*She is an award-winning, multi-nominated novelist and is considered to be the UK's premier woman spoken-word artist ('the UK's Patti Smith') and an expert in the field of commisioned public poetry. Joolz has an international reputation for excellence in all her creative fields. Joolz has also worked within the music industry for over twenty-six years, for the legendary underground cult band New Model Army and for upcoming young Northern band New York Alcoholic Anxiety Attack.
*Joolz tours the world giving highly acclaimed dramatic readings of her work (both poetry and prose) and was awarded the audio book industry's prestigious 'Earphone Award' (USA) for her recording of her first novel, Stone Baby. She is noted for the emotive, musical quality of her voice and the skill with which she presents the characters she has written about.
*In Britain she reads throughout the year at venues ranging from The Royal Albert Hall and the House of Commons to rock music festivals (twenty-two years as a performer at Glastonbury) arts centres, Universities, rock clubs and coffee houses.
*Joolz is an extremely experienced and valued broadcaster having worked regularly for radio of all kinds such as BBC Radio Four (including many broadcasts for Woman's Hour) and BBC Radio One. She has also appeared regularly on television.
*For her debut novel Stone Baby (HarperCollins) Joolz won the Crime Writer's Association New Crime Writer Of The Year and was shortlisted for the John Creasey Award.
*Her third novel, Billie Morgan (Serpent's Tail) was shortlisted for the 2005 Orange Prize and also the Crime Writer's Association Dagger In The Library award.
*Her latest novel Borrowed Light (Serpent's Tail) was released in February 2006 to enormous critical acclaim and her latest collection of poetry and short fiction Pray For Us Sinners (Comma Press), released in late 2005, is already in its second re-print.
* Joolz' Arts Council sponsored exhibition of her artwork for New Model Army 'One Family - One Tribe; The Art & Artefacts Of New Model Army' saw 10,000 visitors to Bradford's Cartwright Hall Gallery (who now curates the exhibition) and over 6,000 during its visit to Hamm, Germany. The Exhibition/Installation of her photographs of Bradford; 'Bradford - True North' saw a ten-fold rise in visitors to Bradford University Gallery 2 and the photographs have been purchased by the University for permanent display in the new Atrium.
*Joolz was Artistic Director of the nationally acclaimed 'Radical Brontes' strand of the 2006 Illuminate Festival and designated a Cultural Revolutionary; banners and posters bearing her image were displayed in cities and railway stations all over the North of England alongside such Northern cultural icons as Frederick Delius and Charlotte Bronte.
* Joolz is part of the "folk cabaret troupe" Red Sky Coven, consisting further of Justin Sullivan (from New Model Army) and Rev Hammer.
Protection
Joolz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Some distant time past our recall.
I know that we have fought this dance before,
And more than once, the wheel turning.
Your face was so familiar that I called you "friend"
Before I even knew your name,
But you burnt, as always, cold,
And oh, so slow to kindle,
But you would not deliver,
You sent me to the storm without protection...
Though lies are knives that never blunt
And each time you cut in blindness
It is deeper; I cannot leave
Although I know our love has grown
Into a bitter flower,
Stemmed and twisted by some cruel frost
A frozen, white and glittering glamour,
Your words, they were false,
Your heart it was unopened,
You promised everything,
But you would not deliver,
You sent me to the storm without protection...
I know it’s strange, but somewhere deep inside
I do believe you truly love me
And strangers sneer and make up trash,
But though they try,
they cannel quite destroy us.
Our bond has grown strong,
Like some favourite song that’s loved from repetition.
And if we fail, we’ll try again,
And d we fail, we’ll by again,
And maybe, this time,
You won’t send me to the storm without protection...
The song "Protection" by Joolz is a powerful representation of a love that has been tested and tested again. The opening lyrics set the tone for a relationship that was destined to happen, even before the two individuals met. But even with this sense of inevitability, the relationship is far from perfect. The line "You burnt, as always, cold, And oh, so slow to kindle" speaks to a love that is slow to grow, and perhaps even resistant to it. The promise of everything without delivery sends the singer into the storm, unprotected and vulnerable.
The chorus of the song, "Though lies are knives that never blunt And each time you cut in blindness It is deeper; I cannot leave" speaks to the pain that comes from being hurt repeatedly by someone you love, and how that pain only deepens with time. Even with the pain and bitterness of their love, the singer can't truly leave because there is still something there, something that suggests a deeper connection. This is echoed in the later lyrics of the song where the singer says "I do believe you truly love me" and "Our bond has grown strong."
What's interesting about this song is its portrayal of love as something that is messy and complicated, with elements of both pain and beauty. The lyrics are raw and honest, reflecting a realness that many songs about love tend to avoid. The repetition of the phrase "You sent me to the storm without protection" helps to emphasize the sense of danger and vulnerability that comes with loving someone.
Line by Line Meaning
It seems our fate was planned before we met,
Our destiny had already been decided long before we even knew each other.
Some distant time past our recall.
It happened so long ago that we cannot remember when it started.
I know that we have fought this dance before,
We have gone through these ups and downs before.
And more than once, the wheel turning.
This cycle of joy and pain has repeated itself a number of times.
Your face was so familiar that I called you "friend"
The familiarity between us was so intense that I mistook you for a close friend.
Before I even knew your name,
Even before we were formally introduced to each other.
But you burnt, as always, cold,
You always behaved coldly, like you were indifferent to me despite the warmth I felt.
And oh, so slow to kindle,
It took you a long time to become fond of me, to show any kind of affection towards me.
You promised everything,
You made many assurances about our future together.
But you would not deliver,
You could not keep up with your promises, failing to do what you said you would do.
You sent me to the storm without protection...
You intentionally left me vulnerable and unguarded, exposed to potential harm and danger.
Though lies are knives that never blunt
Deceitful words hurt as much as sharp knives do.
And each time you cut in blindness
You hurt me unintentionally, acting blindly without realizing the effect of your actions.
It is deeper; I cannot leave
The wounds from your actions go much deeper and have made it hard for me to leave this relationship.
Although I know our love has grown
Our love has grown despite the difficulties we faced together.
Into a bitter flower,
Our love seems to have taken on a bitter, unpleasant quality.
Stemmed and twisted by some cruel frost
The coldness in our relationship, caused by some cruel circumstances, has made it difficult for our love to grow.
A frozen, white and glittering glamour,
Our relationship looks beautiful and polished from the outside but is actually cold and distant.
Your words, they were false,
You made promises that you could not keep, and your words did not match your actions.
Your heart it was unopened,
You did not allow yourself to become vulnerable and let me into your heart.
And strangers sneer and make up trash,
People who do not know us are quick to judge and spread rumors about our relationship.
But though they try, they cannel quite destroy us.
Despite their efforts, they cannot completely destroy our bond.
Our bond has grown strong,
Our connection to each other has gotten much stronger over time.
Like some favorite song that’s loved from repetition.
Our connection has become like a cherished song that we enjoy hearing over and over again.
And if we fail, we’ll try again,
If we do not succeed, we will keep on trying.
And d we fail, we’ll by again,
Even if we fail again, we will try yet again.
And maybe, this time,
Perhaps this time around, things will finally change for the better.
You won’t send me to the storm without protection...
I hope that you won't leave me vulnerable again like you did before.
Contributed by Elliot N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Mark Mynott
Photograph: Mark Mynott
RantingsFromAsylum
Have credited you on all now :) as I say, did not know who took it so thank you for letting me know and thank you for taking it :)
Mark Mynott
@RantingsFromAsylum Thanks & it's No problem at all.I was working a lot with New Model Army at the time.Many of my photographs are on the Raw Melody Men Album and credited. The Joolz pic was used hurriedly on the CD and added without credit to me so you (nor anyone else) would know that I took it. It was actually taken at Reading Festival,I forget which year (Its a long while ago) late 80's .Hex is an awesome album unfortunately little known.Great collaboration between:Joolz,Justin and Rob (RIP).Thanks again ,Mark.