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)
Don't Start
Franz Ferdinand Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The lyrics of Franz Ferdinand's song Don't Start are about a relationship that has hit a rough patch. The singer is begging their partner not to leave them and to stop the cycle of coming back and leaving again. The first two lines suggest that the partner has already started to run away and the singer is left with nothing but the trail of dust they have left behind. The next lines reveal the emotional pain that the singer is going through, with their heart burning in the sun when they are without their partner. The repetition of "Stop walking away" emphasizes the desperation of the singer's plea.
The second verse describes how the singer's vision is obscured by their partner's sunglasses, suggesting that they are hiding their true feelings. Despite this, the singer misses their partner even when they are together because they sense that their love is fading. With the repetition of "Stop coming around and around again", the song hints at a pattern in the relationship where the partner repeatedly leaves and comes back, and the singer is begging for it to stop.
Overall, Don't Start is a song about the pain of a crumbling relationship, and the plea to save it from breaking apart.
Line by Line Meaning
There's only wind and dust to follow Your footsteps on the run
I can only see the aftermath of your escape, with nothing to guide me but the wind and dust you've left behind
You know me, know when I'm without you I swear my heart burns in the sun
You understand me well enough to know that my heart aches in your absence, leaving me feeling exposed and vulnerable
Baby, don't start walking away
Please don't begin to leave me, as it will only bring me pain and sadness
Stop walking away
I beg of you to halt your departure, as I need you more than you realize
Stop coming around and around again
Your constant presence and sudden disappearances are driving me to madness
I see you in your glasses clearly
Even through your sunglasses, I can see the hurt and strife you're hiding from me
Your shades are blinding me, I say
Your attempts to hide your pain are causing me discomfort, as I can see the toll it's taking on you
I miss you most when you are with me
Although you may physically be present, I still feel alone and longing for your true companionship
I miss your missing me each day
In the times that you're not around, I miss the feeling of you yearning for my presence in your life
Don't start walking away
Please don't begin to leave me, as it will only bring me pain and sadness
Stop walking away
I beg of you to halt your departure, as I need you more than you realize
Stop coming around and around again
Your constant presence and sudden disappearances are driving me to madness
Don't start walking away
Please don't begin to leave me, as it will only bring me pain and sadness
Stop walking away
I beg of you to halt your departure, as I need you more than you realize
Stop coming around and around again
Your constant presence and sudden disappearances are driving me to madness
Don't start walking away
Please don't begin to leave me, as it will only bring me pain and sadness
Stop walking away
I beg of you to halt your departure, as I need you more than you realize
Stop coming around and around again
Your constant presence and sudden disappearances are driving me to madness
Contributed by Zoe P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.