Cruise studied French horn at Drake University and performed as a singer and actress in New York, where she also worked as a talent scout for Angelo Badalamenti. In 1985, Badalamenti was composing the score for David Lynch's Blue Velvet, as well as serving as the vocal coach for the film's star, Isabella Rossellini. A key scene in Blue Velvet was intended to feature Song to the Siren by This Mortal Coil, but when the rights to the song proved prohibitively expensive, it was suggested that Badalamenti compose a pop song in the same style, with lyrics written by Lynch. Because the song required a vocalist with a haunting, ethereal voice, Badalamenti recommended Julee Cruise, who had sung "like an angel" in a New York theater workshop that Badalamenti had produced. The result of their initial collaboration was "Mysteries of Love", which figures prominently in Blue Velvet's closing scenes.
Positive reaction to "Mysteries of Love" led Badalamenti and Lynch to write and produce additional songs for Cruise, most of which were featured in her debut album, Floating Into the Night. The album was released on 12 September 1989 by Warner Bros. Records, and charted on Billboard the following year. A moody, tightly structured collection of pop songs with lush, idiosyncratic orchestrations and intentionally retro lyrics, Floating Into the Night became a favorite of such musicians as Tim Booth, lead singer of the band James, and techno artist Moby, who would go on to collaborate with Cruise on the unreleased track "Drown Disco". It also provided musical material for two of Lynch's other projects. The first was Industrial Symphony No. 1, a dark, intentionally obscure performance piece in which Cruise performed while "floating" from a harness dozens of feet above a stage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.
The second, more significant project was the soundtrack to Lynch's Twin Peaks, for which Badalamenti composed the original score. The song "Falling", which became the orchestral theme for the television series, caused a minor sensation, winning a Grammy for Best Pop Instrumental, while the Twin Peaks soundtrack, featuring Cruise on the songs "Into the Night" and "The Nightingale" as well as on the vocal version of "Falling", eventually became the best-selling television soundtrack of all time. Cruise made a number of appearances on Twin Peaks as a girl singer at a local bar, and was prominently featured in the show's landmark pilot episode, as well as in 1992's Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me.
The campy but unsettling "Rockin' Back Inside My Heart", the second single from Floating Into the Night, was released in 1990. Cruise also made a controversial appearance on Saturday Night Live on 12 May 1990, when scheduled performer Sinéad O'Connor refused to appear on the same show as guest host Andrew Dice Clay. The following year, Cruise recorded a Lynch- and Badalamenti-produced cover of the Elvis Presley song "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears" for the soundtrack of Wim Wenders's Until the End of the World. Afterwards, Cruise maintained a relatively low profile until her second album, The Voice of Love, was released in 1993. To many listeners and reviewers, this album suffered in comparison to its predecessor, possibly due to the numerous other projects competing for Lynch and Badalamenti's attention. Many of the tracks were little more than instrumentals from Wild at Heart or Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me with added vocals. However, several songs, notably "Questions in a World of Blue", are ranked by fans among Cruise's best.
Cruise's early collaborations with Angelo Badalamenti and David Lynch were closely related to Lynch's film work, and their lyrics often reflect this. For example, "Into the Night" begins with the whispered words "Now it's dark", a line which was repeatedly spoken by Frank Booth, Dennis Hopper's character, in Blue Velvet. Lynch also photographed Cruise for the liner notes of Floating Into the Night and The Voice of Love, and created the sculptures featured on the covers of both albums.
The following decade found Cruise lending her vocals to works by a more miscellaneous list of collaborators, mostly in techno and dance music. She provided vocals and lyrics to several of the songs on Wide Angle, the debut album by Welsh electronic music group Hybrid, notably the epic techno track "If I Survive". She also appeared on two albums by dance artist Khan. The lyrics for many of these songs, such as "Body Dump", reflect Cruise's own interest in true crime. She appears on a number of tracks on the 2003 album "Dreams Top Rock" by German post-rock act Pluramon.
Cruise also acted and sang in the Off Broadway cast of Return to the Forbidden Planet, a spoof of William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and toured with the B-52s in 1992 and 1993.
Cruise's long-delayed third album, The Art of Being a Girl, was released in 2002. This was the first of her albums for which Badalamenti and Lynch did not produce or write any of the music, with music and lyrics for each of the songs being written by Cruise herself (with the exception of an updated version of her classic single "Falling") and guest produced by Rick Strom and Mocean Worker. The following year, Cruise's song "The World Spins" was featured in an extended ballet sequence in Robert Altman's The Company.
Cruise passed away on June 9, 2022 at age 65.
The World Spins
Julee Cruise Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dust is dancing in the space
A dog and bird are far away
The sun comes up and down each day
Light and shadow change the walls
Halley's comet's come and gone
The things I touch are made of stone
Falling through this night alone
Love
Don't go away
Come back this way
Come back and stay
Forever and ever
(spoken)
Please stay
Dust is dancing in the space
A dog and bird are far away
The sun comes up and down each day
The river flows out to the sea
Love
Don't go away
Come back this way
Come back and stay
Forever and ever
The world spins.
Julee Cruise's song "The World Spins" is a beautifully haunting piece that leaves the interpretation of its meaning up to the listener. The song is marked by a sense of melancholy and longing, with lyrics that suggest the feeling of being lost and alone. As we explore the lyrics, it's clear that the song is about the passing of time, the inevitability of change, and the desire for love and connection that we all share.
The song opens with the line "Moving near the edge at night," which could be interpreted as a metaphor for feeling lost or unsure of where you're headed. As the song progresses, we hear about the dust that is dancing in the space and the dog and bird that are far away. These lines create an image of isolation and loneliness, heightening the sense of being lost and adrift.
The chorus of the song is where the true yearning and emotion lie. Julee implores love not to go away and begs it to come back and stay forever. The repeated use of the word "forever" in this context highlights the fact that we all desire a love that endures, that transcends the passage of time and the changes that inevitably come with it.
The song ends with the powerful statement "The world spins," which could be interpreted as a resignation to the fact that time moves on, whether we want it to or not. The song leaves us with a sense of longing for something - love, connection, purpose - that seems just out of reach.
Line by Line Meaning
Moving near the edge at night
I am living on the edge, taking risks and exploring unknown paths at night when most people are asleep.
Dust is dancing in the space
Tiny particles are floating in the air, creating a mesmerizing dance that captures my attention and imagination.
A dog and bird are far away
I feel lonely and detached from familiar things and creatures that usually bring me comfort and joy.
The sun comes up and down each day
The cycle of light and darkness, life and death, keeps repeating itself every day, reminding me of the impermanence of things and the inevitability of change.
Light and shadow change the walls
The play of light and shadow creates different moods and perspectives in my surroundings, transforming a familiar space into something new and intriguing.
Halley's comet's come and gone
I have witnessed rare and spectacular events, such as the appearance of a comet, that remind me of the vastness and mystery of the universe.
The things I touch are made of stone
I feel disconnected from my own emotions and senses, as if I am touching something that is hard, cold, and lifeless.
Falling through this night alone
I feel like I am falling into a deep, dark hole, without anyone to catch me or guide me, and the darkness envelops me completely.
Love
Don't go away
Come back this way
Come back and stay
Forever and ever
I am pleading for love to come back to me and fill the emptiness and loneliness inside my heart, and to stay with me forever and provide a sense of security and belonging.
(spoken)
Please stay
I am begging and hoping that the person I love will listen to me and not abandon me, but instead stay with me and comfort me.
The sun comes up and down each day
The river flows out to the sea
Nature and life continue their cycle, regardless of my own worries, fears, and uncertainties, and I am just a tiny part of this greater picture.
Love
Don't go away
Come back this way
Come back and stay
Forever and ever
I am repeating my plea for love to save me from my own despair and give me a reason to keep living and hoping.
The world spins.
The world keeps turning, even when I feel like I am stuck or lost, and I need to find my own balance and center in this endless motion.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANGELO BADALAMENTI, DAVID K. LYNCH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind