Frank Turner started solo acoustic shows prior to Million Dead's break up. The first official performance was at the first Small Town America all dayer at 93 Feet East on September 18th 2004. The solo performances were, in a sense, a sideline to Million Dead. They did allow Turner to display some of his own songwriting capabilities (without a band) as well as some covers of songs and bands he enjoyed, in some cases the songs were much re-worked to fit an acoustic atmosphere. Solo performances were also used to help bolster or expose Million Dead to new individuals as well, with some acoustic in-store and radio performances of Million Dead songs.
At the end of February and start of March (2006) Frank went to Oxford to record the "Campfire Punkrock" EP with Dive Dive as the backing band for three of the songs. This EP was released on May 15 2006 on a limited run through Xtra Mile recordings. It sold out after only a few weeks on sale and had to be re-pressed to meet demand.
With Jonah Matranga doing some touring in June 2006 in support of his CD/DVD album "Jonah Matranga" there was some discussion of Frank doing supports with Jonah, this only ended up with one show featuring both at The Peel in Kingston. The discussion however lead to the creation of the Jonah Matranga and Frank Turner split 12" vinyl. Released in the USA on Welcome Home Records and in the UK via Xtra Mile Recordings. The release features Frank covering two songs by American songwriters and Jonah covering two songs by British songwriters. He was recently (September 18 2006) the last ever artist to perform on BBC Radio 1's Lamacq Live program, unveiling two new songs from "Sleep Is For The Week".
The good sales of "Campfire Punkrock" meant good news as this allowed Frank to record his debut album "Sleep Is For The Week" in August and September 2006. Recorded in Oxford with Dive Dive as extra band on a selection of the 13 tracks. The last track, "The Ballad Of Me And My Friends", is a live recording from a sold out show at the London Barfly and features the vocal contribution of the (approximately) 200 strong audience during a verse. Those in attendance and gave their names to Xtra Mile Recordings will have their names credited as contributers to this track.
In April 2008, his second album Love, Ire and Song was released to critical acclaim.
His third full-length album, Poetry Of The Deed, was released September 7th 2009, and includes the singles The Road, Try This At Home and Isabel. An accompanying DVD, Take To The Road, was released in March 2010.
Amidst extensive touring in support of Poetry of the Deed, Turner and his then-untitled backing band recorded Rock & Roll, an EP consisting of tracks written at the same time as Poetry of the Deed alongside new material. Following its release, Turner and the band spent twenty days in January 2011, recording their next studio album with producer Tristan Ivemy. The result was England Keep My Bones, the fourth studio album by Frank, released on June 6, 2011, on Xtra Mile in the United Kingdom, and on June 7, 2011, on Epitaph Records worldwide. Preceded by the single, "Peggy Sang the Blues", the album was produced and mixed by Tristan Ivemy, who had previously mixed Love, Ire and Song, Rock & Roll and Campfire Punkrock.
The album's title is taken from William Shakespeare's play, The Life and Death of King John, with Turner noting, "I knew that the album was, for the most part, about mortality, and about Englishness. Shakespeare seemed like a good place to go hunting for some pearls of wisdom, and with a little help from my friend Ben we came across this one, and it just seemed to fit the work really well."
Following the completion of the album, Turner subsequently announced his backing band had named themselves The Sleeping Souls, after a lyric in the track, "I Am Disappeared". The Sleeping Souls are Nigel Powell, Ben LLoyd, Tarant Anderson and Matt Nasir.
Turner recorded his fifth studio album in Burbank, California, in October 2012. The reason for recording first time abroad in California was, that producer Rich Costey wouldn't come to England with all his equipment so he convinced Turner to record it in Burbank. Frank Turner announced via Twitter on 28 October 2012 that recording was completed, and mixing and mastering would be done in time for a March 2013 release date. During the November and December UK tour a free CD titled Good Hangs from Xtra Mile Recordings was distributed for free at Frank Turner shows, this included a yet-to-be-released Turner song titled "Tattoos" plus the MΓΆngΓΆl HΓΆrde song "Casual Threats From Weekend Hardmen". On Christmas Day 2012, the song "Four Simple Words" was released on Xtra Mile Recordings' website as a free download along with the b-side "Cowboy Chords". On 4 January 2013, a video was shot for what would be the first single. On the same day Frank announced on Twitter that the single was the song "Recovery". On 9 January, Frank uploaded a photo to his Instagram page showing the names of all 13 songs that would feature on his new album. This included songs played during the UK and US tours of 2012 such as "Anymore", "Plain Sailing Weather", "We Shall Not Overcome" and "Tell Tale Signs". Frank also posted on his fan forum that an extended edition of his new album would be released that includes an extra 5 or 6 songs. On 19 February 2013, it was announced that Turner had signed a licensing deal with Interscope Records in the US for Tape Deck Heart. Following the release of the album Frank Turner embarked on a short U.K tour.
[this section requires expansion, to cover the period 2013 to 2018]
Discography:
2005 - Frank Turner's Demo
2007 - Campfire Punkrock
2007 - The Real Damage
2007 - Sleep Is For The Week
2008 - Love Ire & Song
2008 - The First Three Years
2009 - Poetry Of The Deed
2010 - Take to the Road: Live 2009
2010 - iTunes Festival: London 2010
2011 - 2011-11-17: Daytrotter Session, Big Orange Studios, Austin, TX, USA
2012 - The Second Three Years
2012 - Last Minutes and Lost Evenings
2013 - Tape Deck Heart
2014 - Polaroid Picture
2014 - The Third Three Years
2015 - Positive Songs for Negative People
2017 - Songbook
2018 - Be More Kind
2019 - No Man's Land
2020 - West Coast vs. Wessex
2020 - Buddies II: Still Buddies
Josephine
Frank Turner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It came to me in dream
And I don't usually set too much store by the things that these things might mean
It was spoken with seriousness
More of a whisper than a scream
Now, I'm waiting on this Josephine
To show herself to me
I imagined, I could be
I just needed somebody
To show me how to be
I could have been Napoleon
Could have been Beethoven
Could have been anyone, but uncomfortable me
So come on now Josephine, show yourself to me
So come on now Josephine give me what I need
I don't like to be needy but sometimes needs
Must, I can't stand being the person that I've been
I'm an impending car crash
I'm the first one on the scene
I'm a defeated commander
I'm a tone-deaf composer
I'm a strange name whispered in a dream
Could have been anyone
I imagined, I could be
I just needed somebody
To show me how to be
I could have been Napoleon
Could have been Beethoven
Could have been anyone, but uncomfortable me
So come on now Josephine, show yourself to me
So come on now Josephine
Let's pretend it's Halloween
You come as a car crash
And I'll go as James Dean
I'm Napoloeon on Elba
And you're a hundred days in 1815
I wrote all of these letters to my immortal beloved
You're the only one who's ever gonna know what they mean
Come on now Josephine
Show yourself to me
Could have been anyone
But I ended up being me
Could have been runaway
Could have been what you need
I wish that I was anyone except for just me
So come on now Josephine
Show yourself to me
Come on now Josephine
Show yourself to me
Come on now Josephine
Show yourself to me
Come on now Josephine
Show yourself to me
The song "Josephine" by Frank Turner and The Sleeping Souls is a heartfelt ballad about longing for companionship and guidance. The lyrics revolve around the singer's desire for someone to show him how to be a better person and cope with his insecurities. The song begins with the singer hearing the name "Josephine" in a dream, and although he does not usually give much thought to dreams, this instance feels significant to him. He regards the dream as a sign that he needs someone to fill a void in his life and help him find direction. He laments about being uncomfortable with himself and imagines that he could have been anyone, even Napoleon or Beethoven, but he still would have been uncomfortable. The singer begs Josephine to appear to him and give him what he needs, despite his reluctance to admit his needs.
The melancholic lyrics are poignant and relatable, speaking to anyone who has ever felt lost or uncertain about their identity. The song's verses highlight the singer's introspective musings, and the choruses are where he makes his appeal to Josephine. The song's melodies are gentle and soothing, creating an atmosphere of vulnerability and honesty. While the song's meaning may be open to interpretation for some, it remains a beautiful addition to Frank Turner's collection of introspective, heartfelt music.
Line by Line Meaning
I heard the name Josephine
The singer came across the name Josephine in a dream
It came to me in dream
The name Josephine was part of a dream the singer had
And I don't usually set too much store by the things that these things might mean
The singer usually doesn't believe in the significance of things he dreams or hears
It was spoken with seriousness
The name Josephine was said with a serious tone
More of a whisper than a scream
The name Josephine was spoken softly rather than being yelled out
Now, I'm waiting on this Josephine
The singer is now waiting for Josephine to reveal herself
Could have been anyone
The singer imagines that he could have been anyone else
I imagined, I could be
The singer imagined that he had the potential to be someone else
I just needed somebody
The singer just needed someone to show him how to be
To show me how to be
The singer wanted someone to teach him how to be a better person
Could have been Napoleon
The singer imagines that he could have been as great as Napoleon
Could have been Beethoven
The singer imagines that he could have been as talented as Beethoven
Could have been anyone, but uncomfortable me
The singer wishes he could have been someone else because he is uncomfortable with who he is
So come on now Josephine, show yourself to me
The singer is still waiting for Josephine to come forward and reveal herself
So come on now Josephine give me what I need
The singer asks Josephine to give him what he needs to become a better person
I don't like to be needy but sometimes needs
The singer doesn't like to rely on others, but sometimes he needs help
Must, I can't stand being the person that I've been
The singer is tired of being the person he has been and wants to change
I'm an impending car crash
The singer feels like he is going to crash and burn
I'm the first one on the scene
The singer is always the first to arrive at his own personal disasters
I'm a defeated commander
The singer feels like a general who has lost his war
I'm a tone-deaf composer
The singer feels like a musician who can't make good music
I'm a strange name whispered in a dream
The singer feels like an unusual name in a dream, something out of place
Let's pretend it's Halloween
The singer suggests they pretend it's Halloween
You come as a car crash
The singer imagines his partner as a car crash
And I'll go as James Dean
The singer imagines himself as James Dean
I'm Napoloeon on Elba
The singer imagines himself as Napoleon, exiled on Elba
And you're a hundred days in 1815
The singer's partner represents the difficult 100 days of Napoleon's reign before his exile
I wrote all of these letters to my immortal beloved
The singer wrote letters to someone who he imagines as his immortal beloved
You're the only one who's ever gonna know what they mean
The singer's partner is the only person who will ever really understand what those letters mean
Come on now Josephine
The singer pleads for Josephine to come forward
Show yourself to me
The singer wants Josephine to make herself known
But I ended up being me
The singer realizes that he is who he is and can't change that
Could have been runaway
The singer imagines that he could have been a runaway
Could have been what you need
The singer imagines that he could have been someone his partner needed
I wish that I was anyone except for just me
The singer wishes he could have been anyone else but himself
Lyrics Β© BMG Rights Management
Written by: FRANK TURNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@maksymzakharchenko330
I heard the name Josephine
It came to me in dream
And I don't usually set too much store by the things that these things might mean
It was spoken with seriousness
More of a whisper than a scream
Now, I'm waiting on this Josephine
To show herself to me
Could have been anyone
I imagined, I could be
I just needed somebody
To show me how to be
I could have been Napoleon
Could have been Beethoven
Could have been anyone, but uncomfortable me
So come on now Josephine, show yourself to me
So come on now Josephine give me what I need
I don't like to be needy but sometimes needs
Must, I can't stand being the person that I've been
I'm an impending car crash
I'm the first one on the scene
I'm a defeated commander
I'm a tone-deaf composer
I'm a strange name whispered in a dream
Could have been anyone
I imagined, I could be
I just needed somebody
To show me how to be
I could have been Napoleon
Could have been Beethoven
Could have been anyone, but uncomfortable me
So come on now Josephine, show yourself to me
So come on now Josephine
Let's pretend it's Halloween
You come as a car crash
And I'll go as James Dean
I'm Napoloeon on Elba
And you're a hundred days in 1815
I wrote all of these letters to my immortal beloved
You're the only one who's ever gonna know what they mean
Come on now Josephine
Show yourself to me
Could have been anyone
But I ended up being me
Could have been runaway
Could have been what you need
I wish that I was anyone except for just me
So come on now Josephine
Show yourself to me
Come on now Josephine
Show yourself to me
Come on now Josephine
Show yourself to me
Come on now Josephine
Show yourself to me
@Scottgunner89
With each passing year I find more of his music relevant to me.
@echopryme
Ditto. Its like I had to grow into the kind of honesty that it takes to listen to it.
Basically, maybe, the closest thing to Dylan or Springsteen we have.
@meganteminsky71
I was introduced to Frank over 10 years ago and he is never disappointed. Top 5.
@chemicreaction
my name's Josephine, what a time to be alive
@NightmaresStorm
Josie haha tell me about it.
@josephinepapin8858
Oh yeah !
@dylanparry8364
βI wish that I was anyone except for just meβ Jesus I felt that HORD
@rozalindwilliams6968
Saw him in Nottingham and cried like a baby the whole time. <3 love him.
@ljzmoore
"I'm Napoleon on Elba, and you're a hundred days in 1815."
Might be some of my favorite lyrics ever.
@t-bonevlogs1725
Frank in a suit is one suave mother!