The band first experienced chart success when their second single "Take Me Out" reached #3 in the UK Charts, followed by their debut album Franz Ferdinand which entered the UK album chart at #3. The band went on to win the 2004 Mercury Music Prize and two BRIT Awards in 2005 for Best British Group and Best British Rock Act. NME named Franz Ferdinand as their Album of the Year. From the album, three top-ten singles were released, "Take Me Out", "The Dark of the Matinée" and "This Fire". The band has also received several Grammy Award nominations.
The band is named after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria whose assassination was one of the main reasons for the start of the First World War. The band decided on the name after seeing a racehorse named Archduke Ferdinand win the Northumberland Plate in 2001, eventually coming to the decision as the alliteration and sound of the name appealed to them.
- Discography
Franz Ferdinand (2004)
You Could Have It So Much Better (2005)
Blood; Franz Ferdinand (2009)
Tonight: Franz Ferdinand (2009)
Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action (2013)
FFS (2015) (Collaborative album with the band Sparks)
Always Ascending (2018)
Hits to the Head (2022)
40
Franz Ferdinand Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Forty feet beneath my feet
The coldest calm falls
Through the molten veins
Cooling all the blood to slush
Congeals around again
Oh, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la
Oh, and forty feet remain
Salt scales upon my drying arms
Burn my back beneath the sun
But I am cold beneath the burning rays
Looking down, looking down, down, down again
Oh, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la
Oh, and forty feet remain
La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
Oh, and forty feet remain
The lyrics of "40" by Franz Ferdinand depict the experience of the singer standing on the edge of a cliff or a rock, gazing down at the water 40 feet below him. He comments on the sensation of the coldness of the water cooling his veins and turning his blood into slush. There is a paradoxical feeling of being both hot and cold as the sun burns his skin, but his blood cools, and this is excellently conveyed in the lyrics. The repetition of the "La-La-La" chorus amplifies the abstract feeling of being suspended in time while looking down at nature's beauty in a moment of calmness.
The meaning of the song is generally open to interpretation, but it has been suggested that it is a metaphor for a moment in life where people feel disconnected within themselves. There's a sense of gazing into the unknown, feeling both fear and excitement. It's also common to interpret the lyrics' meaning to be about the temptation to jump and feel alive, yet afraid of the unknowns.
Line by Line Meaning
As I glance once upon the foam
As I take a look at the sea foam for a moment
Forty feet beneath my feet
The distance from the surface to the ocean bed below is forty feet
The coldest calm falls
The silence and stillness of the water's depth feel frigid
Through the molten veins
The veins in my body feel like they are filled with hot molten liquid
Cooling all the blood to slush
The cold water chills my blood to a point of thickening, making it feel slushy
Congeals around again
My blood thickens and clots around my body again
Salt scales upon my drying arms
My arms have salt deposits forming on them as they dry
Burn my back beneath the sun
The sun's rays scorch my back
But I am cold beneath the burning rays
Despite the burning heat from the sun, I still feel cold due to the frigid water below
Looking down, looking down, down, down again
I am repeatedly looking down at the water's surface and then down to its depth below
Oh, and forty feet remain
I still have forty feet to go down to reach the ocean floor
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Robert Hardy, Alexander Paul Kapranos Huntley, Nicholas John McCarthy, Paul Robert Thompson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind