Matthew Herbert is an electronic music producer known for breaking the boun… Read Full Bio ↴Matthew Herbert is an electronic music producer known for breaking the boundaries and conventions of the genre. Since 1996 he has released music on a variety of record labels under many aliases including Doctor Rockit, Wishmountain, Radioboy, Mr. Vertigo, Transformer, under his own name and with his Big Band. He has played at the Montreux and North Sea Jazz Festivals, Paris' Pompidou Centre, Tokyo's Blue Note, Sonar and Glastonbury, and supported Bjork at the Hollywood Bowl. Along with over ten albums of self-written, produced and performed music, he has produced albums by Róisín Murphy, Dani Siciliano and Barbara Panther, worked with Björk and remixed Moloko, R.E.M., Perry Farrell, Serge Gainsbourg, Yoko Ono, John Cale, The Avalanches and Cornelius. He also runs his own label, Accidental Records.

Herbert began creating music with found objects whilst at Exeter University (UK) in the 1990s, where he studied Drama. From bottles, books, and pepper pots he progressed to recording places and experiences, effectively using the sampler as an instrument on many of his Doctor Rockit and Herbert releases. This style evolved into the overtly political when he began sampling objects from McDonald's and The Gap as a protest against corporate globalism on the The Mechanics Of Destruction album. The CD was distributed free at concerts and available as a free download and has never been available in stores.

His 2003 Big Band album, Goodbye Swingtime combined the political commentary of Radioboy with the song structure of his Herbert albums. Recorded with sixteen musicians from the British jazz world, including saxophonists Dave O'Higgins and Nigel Hitchcock and bassist Dave Green, the band is complemented on stage by long-term vocal partner Dani Siciliano and occasionally Arto Lindsay and Warp recording artist, Jamie Lidell. Recently he has provided music for a number of films, including Dogme director Kristian Levring's The Intended along with original music for TV. Herbert's newest album Plat du Jour addresses world famine.

Just Once
Herbert Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

just once

i still just can't believe you're gone
i still can't work out what went wrong
won't you come back now
just once
just once
show yourself right here

just once once

i don't accept this has an end
these distant limbs may never mend
lift this chet of lead
just once
just once
raise this heart instead

just once
just once

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Herbert's song "Just Once" expresses the lingering feelings of loss and longing that comes with a broken relationship. The singer is still in disbelief that their loved one is gone and is unable to understand what happened to cause the end of the relationship. The singer is pleading for their partner to come back even if it is just for a moment so that they can see them one more time. The unresolved feelings of sadness and hopelessness can be seen in the refrain, "just once, show yourself right here, just once, once."

The second verse carries on the same sentiments, as the singer is not able to accept that the relationship has come to an end. The distance between the two people may never be bridged, and the singer is feeling the weight of the pain associated with losing someone they love. The singer seeks an end to this agony and wants just one chance to have their heart lifted instead of feeling the heaviness of the pain. The use of the metaphor "lift this chest of lead" and "raise this heart instead" poetically highlights the burden of grief that the singer is carrying.

Line by Line Meaning

i still just can't believe you're gone
Even today, I cannot fathom that you are not here with me.

i still can't work out what went wrong
I am still struggling to understand what caused us to drift apart.

won't you come back now
Please make a return to me, right this instant.

just once
I ask for this one favor only.

show yourself right here
Reveal yourself to me so that I may see you once again.

i don't accept this has an end
I refuse to accept that our relationship has come to an end.

these distant limbs may never mend
Our broken bond may never heal or be restored.

lift this chet of lead
Please release me from the weight of my sorrow and grief.

raise this heart instead
Please lift my spirits and bring joy to my heart.

just once
I beg for this one chance to ease the pain.

just once
I plead for this single opportunity to set things right.