Beginning in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Parker sang in small-time amateur English bands such as the Black Rockers and Deep Cut Three, while working in dead-end jobs at a glove factory and a petrol station. In late 1974 he placed an ad in Britain’s "Melody Maker" music mag seeking like-minded musicians and he began performing professionally. In 1975, he recorded a few demo tracks in London with Dave Robinson, who would shortly found Stiff Records and who connected Parker with his first backing band of note.
Graham Parker & the Rumour (with Brinsley Schwarz and Martin Belmont on guitar, Bob Andrews on keyboards, Andrew Bodnar on bass and Steve Goulding on drums) formed in the summer of 1975 and began doing the rounds of the British pub rock scene. Their first album, Howlin' Wind, was released to acclaim in 1976 and rapidly followed by the stylistically similar Heat Treatment. A mixture of rock, ballads, and reggae-influenced numbers, these albums reflected Parker's early influences (Motown, The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan) and contained the songs which formed the core of Parker's live shows -- "White Honey", "Soul Shoes", "Lady Doctor", "Fool's Gold", and his early signature tune "Don't Ask Me Questions", which hit the top 40 in the UK. Like the pub rock scene he was loosely tied to, the singer's class-conscious lyrics and passionate vocals signaled a renewal of rock music as punk rock began to flower in Britain.
Parker preceded the other "new wave" English singer-songwriters, Elvis Costello and Joe Jackson. Early in his career his work was often compared favorably to theirs, and for decades journalists would continue to categorize them together, long after the artists' work had diverged. Characteristically, Parker would not hesitate to criticize this habit with caustic wit.
The first two albums' critical acclaim was generally not matched with LP sales. Graham Parker and the Rumour appeared on BBC television's Top of the Pops in 1976, performing their top 30 hit version of The Trammps' "Hold Back the Night".
At this point, Parker began to change his songwriting style, reflecting his desire to break into the American market. The first fruits of this new direction appeared on Stick To Me (1977). The album broke the top 20 on the UK charts but divided critical opinions.
Energized by his new label, Arista, and the presence of legendary producer Jack Nitzsche, Parker followed with Squeezing Out Sparks (1979), widely held to be the best album of his career. For this album, The Rumour's brass section, prominent on all previous albums, was jettisoned, resulting in a spare, intense rock backing for some of Parker's most brilliant songs. Of particular note was "You Can't Be Too Strong", one of rock music's rare songs to confront the topic of abortion, however ambivalently.
Squeezing out Sparks is still ranked by fans and critics alike as one of the finest rock albums ever made. Rolling Stone named it #335 [1] on their 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. In an early 1987 Rolling Stone list of their top 100 albums from 1967-1987, Squeezing Out Sparks was ranked at #45, while Howlin' Wind came in at #54 [2].
Although marginally less intense than its predecessor, 1980's The Up Escalator was Parker's highest-charting album in the UK and featured glossy production by Jimmy Iovine and guest vocals from Bruce Springsteen. Nevertheless it was Parker's last album with the Rumour, although guitarist Brinsley Schwarz would join most of the singer's albums through the decade's end.
The 1980s were Parker's most commercially successful years, with well-financed recordings and radio and video play. Over the decade, the British press turned unkind to him, but he continued to tour the world with top backing bands, and his 1985 release Steady Nerves included his only US Top 40 hit, "Wake Up (Next to You)". The singer began living mostly in the United States during this time.
In early 2011, Parker reunited with all five original members of The Rumour to record a new album. The record, titled Three Chords Good, was released in November 2012.
Broken Skin
Graham Parker Lyrics
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That you have all those wounds
They're advertising
The things that you've been through
It's tantalizing
To psychoanalyze
We're all downsizing
What we do with our lives
There's not enough money
In this whole world
To pay for a break or two
There's not enough armor in a suit of mail
Your broken skin's not black or blue
But damaged just the same
And who does not feel fractured too
Like broken skin
The sun's not rising
Upon your burned out shell
Still exercising
The things you don't do well
It's not enterprising
To grapple with the past
You're past surmising
How long the past can last
There's not enough trees
You can hide behind
Not enough walls to climb
Not enough cracks in the paving stones
Your broken skin's not black or blue
But damaged just the same
And who does not feel fractured too
Like broken skin
There's not enough money
In this whole world
To pay for a break or two
There's not enough armor in a suit of mail
Your broken skin's not black or blue
But damaged just the same
But who does not feel fractured too
Like broken skin
Broken skin
Broken skin
Broken skin
Broken skin
The lyrics to Graham Parker's song "Broken Skin" seem to be about someone who has been through a lot and has visible scars to show for it. The first verse talks about how the wounds are advertising what the person has been through and that it's tempting to try to analyze them. It then goes on to talk about how we all struggle to find meaning in our lives.
The second verse touches on the idea that no amount of money or protection can fully shield us from the difficulties of life. The imagery of hiding behind trees or walls implies a sense of vulnerability and the message seems to be that we all have our own "broken skin" that we carry with us. The final chorus repeats the idea that we are all damaged in some way and that we can't escape it, but that we can find solidarity in that shared experience.
Overall, the song speaks to the universal human experience of struggling and the scars that we carry with us as a result. It offers a message of empathy and understanding for those who are going through tough times and serves as a reminder that we're all in this together.
Line by Line Meaning
It's not surprising
Your emotional scars, though invisible, are not surprising given what you've been through
That you have all those wounds
Your emotional pain is palpable, even if it's not visible
They're advertising
Your emotional scars are like advertisements for the battles you've faced
The things that you've been through
Your emotional scars are a testament to the struggles you've faced and overcome
It's tantalizing
It's tempting to try and analyze or understand your emotional pain, but it's not always possible or necessary
To psychoanalyze
To try and understand the deeper psychological reasons behind your pain and scars
We're all downsizing
We're all trying to simplify our lives and cut out what's unnecessary, including our emotional baggage
What we do with our lives
How we choose to live our lives and the things we focus on are within our control
There's not enough money
No amount of money can truly heal or fix the emotional pain and scars you carry
In this whole world
No matter how rich or powerful you are, you can't buy your way out of emotional pain
To pay for a break or two
No amount of time off or vacation can truly heal the emotional pain and scars you carry
There's not enough armor in a suit of mail
No amount of protection or armor can shield you from emotional pain and scars
Your broken skin's not black or blue
Your emotional scars may not be visible on the surface like a black and blue bruise, but they still exist and hold weight
But damaged just the same
Your emotional scars may not be visible, but they still have an impact and can be just as painful as physical injury
And who does not feel fractured too
Everyone carries emotional pain and scars to some degree
Like broken skin
Just as our skin can break and scar, so too can our emotions be damaged and leave scars
The sun's not rising
You may feel stuck or stagnant, like the world is not progressing around you
Upon your burned out shell
You may feel like a shell of your former self, burnt out and exhausted from the battles you've faced
Still exercising
You may continue to engage in behaviors or habits that exacerbate your emotional pain, even if it's not beneficial
The things you don't do well
Your emotional scars may make it difficult to perform tasks or engage in behaviors you once found easy
It's not enterprising
It's not productive or helpful to dwell on the past and let it dictate your present and future actions
To grapple with the past
To struggle with and try to come to terms with past traumas or experiences
You're past surmising
You may come to a point where you no longer feel like you can fully understand or make sense of your past experiences
How long the past can last
It's hard to know or predict how long past experiences will continue to impact and shape your life
There's not enough trees
There's not enough natural places to retreat to and find solace and peace from emotional pain
You can hide behind
There's no real hiding from emotional pain and scars, even if you try
Not enough walls to climb
There's no easy or clear way to conquer or overcome emotional pain and scars
Not enough cracks in the paving stones
There are no easy, visible cracks or fissures in the hardened exterior of the world that you can access to ease your emotional pain
Contributed by Evan F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.