In 1983, a man named Lewis recorded an album named L’Amour, which was released on the unknown label R.A.W. And that’s about all we know.
The record itself is a delicate, whispered album, reflecting the way the artist himself – spectral, movie star-like – almost disappears into the grey of the cover. It should come as no surprise that it failed to shout loudly enough to be noticed, another private press album that sank without trace.
The ingredients are simple: smooth synthesizers, feather-light piano, ethereal, occasionally inaudible vocals and the gentle plucking of acoustic guitars. But the effects are arresting: a spine-tingling, sombre album that echoes Springsteen’s Nebraska or Angelo Badalamenti’s atmospheric soundtracks. Later, Arthur Russell would grasp for something similar on the epochal World Of Echo LP.
L’Amour is a true discovery of the blog age, uncovered in an Edmonton flea-market by collector Jon Murphy, passed on to private press fanatic Aaron Levin, shared on the internet and speculated over by lovers of curious LPs. There’s almost no information about Lewis or the album on the internet. There’s precious little on the sleeve: a dedication to Sports Illustrated supermodel Christie Brinkley, a photo credit for Ed Colver, the noted L.A. punk rock photographer, and credits for engineer Bob Kinsey and synth player Philip Lees. All that was known of Lewis is conjecture: a rumor that he was a con artist who fled after not paying for L’Amour’s photo-shoot and a dubious theory that he was not actually of this earth.
When Light In The Attic looked to release the album, they set out to investigate the mystery. They found some answers, but more intrigue too. Colver was able to fill in some blanks. Firstly, Lewis is a pseudonym. The man the photographer met was named Randall Wulff. He stayed in the Beverley Hills Hilton, drove a white convertible Mercedes and dated a girl who looked like a model. He paid for his photo session with Colver with a $250 check, which bounced.
Eventually, the trail led to Alberta, Canada, where that first LP had been found. Liner notes writer Jack Fleischer along with master detective Markus Armstrong found Randall’s nephew, who remembered Randall as a stockbroker. His vague recollections include a visit to Randall’s apartment, with all-white furniture and that beautiful girlfriend in situ. Crucially, he offered another name – another of Randall’s pseudonyms – which led to a Vancouver studio and the revelation that Lewis had recorded three or four albums of “soft religious music” there. Alas, even the new nom de plume led only to dead ends.
Lewis remains a ghost, a total mystery, but the music will be heard. The album is being pressed for the first time in more than 30 years, and widely distributed for the first time ever. Lewis’s royalties will be placed in escrow until he makes himself known. Perhaps you know Lewis. Perhaps Lewis is you. The only certainty is this: Lewis is about to find a whole bunch of new fans.
Returning To The Scene Of The Crime
Lewis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The lyrics of "Returning To The Scene Of The Crime" by Lewis is a mystical and esoteric description of a man following his desires towards an unknown destination or love interest. He describes the world around him as burning fields, with himself and the object of his desire as fire. He wants her to wait for him, even though he knows that he can never catch up with her. He changes himself every time he chases her, breaking branches and stripping leaves in the process, in an attempt to be worthy of her.
The chorus laments his endless journey towards an uncertain destination. He questions what he can say or do to win her over and asks where her purity and faith lie. The imagery of the birds in her hair being like stains of ink is particularly striking, adding to the surreal quality of the song.
Overall, the song seems to be about the desire to attain something that can never truly be reached, but that doesn't deter the singer from relentlessly pursuing it.
Line by Line Meaning
A day's burning light, shadows far behind.
The sun is high and the shadows are long gone, everything has a bright glow.
All you see through your eyes, desire.
You only see what you want and crave, completely blinded by desire.
Golden dreams I'm fire.
I am ablaze with the thought of good things and positive futures.
Follow fast like the wind, limbs are trembling leaves.
Moving with great speed, like the strong gust of wind, with arms and legs trembling just like leaves do when the wind blows.
Although flight makes you beautiful, would you wait for me? Burning fields I'm fire.
Even though running away seems like a beautiful solution, would you wait for me? I am all fired up, glowing with passion and energy.
What can I say, what can I do? You seem so restless, I'm after you.
I am at a loss for words and actions, as you seem agitated and uneasy. I am pursuing you with vigor.
Limbs of wood, I grab your hair of leaves. Her voice.
I feel stiff and wooden in my movements, as I grab hold of your hair of leaves. Her voice is affecting me.
Break every branch, strip every leaf. Change me.
Destroy all that is around you, taking away everything that blocks your path. Make me into something new.
You were my faith, you were my dream.
You were my everything, my hope, my purpose and my fantasy.
All the birds in your hair look like stains of ink. For what do you sing? Where's your purity?
The birds in your hair look like dark stains. What is the reason for your song? Where is your integrity?
Burning fields on fire. What can I say, what can I do? You seem so restless, I'm after you. Limbs of wood, I grab your hair of leaves. Her voice. Break every branch, strip every leaf. Change me. You were my faith, you were my dream.
The fields are lit up with flames. I am again, having no words or solutions, very interested in your unrest. My movements are restricted as I grab your leafy hair. Her voice is like something I cannot resist. I break every obstacle in my way, wanting to be transformed. You were all that I believed and what kept me going.
Contributed by Harper L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.