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
To Take You Home
Frank Turner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
From the Hampshire hills near Winchester town
In the country where the soft South rivers flow down
To English channel I roam, this is where I call home
I sing for my supper and I'm pretty well fed
My cross is silent and I make my bed
Where I can find a crown and somewhere to lay my head
And the traveling day is done,
But honey I was lonely on the road,
I was all on my own
Hanging outside at the back of a death metal show
I saw you standing there with your hair down low
A kink in your step that made me want to know
If you would like to take me home
Who'd of thought that a French kiss
From a Parisian girl could capture an English boy
She comes from the channels of a distant shore
From the land of revolution and of Agincourt
From the Kings blood stain on a tricolour
And the culture a little too high,
For an English boy like me
She doesn't know the Island I grew up upon
The valleys and the hills that I've roamed along
And she doesn't like my clothes
And she doesn't like my songs
But she's still my Mademoiselle
And it goes to show you never can tell
Cos she was a quiet one
She was a shy one
She was the prettier at the show
She crept up so slowly
She crept up behind me
But still she pretended that she didn't know
But all that she thinks of me, and she kissed me
And she's yet to let me go though I'm far away
Across of sea I'm singing for the hope
That she would ever remember me
So honey when you're lonely on the road,
You're all on your own
Hanging outside at the back of the country show
Picture me there with hat down low
A smile upon my face to let you know
That I would like to take you home
That I would like to take you home,
To the hills that I know
I would like to take you home, to the places I go
I would like to take you home
And that's the way that a French kiss
From an English boy can capture a Parisian girl
The song "To Take You Home" by Frank Turner tells the story of a traveling musician who meets a French girl at a death metal show. The first verse describes where he comes from, emphasizing the beauty and serenity of the Wessex downs and Hampshire hills. He sings for his supper as a troubadour, making his bed wherever he can find a crown and somewhere to lay his head. However, he admits to feeling lonely on the road, until he meets the girl who captures his attention with her kinked step and invites him to take her home.
The second verse is from the perspective of the French girl, who comes from a land of revolution and a culture that may be too high for an English boy like the singer. She doesn't like his clothes or his songs, but she still considers him her "Mademoiselle" and thinks of him fondly, even though he is far away across the sea. The chorus repeats the sentiment that the singer wants to take the girl home and to show her the places he knows and loves.
Line by Line Meaning
I come from the land of the Wessex downs
I hail from the land of rolling hills known as the Wessex downs
From the Hampshire hills near Winchester town
Specifically, I'm from the hills near Winchester in Hampshire
In the country where the soft South rivers flow down
I'm from a country where the gentle rivers of the south flow towards the English channel
To English channel I roam, this is where I call home
The English channel region is where I feel at home and have made my life
I sing for my supper and I'm pretty well fed
I make a living as a musician, and it's been quite successful so far
My cross is silent and I make my bed
I bear my burdens and hardships with dignity, and can make a bed out of anything
Where I can find a crown and somewhere to lay my head
I'm content as long as I have a crown (perhaps a metaphor for a guitar) and a place to rest my head
And the traveling day is done,
When I'm done with a day of traveling
And all my songs have been sung
And I've played all the songs in my repertoire
But honey I was lonely on the road,
I've been lonely on the road, even if my songwriting career has been successful
I was all on my own
I had no one to keep me company
Hanging outside at the back of a death metal show
I was outside of a loud and raucous show for a different genre of music
I saw you standing there with your hair down low
I noticed you standing with beautiful hair obscuring most of your face
A kink in your step that made me want to know
The way you walked intrigued me and made me want to meet you
If you would like to take me home
I would be interested in potentially returning home with you
Who'd of thought that a French kiss
Who would've expected that a simple kiss would lead to all of this
From a Parisian girl could capture an English boy
And that this kiss would be between a girl from Paris and a boy from England, but love knows no bounds
She comes from the channels of a distant shore
The girl I met is from across the channel, on a distant shore, but the distance doesn't matter
From the land of revolution and of Agincourt
The girl is from a place known for its revolutionary history and the site of a famous battle
From the Kings blood stain on a tricolour
The girl's country has a complex history, and the visual of the King's blood on their flag speaks to that complexity
And the culture a little too high,
Their culture is sophisticated, possibly making it difficult for me as a foreigner to fit in seamlessly
For an English boy like me
Specifically, this might be especially daunting for me as an Englishman
She doesn't know the Island I grew up upon
The girl I'm with doesn't know the island where I'm from
The valleys and the hills that I've roamed along
The local landscape (the valleys and hills) that I have explored
And she doesn't like my clothes
She's not particularly fond of my style of clothing
And she doesn't like my songs
She might not particularly be into the style of music I create
But she's still my Mademoiselle
Despite all of these differences, she's still my love (Mademoiselle)
And it goes to show you never can tell
This just goes to show you that you never know where love might pop up
Cos she was a quiet one
She might have come off as shy and reserved
She was a shy one
Again, her shyness is emphasized
She was the prettier at the show
Despite being shy, she was still the most beautiful girl at the show
She crept up so slowly
She made her way to me slowly and gradually
She crept up behind me
She approached me from behind
But still she pretended that she didn't know
She tried to play it off like she didn't know who I was, despite us both having caught each other's eye
But all that she thinks of me, and she kissed me
Regardless of the playing coy and pretending not to know each other, there was a spark of attraction that led to our first kiss
And she's yet to let me go though I'm far away
Even though we're currently separated by distance, she still holds onto our romance
Across of sea I'm singing for the hope
Even while I'm on the other side of the ocean, I sing and perform with the hope that she still remembers me and our love
That she would ever remember me
I hope that she still remembers me fondly and the connection we had
So honey when you're lonely on the road,
I want her to know that if she's ever lonely like I was, she can always reach out to me
You're all on your own
Being lonely on the road can be tough and isolating
Hanging outside at the back of the country show
Perhaps there's a similar country show where she might be feeling lonely
Picture me there with hat down low
I picture myself there with a hat covering my face
A smile upon my face to let you know
But still sporting a smile to show her that I'm still thinking of and interested in her
That I would like to take you home
I still want to take her home
That I would like to take you home,
I'll keep reiterating that desire to make sure she knows how I feel
To the hills that I know
I want to take her to the hills I'm familiar with
I would like to take you home, to the places I go
I want her to come with me and be a part of my life
And that's the way that a French kiss
All of this, the connection between an English boy and a Parisian girl, started with a chance kiss
From an English boy can capture a Parisian girl
It's amazing how a simple act of intimacy can bring two people together, regardless of their backgrounds or cultures
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: FRANCIS EDWARD TURNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ICantComeUpWithAName
I cannot get over how great this song is. Or how great Frank is for that matter.
Ken
Thank you Social Distortion for touring with Frank Turner. If it was not for you, I might have never heard this pure awesomeness.
ScottishPaddy89
Can honestly say that frank is a guy who makes you feel at ease, made my friends night who has serious progressive MS and this man made him feel alive and i will never forget that, so i say god bless the man that is Frank Turner
Calamity Jane
This is my most absolute favorite love song. Ever. Hands down.
Jamie Happs
It is an awesome song. I cant help but fall in love when I hear it
Charlotte Havercroft
One of my favourite Frank songs! 💘
Jordan Coles
You good sir, are a bloody hero.
Andrew Chambers
I was born in Winchester, and am a traveling musician. I fell in love with a French girl. This is my fucking theme.
gibboj94
Frank Turner never made a song about the number of 'Dislikes' on youtube. He doesn't whine about his fans; he just continues doing what he loves. Personally I couldn't care about the 'dislike' bar. I might be the only fucker on the planet who loves this music; and it wouldn't bother me in the sightest. <3
sedgie6667
can you apply fot the next english eurovision? this would be epic :3