Their first album, Once in a Blue Moon was released in 1993, followed two years later by Dish of the Day, from which "Lemon Tree" became an Asian chart hit. Go and Ask Peggy for the Principal Thing followed in 1997, then For Sale (2000), 25 Miles to Kissimmee (2003), and Ready for the Real Life (2005).
In 2003 the band changed three of its members: Roland Röhl, Thomas Mangold, and Ralf Wochele left, to be replaced by bassist Dirk Blümlein, drummer Claus Müller, and a second guitarist, Gabriel Holz. Holz left the band in 2007 after moving to Berlin.
In 2006, Fool's Garden released the single "I Got a Ticket," regarding on the World Cup Soccer competition that was held in Germany.
The band is recording new tracks for the release of a new album in 2008.
And You Say
Fool's Garden Lyrics
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You take it away.
I cannot find the ashtray anymore.
Did you take it away?
Smoking is not good for me,
It damages my health.
If you don't give me nicotine,
Well, then I ask somebody else.
And you say, what you do
Is just the way that I wanted you to.
And you say, what you see
Is not the way that you want me to be.
Whenever I pour myself a glass of wine,
You take it away.
The bottle I bought today,
I cannot find.
Did you take it away?
Drinking is not good for me,
It damages my brain.
I haven't had a single drop
And it's driving me insane.
And you say, what you do
Is just the way that I wanted you to.
And you say, what you see
Is not the way that you want me to be.
Whenever I get some change from anywhere,
You take it away.
I'm loving my little bankbook, you don't care,
You take it away.
Money is not good for me,
It damages my soul.
You take away my piggy bank
And dig it in a hole.
And you say, what you do
Is just the way that I wanted you to.
And you say, what you see
Is not the way that you want me to be.
And you say, what you do
Is just the way that I wanted you to.
And you say, what you see
Is not the way that you want me to be.
And you say (and you say), what you do (what you do)
Is just the way that I wanted you to.
And you say (and you say), what you see (what you see)
Is not the way that you want me
The way that you want me,
The way that you want me to be.
The lyrics to Fool's Garden's song And You Say likely address the toxic dynamics of a controlling relationship. The singer mentions how their partner takes away their lighter, ashtray, wine, and even their money. Each of these things represents something that brings the singer pleasure, and yet their partner takes it away claiming that it is for their own good. The singer feels trapped and oppressed by their partner's behavior, but their partner convinces them that this is what they truly want - a situation where they have complete control over the singer.
The final lines of the song, "And you say, what you do is just the way that I wanted you to. And you say, what you see is not the way that you want me to be," show that the partner is completely comfortable with their behavior, even though it is causing harm to the singer. They believe that controlling the singer is the right thing to do, even if it means taking away their agency, autonomy, and sense of self.
Overall, the song is a powerful commentary on the psychological manipulation and emotional abuse that can exist in a controlling relationship, where one partner takes away the other's ability to make decisions and act freely.
Line by Line Meaning
Whenever I buy a lighter in the store,
Whenever I try to get a lighter, you prevent me from doing so.
You take it away.
You take the lighter away from me.
I cannot find the ashtray anymore.
I cannot find the ashtray after you take the lighter away.
Did you take it away?
I suspect that you took the ashtray too.
Smoking is not good for me,
I am aware that smoking is bad for my health.
It damages my health.
Smoking can harm my health.
If you don't give me nicotine,
If you don't let me smoke,
Well, then I ask somebody else.
I will ask someone else for a lighter.
And you say, what you do
You justify your actions
Is just the way that I wanted you to.
You claim that this is what I actually wanted.
And you say, what you see
You make a claim about what is visible to me.
Is not the way that you want me to be.
You claim that I don't really want you to behave this way.
Whenever I pour myself a glass of wine,
Whenever I try to have some wine,
You take it away.
You take my glass away from me.
The bottle I bought today,
The bottle I just bought,
I cannot find.
I can't locate it after you take my glass away.
Did you take it away?
I suspect that you took the bottle too.
Drinking is not good for me,
I am aware that drinking can be harmful to me.
It damages my brain.
Drinking can harm my brain.
I haven't had a single drop
I haven't had a sip yet.
And it's driving me insane.
Not being able to drink is frustrating me.
Whenever I get some change from anywhere,
Whenever I get some spare coins,
You take it away.
You take the change away from me.
I'm loving my little bankbook, you don't care,
I'm saving up some money, but you don't seem to care.
You take it away.
You take my savings away from me.
Money is not good for me,
I am aware that being too focused on money can be harmful.
It damages my soul.
Being too attached to money can be damaging to my sense of self.
You take away my piggy bank
You take away the container I use to save money
And dig it in a hole.
You bury it somewhere, preventing me from accessing my savings.
And you say (and you say), what you do (what you do)
You repeat your claim
Is just the way that I wanted you to.
That this is what I actually want.
And you say (and you say), what you see (what you see)
You make another claim.
Is not the way that you want me
That I don't really want you to behave this way.
The way that you want me,
The way you want me to behave.
The way that you want me to be.
The way you want me to act or conduct myself.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PETER FREUDENTHALER, VOLKER HINKEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind