The pair had previously been musical collaborators for several years. As a teenager growing up in rural England, Harvey contributed saxophone, guitar and backing vocals to Parish’s band Automatic Dlamini before forming her own band in 1991. Parish later served as co-producer, guitarist, percussionist and keyboard player on Harvey’s 1995 album To Bring You My Love and was featured heavily on her 1998 album Is This Desire?.
On Dance Hall at Louse Point, Parish wrote and played the music, while Harvey sang vocals and wrote the lyrics. The album was viewed by many of Harvey's fans as a minor side project, perhaps due to the top billing accorded the more obscure Parish and her own accreditation as Polly Jean Harvey rather than the more widely recognised PJ Harvey name. Consequently, it sold more poorly than any of her solo releases, entering the UK charts at #46 and barely denting the U.S. Billboard charts at #178.
It yielded only one single, That Was My Veil, which spent a week at #75 in the UK charts. Harvey later admitted that she let Parish handle all promotional duties for the record because she was exhausted following a year of intense promotional activity for To Bring You My Love in 1995. Reportedly, bosses at Harvey’s Island Records label feared that the avant-garde venture was “commercial suicide”, despite it winning generally positive reviews. Entertainment Weekly opined, “This is 'deep' music in every sense; total immersion is recommended.” Musician reckoned “The results are as engaging as they are disturbing....full of strange moves and unusual textures.” Logo felt it was “thrillingly sinister”, while Q magazine praised its “polecat scat and brooding rural blues," adding that it felt "more a series of themes and word paintings.”
Speaking about the album to NME in 1998, Harvey explained "I just really wanted to learn different things, and a lot of learning comes from working with other people. I tend to place more importance on lyric writing than music, and I wanted to somehow bring the music to a similar level with that, but I didn’t feel confident in myself as a musician to do it. I know John can write demanding and intellectual music – much more than mine, which is very simple. So it was really just to test my lyric writing." In 2001, she told Chicago Sun-Times, "People don't even count that, yet that's the record I'm really proud of. It was an enormous turning point. Lyrically, it moved me into areas I'd never been to before. Faced with John's music, which is so different to my own, it just made me write lyrics in a very different way and structure songs in a different way."
Parish and Harvey did a brief UK club tour with the Mark Bruce Dance Company in early 1997, performing the album’s experimental songs with a group of interpretive ballet dancers onstage.
Twelve years later, the duo released A Woman A Man Walked By, also on Island. The album, which was recorded in Bristol and Dorset and mixed by Flood, was released on March 30, 2009 on Island. It consisted of 10 new songs, including an instrumental. All the music was written by Parish, who also played most of the instruments. The lyrics, once again, were by Harvey.
The first single from the album was "Black Hearted Love," which is described as having "anthemic grunge-pop guitars." The track debuted on the Zane Lowe Show on March 2.
The album was described by journalist John Harris, as "...mischievous, deadly serious, elegant and poetic, and possessed of a brutal power – it is doubtful that you will hear a record as brimming with creative brio and musical invention this year." In a track by track synopsis on their website, The Fly described the album as "a body of folk tales, funeral songs and trapped, tangled love songs... brilliant."
Rope Bridge Crossing
John Parish and Polly Jean Harvey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sunrise on a blue horizon
You, your hand in mine
I remember the things you said
Said, "I'll be a lady, wait through it all,
Be there to catch you, after the fall
Run through the red light, out of my hair
And I dream of running
And in the dream I, myself could run
And I feel the ground beneath my feet
And I move like music,
You move me, like music
Head out of my way
Head out to red light
"Hold on" the dream says
Head out of my life
You said "I'd be there"
Now I'm treading very carefully
And I hope that I don't scream
And I hope that I don't fall
Off your bridge, crossing over
Sunny mountain, swollen riverfall
You said "I'd be there"
You said "I'd be there"
Through it all
Head out of my way
Head of to red light
"Hold on" the dream says
Head out of my life
All over my way
Head out to red light
"Hold on" the dream says
Head out of my life
You said "I'd be there"
The lyrics of "Rope Bridge Crossing" by John Parish and Polly Jean Harvey are profound and evocative, portraying a sense of longing and nostalgia. The song begins with evocative reminiscing, as the singer recollects the sunrise on a blue horizon, holding hands with their lover, and the things they said. The following lines highlight the lover's promise to wait through the toughest times and be there to provide comfort and support. The dream-like quality of the lyrics is reinforced through the repeated reference to running, giving the impression of escaping from reality. The lyrics then take a darker turn as the singer laments their current situation, treading very carefully and hoping to avoid screaming or falling off the rope bridge crossing. The repetition of the phrase, "You said 'I'd be there'," adds to the overall sense of heartache and disappointment.
Line by Line Meaning
And I remember everything
I recall each and every thing from the past
Sunrise on a blue horizon
The view of the sunrise on the blue horizon is etched in my memory
You, your hand in mine
I can still feel the warmth of your hand in mine
I remember the things you said
The words you spoke are still vivid in my memory
Said, "I'll be a lady, wait through it all,
You promised to be patient through all the tough times
Be there to catch you, after the fall
You promised to be there to help me get back up after I fall
Run through the red light, out of my hair
You said to leave the troubles behind and start fresh
Run from the darkness into the dare
You encouraged me to take risks and face my fears
And I dream of running
I still dream of freedom and escaping my troubles
And in the dream I, myself could run
I envision myself overcoming all the obstacles and running freely
And I feel the ground beneath my feet
I feel grounded, secure, and in control
And I move like music,
I move effortlessly and gracefully, like a piece of music
You move me, like music
You inspire me and move my soul, like music
Head out of my way
I am determined to move forward and nothing can stop me
Head out to red light
I leave the past and all its negativity behind
"Hold on" the dream says
My inner voice tells me to persevere and hold on to my dreams
Head out of my life
I cut the ties with anything that holds me back and move on
Now I'm treading very carefully
I'm being cautious and careful not to make the same mistakes again
And I hope that I don't scream
I hope I don't lose control and give in to my fears
And I hope that I don't fall
I hope I don't fail or stumble on my journey
Off your bridge, crossing over
I'm crossing over the bridge you built for me
Sunny mountain, swollen riverfall
I face both the beautiful and the challenging moments along the way
You said "I'd be there"
You promised to be there for me through thick and thin
All over my way
I face obstacles and challenges in every step on my journey
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: POLLY JEAN HARVEY, JOHN PARISH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind