After recording their first album, which featured the single Talking to a Stranger, the band traveled to Germany to record with famed producer Conny Plank. In 1984, the band reorganized, adding a three-piece horn section and losing the second guitarist. By 1986, the band's style was moving away from the sweat-drenched rhythmic jams of their early days to a more song-centered aproach centered on Seymour (whose younger brother Nick was a member of Crowded House). Throw Your Arms Around Me was a successful single in many countries.
The band was never able to match the worldwide attention they reached in 1986, though they continued to record with considerable success in Australia, and maintained a loyal fanbase elsewhere.
They broke up in 1998, but returned to play one concert on 14 March 2009 for "Sound Relief" at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which was a multi-venue rock music concert in support of relief for the Victorian Bushfire Crisis.
So Long Ago
Hunters & Collectors Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I could do anything I wanted
Round your place
Everyone’s awake
And nobody is watching
But it’s so long ago
So long ago
We got tangled up and I got nervous
Our love was just a drop in the ocean
There are seven days in a week
And only one deadly sin
One day I was scared
And the next one you were clean
But it’s so long ago
So long ago
So long ago I can not remember
Here in the new age
Here in the age of incubation
Oh we are willing but we are unable
We play show poker love under the table – yeah
One pack of three gloves in my pocket
As I walk out into the night
Oh little baby I can hardly stand it
This fantasy is disappearing out of sight
And it’s so long ago
So long ago
So long ago I can not remember
The lyrics of Hunters & Collectors' "So Long Ago" convey a sense of nostalgia and loss as the singer reflects on a past relationship that has long since ended. The first two lines set the scene by evoking a time when the singer "could do anything" at his lover's place, suggesting a sense of freedom and possibility. However, this is contrasted with the fact that "no one is watching," implying that there was a sense of secrecy or hiddenness to their time together.
The second verse continues this theme of tension, with the singer confessing that he got nervous and that their love was "just a drop in the ocean." The reference to the seven days of the week and the deadly sin suggests a sense of moral conflict and perhaps guilt about the relationship. The chorus repeats the titular phrase "so long ago" three times, emphasizing the distance between the present and the past.
The third verse adds a slightly surreal element to the song, with references to the "new age" and "incubation" and a sense of frustration or impotence ("willing but unable"). The final lines suggest that the singer is leaving or has left, with a pack of three gloves in his pocket and a sense of despair at the fading of his fantasy.
Overall, the lyrics of "So Long Ago" convey a sense of wistful remembrance and regret for a past relationship that was perhaps problematic in some way. The song draws on a range of images and metaphors to evoke this sense of loss, including references to time, secrecy, morality, and fantasy.
Line by Line Meaning
There was a time, long time ago
There was a time in the past, a long time ago.
When I could do anything I wanted
At that time, I had the liberty to do whatever I pleased.
Round your place
Around your vicinity,
Everyone’s awake
All the people over there are conscious,
And nobody is watching
But no one is observing me.
But it’s so long ago
However, that time was so long gone by,
So long ago
Such a long time back
So long ago I can not remember
That it's impossible for me to recall.
We got tangled up and I got nervous
Our emotions became complicated, and I became anxious.
Our love was just a drop in the ocean
Our love, compared to the vastness of the world, was negligible.
There are seven days in a week
There are seven days in a week
And only one deadly sin
And only one sin that can lead to death
One day I was scared
A day arrived when I was frightened
And the next one you were clean
And the next day, you were pure and pristine.
Here in the new age
Now, in this modern era,
Here in the age of incubation
In this period of development and growth,
Oh we are willing but we are unable
We are eager to do something, but can't do it due to several reasons.
We play show poker love under the table – yeah
We pretend to love each other secretly and dishonestly
One pack of three gloves in my pocket
I have a pack of three gloves in my pocket
As I walk out into the night
As I step out of the house and wander in the darkness
Oh little baby I can hardly stand it
I'm unable to bear it any longer, my dear.
This fantasy is disappearing out of sight
This dream is fading away and getting blurred.
And it’s so long ago
Moreover, it has been so long ago,
So long ago
Such a long time back
So long ago I can not remember
That I can't remember it at all.
Contributed by Miles Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.