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."
Un Cercle Autour Du Soleil
John Parish and Polly Jean Harvey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Breathing
Sunshine
Beating
Time here
Lingers
Trace with
My fingers
A circle
'Round the sun
The sun, the sun, the sun
No more
Laughter
Since the
Black come
But head down
Get high
Up there's
Blue sky
And a circle, a circle
'Round the sun
The sun, the sun, the sun
Time here
Lingers
Can trace with
My fingers
A circle, a circle
'Round the sun
The sun, the sun, the sun
The lyrics of the song "Un Cercle Autour Du Soleil", which translates to "A Circle Around the Sun", evoke feelings of nostalgia, loss, and hope. The opening lines, "She lay, Breathing, Sunshine, Beating", paint a picture of a woman basking in the warmth of the sun and breathing in the fresh air. However, the following verse, "No more laughter since the black come", introduces a darker element to the song, suggesting that something has happened or changed to rob the woman of her joy. Yet, despite this loss, the chorus reminds us that life goes on, as indicated by the circle around the sun that lingers and can be traced with fingers.
The repetition of the phrase "A circle, a circle, 'round the sun" throughout the song highlights the cyclical nature of life, with its ups and downs, joys and sorrows. The line "But head down, get high, up there's blue sky" suggests that even when things get tough, it's important to keep moving forward and stay positive, keeping one's gaze fixed on the beauty and hope that lies ahead.
Overall, "Un Cercle Autour Du Soleil" is a poignant and reflective song, reminding us that even in the face of loss and hardship, the circle of life keeps turning and that there is always hope for a better tomorrow.
Line by Line Meaning
She lay
The subject is currently in a reclined position
Breathing
The subject is inhaling and exhaling air
Sunshine
The sun is shining and providing light
Beating
The sun is radiating warmth and pulsing with energy
Time here
The time is currently present in this location
Lingers
The time seems to slow down and stay longer than expected
Trace with
The subject is touching and following the outline of
My fingers
The touch and sensation is coming from the subject's fingers
A circle
The subject is drawing a circular shape
A circle
The subject is drawing a circular shape
'Round the sun
The circular shape is orbiting around the sun
The sun, the sun, the sun
The subject is emphasizing the importance and centrality of the sun
No more
The previous situation has changed and is no longer present
Laughter
The sound of joy and amusement
Since the
Ever since the following event occurred
Black come
An event or period of darkness and negativity happened
But head down
Despite the challenge and adversity
Get high
The subject seeks to elevate their consciousness and perspective
Up there's
When looking up to the sky
Blue sky
The sky is a clear and vivid shade of blue
And a circle, a circle
Once again, the subject is drawing a circular shape
'Round the sun
This circular shape is still orbiting around the sun
The sun, the sun, the sun
The subject is still emphasizing the importance and centrality of the sun
Time here
Just like before, the time is present in this location
Lingers
The duration of time seems extended compared to what's expected
Can trace with
Once again, the subject can follow and feel the outline of
My fingers
The touching sensation is still coming from the subject's fingers
A circle, a circle
The subject is still drawing that same circular shape
'Round the sun
And this shape is still orbiting around the sun
The sun, the sun, the sun
The subject is still emphasizing the importance and centrality of the sun
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: POLLY JEAN HARVEY, JOHN PARISH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind