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 Möngöl Hörde 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
Last Christmas
Frank Turner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But the very next day you gave it away
This year to save me from tears
I′ll give it to someone special
Last Christmas I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year to save me from tears
Once bitten and twice shy
I keep my distance but you still catch my eye
Tell me baby, do you recognize me?
Well, it′s been a year, it doesn't surprise me
I wrapped it up and sent it
With a note saying 'I love you,′ I meant it
Now I know what a fool I′ve been
But if you kissed me now I know you'd fool me again
Last Christmas I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year to save me from tears
I′ll give it to someone special
Last Christmas I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special
Crowded room, friends with tired eyes
I′m hiding from you and your soul of ice
My god, I thought you were someone to rely on
Me, I guess I was a shoulder to cry on
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart
A man undercover but you tore him apart
Ooh hoo, now I've found a real love
You′ll never fool me again
Last Christmas I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special
Last Christmas I gave you my heart
But the very next day you gave it away
This year to save me from tears
I'll give it to someone special
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart
A man undercover but you tore him apart
Maybe next year I′ll give it to someone
I′ll give it to someone special
I'll give it to someone
I′ll give it to someone special
The song "Last Christmas" by Frank Turner is a cover of the original song by Wham!, released in 1984. The lyrics describe a relationship in which the singer gave their heart to someone on Christmas, but the next day the recipient gave it away. The singer is still drawn to this person, but acknowledges their own foolishness in the situation. The singer has decided to move on and give their heart to someone special this year instead of repeating the same mistakes.
The song is essentially about heartbreak and learning from past mistakes. The line "Once bitten and twice shy" references being cautious after being hurt before, and "I keep my distance but you still catch my eye" shows the internal struggle of still being attracted to someone who has hurt you. The line "A man undercover but you tore him apart" expresses feelings of betrayal and hurt.
Line by Line Meaning
Last Christmas I gave you my heart
I gave you my love and heart
But the very next day you gave it away
You gave away my love and heart without any thought
This year to save me from tears
This year, to avoid crying and heartache
I'll give it to someone special
I will give my love and my heart to someone who will cherish it
Once bitten and twice shy
I was hurt before and I am cautious now
I keep my distance but you still catch my eye
I am wary of you, but you still manage to attract me
Tell me baby, do you recognize me?
Do you still remember me?
Well, it's been a year, it doesn't surprise me
It has been a long time, and I am not surprised if you have forgotten me
I wrapped it up and sent it, with a note saying 'I love you,' I meant it
I gave you my heart with a sincere message of love
Now I know what a fool I've been
I realize I made a mistake by giving you my love and heart
But if you kissed me now I know you'd fool me again
I know I may fall for your charm and get hurt again if we reconcile
Crowded room, friends with tired eyes
The room is full of people, but my friends look exhausted
I'm hiding from you and your soul of ice
I am avoiding you and your cold-hearted nature
My god, I thought you were someone to rely on
I believed that you were trustworthy and dependable
Me, I guess I was a shoulder to cry on
I was there for you to lean on and cry on
A face on a lover with a fire in his heart
A man who is passionately in love
A man undercover but you tore him apart
A man who was hiding his feelings, but you hurt him badly
Ooh hoo, now I've found a real love
I have found someone who truly loves and cherishes me
You'll never fool me again
I will not fall for your tricks again
Maybe next year I'll give it to someone
Perhaps in the future, I will give my love and heart to someone
I'll give it to someone special
But they will have to be someone special who deserves it
I'll give it to someone
I will give my heart and love
I'll give it to someone special
To someone who will appreciate it and treat me well
Writer(s): George Michael
Contributed by Skyler G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.