1.Jack The Ripper forms part of these formations which skilfully knew to tr… Read Full Bio ↴1.Jack The Ripper forms part of these formations which skilfully knew to transcend their poisonous influences come straight of Nick Cave through melodies elegant, melancholic persons and tinted of a dark and slightly obsolete romanticism, that French would not have known to evoke with as much intensity.
It is into 1995 that eight Parisian musicians decide to found the group Jack The Ripper. This Christian name is heavy direction, since it is also the name of the most famous British serial killer, which prevailed in the district of Whitechapel in London of the end of XIXe century. Thus, the sound world of Jack The Ripper is far from being alleviating and merry, flirtant on the contrary with tormented environments which attract us unrelentingly. Besides one cannot prevent oneself from thinking of Doors, in Tindersticks like with the first two albums of Sixteen Horsepower, when one puts Jack The Ripper on the turntable.

---->I was going to re-write this, but I think it uses such a unique brand of English it deserves to be preserved. However I will do a translation:

Jack the Ripper are an 8 piece Indie rock band from Paris. Strong influences of Nick Cave, The Doors and Tindersticks produce a uniquely unsettling and haunting array of vocals and melodies that do justice to a name that brings dark, menacing , thoughts of 19th centuary London and sets the scene for the whole band.

2, Japanese crust band, released a cd "Fight the system for peace and freedom" in 2004

So
Jack The Ripper Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

... So I've heard so often you were fine 'cause you're old now, but you learnt how to be handsome. You were small, you were fat, we were cruel. You said lovers I had sometimes, love I never knew... Now our bodies look like wrecks in the sea (and we drown in your eyes like the fools) so still, so deep, so cold...

Now I know it's over and all the sailors sing your songs.
Now I know it's over and we all love you now you've gone.
I feel so weak and my hands are trembling. THINGS - ALWAYS - ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM - So still... so deep... so cold...
Now I know...
To shag a pig was considered at school by the priest as a mortal sin. But you, the piggy girl, was the only human being I've ever seen. I wished I could have loved you. I wished I would have cared. Forgive me not.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Jack the Ripper's song are a melancholic reflection on the past, regret, and the dissolution of a relationship. The song is addressed to someone who is described as having been small and fat, and a victim of cruelty, yet learned how to be handsome in their old age. The singer acknowledges their past mistreatment of this person and confesses their love was never genuine. The imagery of bodies as wrecks in the sea alludes to the regrettable state of their relationship, with the use of the word "drown" highlighting the depth of their failure. The repetition of "so still, so deep, so cold" adds to the overall sense of resignation, despair, and finality.

The second part of the lyrics finds the singer coming to terms with the end of the relationship, as evidenced by the repetition of "now I know it's over." They speak of how the person they once mistreated is now celebrated, even though they are gone, and express their own weakness and trembling hands. The phrase "things-always-are not what they seem" suggests that despite the singer's rueful assessment of their relationship, they may not have full insight into the other person's experience. The final stanza is a startling contrast to the rest of the song, introducing the idea of a "piggy girl" whom the singer wished they could have loved. The use of the word "pig" pulls the listener into another layer of cruelty, contrasting with the singer's apology in the first stanza. The lyrics end with a brutal, self-centered request for forgiveness that acknowledges the impossibility of such a request.

Line by Line Meaning

So I've heard so often you were fine 'cause you're old now, but you learnt how to be handsome.
I have heard that despite your age, you have learned how to present yourself attractively.

You were small, you were fat, we were cruel.
You were once physically unappealing, and we were mean to you because of it.

You said lovers I had sometimes, love I never knew...
You may have had sexual partners, but you've never experienced true love.

Now our bodies look like wrecks in the sea (and we drown in your eyes like the fools) so still, so deep, so cold...
Now that we're older, our bodies are beginning to deteriorate and we feel helpless, yet we still long for your affection despite the emptiness we feel.

Now I know it's over and all the sailors sing your songs.
I'm aware that it's all over, and everyone reminisces about you.

Now I know it's over and we all love you now you've gone.
Now that you're gone, we have come to appreciate and love you for who you were.

I feel so weak and my hands are trembling. THINGS - ALWAYS - ARE NOT WHAT THEY SEEM - So still... so deep... so cold...
I feel weak and shaky because I've realized that life is full of hidden meanings and things aren't always what they seem, leaving me feeling helpless and empty.

Now I know...
I finally understand.

To shag a pig was considered at school by the priest as a mortal sin. But you, the piggy girl, was the only human being I've ever seen. I wished I could have loved you. I wished I would have cared. Forgive me not.
The priest at our school deemed it a great sin to have sexual relations with someone perceived to be unattractive. However, I saw the beauty in you, and I regret that I didn't show you the love and care you deserved.

Contributed by Lillian K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

TRACKS