Cope grew up in Tamworth, Staffordshire in the English Midlands. He attended the City of Liverpool College of Higher Education . Cope's musical career began as bass player with a band known as Crucial Three, which also featured Ian McCulloch (future guitarist and singer for Echo and the Bunnymen) and Pete Wylie (later of Wah!). The band lasted for little more than six weeks and disbanded without any public performances or formal recordings, although the song "Books" was later recorded by both Cope's and McCulloch's subsequent bands. Cope went on to form other short-lived bands before first achieving fame and success as the singer, original bassist and primary songwriter of The Teardrop Explodes.
After The Teardrop Explodes disbanded in late 1982 following the completion of three albums, Cope returned to live close to his hometown of Tamworth, settling in the nearby village of Drayton Bassett, and soon began recording. In 1983 he recorded some tunes for John Peel's show. He re-worked these introspective works for his first solo album, World Shut Your Mouth, released in 1984. This was soon followed by Fried, which featured a sleeve with Cope clad only in a turtle shell. Cope's third solo album was the well-received Saint Julian and produced the single "World Shut Your Mouth", which became his biggest solo hit, reaching the UK Top 20 in 1986.
Cope was extremely displeased with his fourth solo album, My Nation Underground, which spawned a Top 40 single in "Charlotte Anne". He recorded his next album, the low-fi Skellington, in secret during the course of a single weekend, playing in the same studio used for My Nation Underground. His management had no desire to release Skellington, and Cope refused to record any other material while he feuded with them to try to get his new work released. This was to become the first of many feuds with his record companies. He also released by stealth an album in aid of Roky Erickson entitled Droolian, and his ongoing battle with those he referred to as "greedheads" eventually saw him turn his back on the music industry. In the course of one of his stand-offs, Cope began to write his first autobiographical book, Head-On which primarily covered the years 1976 to 1982, focusing on Cope's time before and during the life of The Teardrop Explodes and ending with the break-up of the band. This was followed a few years later by Repossessed, covering the years 1983 to 1989 and the recording of Cope's first series of solo albums, as well as the writing of Head-On. The books were republished in one volume in 2000, titled Head-On/Repossessed. Peggy Suicide and JehovahKill, both recorded in the early 1990s, reflected his interest in the occult, animal rights, the goddess and ecology. In 1995, Cope released 20 Mothers spawning the single "Try, Try, Try". These three albums all achieved UK Top 20 status.
In addition to his two volumes of autobiography, Cope has written four other books of nonfiction. Krautrocksampler, released in 1996 and now out of print, covers the German krautrock musical movement. Reviews at the time were ecstatic, Rolling Stone citing it as "a work of real passion and scholarship". NME agreed: "This is a superb book ... this is an extraordinary book." Mojo went further, writing: "Brilliantly researched, Krautrocksampler abounds with revelations, and Cope's enthusiasm verges on the lethal ... a sort of lysergic Lester Bangs." In the Sunday Times, the reviewer wrote: "German 1970s minimalism is invading the British rock scene ... an Englishman is to blame ... Krautrocksampler is a lively history of a fascinating period, half encyclopedia, half psychedelic detective story." Before the publication of this book the genre itself had all but disappeared off the musical map; both the phrase and the genre are now firmly ingrained and have subsequently been heralded in the likes of Mojo and The Wire. The book was also the subject of fierce controversy due to Cope's outspoken remarks that Can's Bel-Air was a 'shambles'.
1998 saw the release of the widely-acclaimed bestseller The Modern Antiquarian, a large and comprehensive full-colour 448-page work detailing stone circles and other ancient monuments in the British Isles, which sold out of its first edition of 20,000 in its first month of publication and was accompanied by a BBC Two documentary. The Times called the book: "A ripping good read ... it is deeply impressive ... ancient history: the new rock 'n' roll." The Independent called it: "A unique blend of information, observation, personal experience and opinion which is as unlike the normal run of archaeology books as you can imagine." The renowned archaeologist Ronald Hutton went further, calling the book: "the best popular guide to Neolithic and Bronze Age monuments for half a century." The Modern Antiquarian was followed in 2004 with an even larger 484-page study of similar monuments across Europe entitled The Megalithic European, the most extensive study of European megalithic sites to date. In addition to his books on prehistoric monuments, Cope hosts a community-based Modern Antiquarian website that invites contributors to add their own knowledge of the ancient sites of the United Kingdom and Ireland. Cope has lectured nationally on the subject of prehistory, and also at the British Museum on the subjects of Avebury and Odin.
In October 2007, Japrocksampler was released, subtitled How the post war Japanese blew their minds on rock and roll. This much larger hard back book (304 pp) was written in a similar style to Krautrocksampler, but was a far more detailed study and took in the years 1951-78. It has been translated into Italian and Japanese.
Cope has opted out of the mainstream in recent years, releasing and promoting his music himself, rather than working with a major record label. He continues to record new material both under his own name and with regular collaborators under the band names Brain Donor - his proto-metal power trio, and Queen Elizabeth, an ambient two-piece. Most of his more recent releases are available either primarily or exclusively through Cope's extensive and interactive website, Head Heritage.
Cope has continued to perform live in the UK (including an appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2003) and other parts of Europe in recent years. He has not toured beyond Europe for several years. In 2005, he dropped attempts to plan a tour of the United States because a work visa could not be secured through the INS.
Bill Drummond Said
Julian Cope Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
(Bill Drummond said, Bill Drummond said)
If a falling leaf can't help my suffering
(Bill Drummond said, Bill Drummond said)
And I sat around my feet,
to teach me how to float
"Get out" she cried,
He folded up her coat
And the family cried,
go spinning 'cross the sky
(Bill Drummond said, Bill Drummond said)
If I sit and pray, my Christmas tree will die
(Bill Drummond said, Bill Drummond said)
And if his life gets out of hand
And if his face turns blue
These things are sent to try us
And what more can we do?
And then he walked around my garden
And sniffed around my coat
And then I looked around to see him
His hands around her throat
(Bill Drummond said, Bill Drummond said)
If a falling leaf can't help me
(Bill Drummond said, Bill Drummond said)
If a falling leaf can't help me
(Bill Drummond said, Bill Drummond said)
If a falling leaf can't help me
(Bill Drummond said, Bill Drummond said)
If a falling leaf can't help me
The song "Bill Drummond Said" by Julian Cope is a meditation on the philosophy and statements of the titular figure, who was a music manager, artist and writer. The lyrics speak of the influence of Drummond's words on the singer, questioning the nature of suffering, life, and death. The opening lines, "Give me one good reason why I shouldn't win, If a falling leaf can't help my suffering," suggest an existential crisis and a desire for some kind of resolution. Drummond's ideas are presented as potential answers to this crisis, and the lyrics mention several of his aphorisms, including "If I sit and pray, my Christmas tree will die."
The middle section of the song relates a somewhat nonsensical story involving a woman who dies, and the family's grief being transformed into a "spinning" motion. This could be interpreted as a metaphor for the cycle of life and death, and the transformative power of emotion. The final section returns to the theme of suffering, with the repeated line "If a falling leaf can't help me" reflecting the singer's ongoing search for meaning and relief.
Line by Line Meaning
Give me one good reason why I shouldn't win
Bill Drummond challenges anyone to provide a compelling argument against his victory.
If a falling leaf can't help my suffering
Bill Drummond scoffs at the idea of finding solace in such a trivial occurrence as a falling leaf.
And I sat around my feet, to teach me how to float
Someone tried to teach Julian Cope how to levitate, likely in a spiritual or mystical sense.
"Get out" she cried, in the minute she died
In a moment of death, a woman screamed for someone to leave her presence.
He folded up her coat and the family cried, go spinning 'cross the sky
After the woman's death, her coat was folded and her family grieved as she was buried or cremated.
If I sit and pray, my Christmas tree will die
Bill Drummond believes that his actions have the power to influence the forces of nature, no matter how small or mundane.
And if his life gets out of hand
Bill Drummond acknowledges that life can sometimes spiral out of control.
And if his face turns blue
Bill Drummond recognizes that he may face danger or distress in life.
These things are sent to try us
Bill Drummond believes that life's challenges are tests of strength and character.
And then he walked around my garden
Someone, possibly Bill Drummond, trespassed on Julian Cope's private property.
And sniffed around my coat
The intruder smelled or inspected Julian Cope's clothing.
And then I looked around to see him, his hands around her throat
Julian Cope witnesses the intruder choking a woman.
If a falling leaf can't help me
Julian Cope, like Bill Drummond before him, ridicules the idea of finding comfort in something as insignificant as a falling leaf.
If a falling leaf can't help me
Julian Cope repeats his disdain for the notion of getting relief from a falling leaf.
If a falling leaf can't help me
Julian Cope emphasizes his rejection of the idea that a falling leaf could offer any kind of assistance.
If a falling leaf can't help me
Julian Cope once again rebuffs the idea that a falling leaf could provide any aid or solace.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JULIAN COPE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@blindpilot_v1
My primary school teacher had us sing this in a school play in 1998. I have only just remembered to go and find the original song
@iancopestick6757
Quite possibly Julian's best song ever !
@benwhite8924
too short
@diggerthegroundhog8799
I don't get it. I am a major Julian Cope fan, and I have nothing for this song. I consider it one of his weaker songs bit I guess to each his own?
@iancopestick6757
I think the backwards guitar may have something to do with it.
@ethanc1719
@@diggerthegroundhog8799this is a great song
@arcangeloesposito9225
Kolly Kibber doesn't agree
@iancopestick6757
God, I love this song!
It helped to make being 13 easier for me
@rubix71
Is his very last line "If a falling leaf can't stop me, I'd be dead?" ...hard to make out
@armandbourgoignie
I like the fact that there's no thumb down. Quite rightly so.