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.
The Audience
Herbert Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You are my bones
You are endless shifting tones
You are my eyes you are my ears
You are the salt within my tears
You are my noise you are my sound
You are the dark and shifting ground
You are my yes you are my no
So move with me
With me removed
You are my down you are my up
You're so now never give up
You are my last you are my first
You are my good luck and my worst
You are my love you are my pay
You see green when i see grey
You are my bad i am your good
There are words misunderstood
So move with me
With me removed
You are my fingers i am your hand
I am your three man one man band
You are my breath i am your tongue
I feel old when you look young
I am your feet you are my toes
Where you come from no-one knows
I am your vision
You are my scent
I am borrowed you are lent
I am nervous you are calm
I see lines upon your palm
I am close we are near
Though the ending is not clear
We are separate we are one
The division has begun
You are my future i am your past
Even music will not last
So move with me
With me removed
You and us together
Together in this room
You will not remember
This passing moment soon
I am nervous you are calm
I see lines upom your palm
I am close we are near
Though the ending is not here
We are separate we are one
The division has begun
You are my future i am your past
Even music will not last
So move with me
With me removed
You and us together
Together in this room
You will not remember
This passing moment soon
In "The Audience," Herbert creates an eerie and intimate portrait of a relationship, vaguely alluding to themes of possession, dependence, and the fleeting nature of connection. Throughout the song, the singer repeatedly refers to an unnamed "you" who is both the subject of adoration and the source of discomfort. The "you" is described as everything from "endless shifting tones" to "my good luck and my worst," suggesting a complexity to the relationship that is impossible to pin down.
The lyrics also play with the idea of duality and interchangeability, with lines like "You are my fingers I am your hand" and "You are my noise you are my sound." The singer seems to be both deeply connected and slightly repelled by the "you," with the repeated refrain to "move with me / with me removed" suggesting a desire for closeness and distance simultaneously. The final lines of the song, "You and us together / Together in this room / You will not remember / This passing moment soon," emphasize the impermanence of the relationship and the fleeting nature of human connection.
Line by Line Meaning
You are my flesh
You are an essential part of me, as vital as the skin on my bones
You are my bones
You give structure and support to my existence
You are endless shifting tones
You are constantly changing, like the infinite variation of musical sounds
You are my eyes you are my ears
You help me see and hear the world around me
You are the salt within my tears
You add flavor and depth to my emotional experience
You are my noise you are my sound
You are the source of both chaos and harmony in my life
You are the dark and shifting ground
You are the unpredictable and unstable foundation upon which I stand
You are my yes you are my no
You are both agreement and disagreement, affirmation and negation
You are rarely wrong i know
I trust your judgment and intuition because you rarely make mistakes
So move with me
Let us work together in harmony
With me removed
Even if I am no longer present or involved
You are my down you are my up
You share the highs and lows of my life
You're so now never give up
You are always present and committed, never giving up despite obstacles
You are my last you are my first
You are both the end and the beginning of my experiences
You are my good luck and my worst
You bring both fortune and hardship into my life
You are my love you are my pay
You are both my passion and my income
You see green when i see grey
Your perspective on life is different from mine
You are my bad i am your good
We have strengths and weaknesses that complement each other
There are words misunderstood
We sometimes misinterpret each other's intentions or feelings
You are my fingers i am your hand
We are intimately connected, like the fingers and hand of a single body
I am your three man one man band
I provide multiple talents or resources for us to draw upon
You are my breath i am your tongue
We are linked in essential functions, like breathing and speaking
I feel old when you look young
You make me aware of my own mortality or aging
I am your feet you are my toes
We are parts of the same body, with different levels of complexity or sensitivity
Where you come from no-one knows
Your origins or influences may be mysterious or unknown
I am your vision
I help you see or understand the world in a particular way
You are my scent
You have a distinctive aroma or presence that affects me
I am borrowed you are lent
I depend on you for resources or support
I am nervous you are calm
We have different temperaments or reactions to situations
I see lines upon your palm
I notice subtle details about you that reveal something about your character or destiny
I am close we are near
We are emotionally or physically close to each other
Though the ending is not clear
We are uncertain about the future of our relationship
We are separate we are one
We are distinct individuals yet connected in some deeper way
The division has begun
Our differences may lead to conflict or distance
You are my future i am your past
We each represent different phases of our joint history or potential
Even music will not last
Even the most beautiful or meaningful things in life are temporary and fleeting
You and us together
We exist as a group or partnership
Together in this room
We share a particular physical or emotional space
You will not remember
This moment or memory may not be significant or lasting for you
This passing moment soon
This brief experience will come to an end and be forgotten
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: DANI SICILIANO, MATTHEW HERBERT, PHIL PARNELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@nimmymcjulty1008
One of my favourite Songs ever since I have heard it for the first time, ages really well
@ThokozaneNgcongwane
An absolute classic! Brings tears to my eyes
@robthemod58
Listening in 2023. Utterly sublime.
@daddyspacebear
this song was playing on the radio when I was driving with my cat to the vet to be put to sleep <3 RIP Kip
@iLoVeYoUaNdMoNa
RIP little cat
@marcusljusforum
<3 ahw... hugs
@EyeAmMyOwn777
That key solo! Reminds me of Horace Silver. A masterclass in house music
@kdavalos7914
Herbert Master of the Universe
@jammze
this song is amazing
@djkrptdnb
This reminds me of working in a cocktail bar in Wellington, NZ back in the early 00’s