman ok thank you for replying
MJ Bachman
Everything was for sale in the store, except for the girl behind the counter.
Emily Church
💯♥️