Gary Jules attended The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California. Some of his early projects/bands were The Ivory Knights, Our Town Pansies, Woodenfish and The Origin.
Jules started off his solo recording career with the debut Greetings from the Side. Originally released by A & M, this album slipped through the cracks due to neglect on the label's part, and Jules was dropped. In 2001, together with friend Michael Andrews, Gary Jules recorded Trading Snakeoil For Wolftickets. It was from this album that the remake of Tears for Fears' Mad World was subsequently used by Michael Andrews for Donnie Darko.
In December 2003, two years after Donnie Darko was released, Mad World finally reached the charts and became the Christmas Number One in the UK. In early 2004, the song surfaced in the US and Canada.
His most recent album, simply titled Gary Jules was released in 2006. The song Falling Awake from this album was recently used in the season 3 episode Six Days: Part Two of Grey's Anatomy.
Jules' Andrews' arrangement of "Mad World", was recently used in a trailer for the Gears of War for the XBOX 360, it was also used in a few episodes of CSI, Without a Trace, in some episodes of Dead Like Me, in an episode of Jericho, and an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Official Site: http://www.garyjules.com/
Broke Window
Gary Jules Lyrics
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Queen of her mother's house
Come step outside feeling full moon high
Let's see what we can live without
Fix an eye to the dimestore villain
Waiting for the wine to pour
It comes strong and thin and it tastes like sin
A million ways to burn
I'm just looking out of this old broke window
And she's taking a turn
I'm looking out of this old broke window
And she's taking a turn
Her body lies like a landscape before you
You're selling your soul by the pound
Got snakeoil in spades for the wolftickets trade
You look but don't see me around
A million ways to burn
I'm just standing here on this old street corner
And she's taking a turn
I'm standing here on this old street corner
And she's taking a turn
The lyrics of Gary Jules’s song Broke Window are open to interpretation, but they seem to suggest a mood of restlessness, impatience, and dissatisfaction. The singer appears to be observing a woman who is reckless and impulsive, willing to take risks and willing to try anything, even if it means sacrificing her own well-being. There is a sense of temptation and danger, with hints of addiction and destructive behavior.
The first verse suggests a woman who is rebellious and wild, with a “loaded tongue” and “dirty fingers”. She is the “queen of her mother’s house,” but she is itching to escape and explore. The singer urges her to join him outside, to see “what we can live without”. There is a feeling of urgency and desire, but also a hint of danger and recklessness, as if the singer is enticing her to take a risk and break free from her comfortable but suffocating environment.
The second verse introduces the theme of addiction, as the woman and the singer seek solace in “waiting for the wine to pour”. The alcohol is described as “strong and thin” and “tastes like sin”, suggesting both the pleasure and the danger of indulgence. The singer recognizes the risk involved, but seems to have resigned himself to the inevitability of pain and loss. He describes a “million ways to burn” and is resigned to his fate of watching and observing rather than acting.
Overall, the song seems to express a sense of restlessness and dissatisfaction with the status quo, a longing for freedom and adventure, but also an awareness of the risks and consequences involved. The lyrics are open-ended enough to suggest different interpretations, but the mood is one of melancholy and yearning, with a sense of fatalism and acceptance of pain and loss.
Line by Line Meaning
Loaded tongue dirty fingers
Using deceitful speech with greedy intentions
Queen of her mother's house
Acting as if she has full control over someone else's domain
Come step outside feeling full moon high
Venturing out under the nocturnal sky with elevated emotions
Let's see what we can live without
Let's explore what we can do without and live beyond
Fix an eye to the dimestore villain
Watch out for the cheap crook
Waiting for the wine to pour
Anticipating something that will numb the pain
It comes strong and thin and it tastes like sin
It's powerful yet fleeting, and it feels wrong despite providing comfort
The love we've all been in before
The type of affection that we've all experienced and found heartbreak in
A million ways to burn
There are countless ways to get hurt, to lose, to fail
I'm just looking out of this old broke window
I'm observing from a place of limited perspective and lack of resources
And she's taking a turn
She's changing her direction or making a significant decision
Her body lies like a landscape before you
Her physical form is laid out before you, seemingly vulnerable
You're selling your soul by the pound
You're compromising your values for personal gain
Got snakeoil in spades for the wolftickets trade
I have a lot of worthless wares to deceive and cheat others
You look but don't see me around
You notice my absence but fail to recognize my significance or relevance
I'm just standing here on this old street corner
I'm stationary and uninspired, stuck in a place of stagnation
And she's taking a turn
She's moving in a different direction while I'm still in the same spot
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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