Born in Buxton, Derbyshire, Cole grew up in nearby Chapel en le Frith and went to New Mills Grammar School. After failing in law at University College London, he later attended (but did not graduate from) the University of Glasgow where he studied philosophy and English and met the other members of band that would become The Commotions. Their 1984 debut, Rattlesnakes, contained numerous literary and pop culture references to figures like Norman Mailer, Grace Kelly, Eva Marie Saint, Truman Capote and Joan Didion. The group produced two more albums, Easy Pieces and Mainstream, before disbanding in 1989, when Cole re-located to New York to record with legendary musicians like Fred Maher and Robert Quine (as well as a then largely unknown Matthew Sweet).
This solo setting produced two acclaimed albums, Lloyd Cole in 1990 and 1991's Don't Get Weird on Me Babe. The latter was recorded in two parts: one side continued the New York rock mastered on his first solo album, while the other side featured a session orchestra, much in the style of Burt Bacharach or Scott Walker. Although some reviewers have claimed Don't Get Weird on Me Babe (the title being a quote from the American neo-realism poet Raymond Carver) to be a creative peak, it produced significantly lesser record sales, and the contract with Capitol Records ended.
Subsequently signed by Rykodisc, Cole continued redefining his sound with Bad Vibes (1993), a collaboration with producer/remixer Adam Peters using a harder, grunge and psychedelica inspired sound. Love Story (1995) established stripped-down, largely acoustic sound landscapes with the help of Stephen Street (famous for his work with Blur and The Smiths) and former Commotions Neil Clark and Blair Cowan; the album produced a minor hit with the song "Like Lovers Do".
In 2000, after years without a contract, Cole recorded a disc with the New York band The Negatives, featuring Jill Sobule and Dave Derby of the Dambuilders. He has since released solo albums on smaller independent labels. Sanctuary Records, the company responsible for the revival of Morrissey, released Music in a Foreign Language (2003) in the U.K. Recorded largely by Cole himself (including tracks recorded directly into a Mac), the songs had a stark, folk-inspired singer-songwriter style. One Little Indian, home of Björk, released Music in a Foreign Language in the U.S.; they also collected a number of outtakes (recorded from 1996 to 2000) on 2004's Etc. and released an instrumental ambient electronica album, Plastic Wood, the same year.
Cole continued to tour, playing intimate club venues in a one-man acoustic setting. In 2004, to mark the 20th anniversary of the release of Rattlesnakes, Lloyd Cole and the Commotions reformed to perform a one-off, sell-out tour in the U.K. and Ireland. An avid golfer, he is also known for playing concerts in towns suspiciously close to famous golf courses. He also shares a passion for this sport with Alice Cooper who is said to introduce the song "Only Women Bleed" claiming "not even Lloyd Cole has written a song about menstruation" when playing live.
Cole's album "Antidepressant" was released in 2006 featuring the former Commotions guitarist Neil Clark on some tracks.
The follow-up Broken Record, released in September 2010, marked a departure from his solo recordings, as it was performed by a band of longstanding friends and working partners, including Fred Maher, Joan Wasser, Rainy Orteca, Dave Derby and Blair Cowan – as well as two musicians, Matt Cullen (guitar; banjo) and Mark Schwaber (guitar; mandolin).
An album co-funded by fans, Standards, was released in June 2013.
A studio album – Guesswork – was released on July 26, 2019 by earMUSIC.
Waterline
Lloyd Cole Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Everything, this all was mine
All I had to do was write it down
You'd just be there with your perfect frown
I made up my mind
I traded holy water for cheap wine
I ran out of time
Well it used to be everything was fine
But one fine day, you might say
That I, I threw it all away
'cause I made up my mind
I traded holy water for cheap wine
I ran out of time
Or something that I can't define
I traded my whiskey for your wine
Leaving my river running dry
And a waterline
You might say I'm wasting my time
You might say well, I don't mind
I ran out of time
Or something that I can't define
I traded holy water for cheap wine
Leaving my river running dry
Leaving just a waterline
Just a waterline
The lyrics of “Waterline” by Lloyd Cole, suggest that the singer had everything in life, but he didn’t appreciate it. He had a muse that inspired him to write down his thoughts, but now she’s gone. He made up his mind to trade the holy water for cheap wine, which can be interpreted as trading something valuable for something less, possibly a metaphor for him losing or giving up his creativity. The line, “I traded my whiskey for your wine” might also suggest the singer making a compromise, but realising it wasn’t worth it in the end, leaving his once-flowing river of creativity dry, with nothing left but a waterline.
Overall, the lyrics could be interpreted as the singer lamenting his lost creativity, perhaps through a romantic breakup or a change in his artistic process. He may have made mistakes or compromises, but despite this, he still longs to create, even if it's just a "waterline". The vague and obscure nature of the lyrics can be interpreted in many ways, which leaves it open to the audience’s imagination.
Line by Line Meaning
Well it used to be everything was fine
Life was good and everything was going great
Everything, this all was mine
He had everything he wanted and was content with it
All I had to do was write it down
He didn't have to do anything more because he had everything already
You'd just be there with your perfect frown
He was with someone who always looked unhappy, but he didn't mind because he had what he wanted
I made up my mind
He realized he needed to make a decision
I traded holy water for cheap wine
He traded in something that used to be pure and valuable for something that was cheap and low quality
I ran out of time
He realized he no longer had the luxury of time to make things right
But one fine day, you might say
All of a sudden, one day
That I, I threw it all away
He made a mistake and lost everything he had
'cause I made up my mind
Because he had made a decision that led to losing everything
Or something that I can't define
He doesn't know what went wrong
I traded my whiskey for your wine
He gave up something he had for something someone else had, but it wasn't worth it
Leaving my river running dry
He lost something that used to nourish him and make him happy
And a waterline
He only has a small reminder left of what he used to have
You might say I'm wasting my time
People might think he's wasting his time trying to get what he lost back
You might say well, I don't mind
He doesn't care what people think
Just a waterline
He only has a small reminder left of what he used to have
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: LLOYD COLE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind