The first swirls of what would become Lucky Soul took place in Glasgow in the imagination of a sound engineering student called Andrew Laidlaw. Inspired by the classic Sixties soul playing at a tiny night club called Papa Cool, he began sneaking into the studios at night, plotting to take a seemingly lost kind of pop music and update it for the 21st century. When the course finished, he moved to London, recruited a few friends and put out a classified ad for a singer. A heartfelt request for “no divas, no faux-American accents” seemed to have little effect, but alongside 300 Aguilera-clones emerged a honey-haired woman by the name of Ali Howard with a voice perfectly poised between power and vulnerability and a look that seemed tailor-made for Laidlaw’s music.
The first Lucky Soul album followed in April 2007. Released on the band’s own label Ruffa Lane (set up with the financial help and know-how of a couple of close friends) The Great Unwanted was a massive critical and commercial success: greeted with 4 and 5 stars – “an immediate classic”, “pop at its most glorious and heartbreaking” – across the board and sold 50,000 records worldwide, picking up a top 10 hit in Japan along the way.
Laidlaw’s pop vision had been vindicated, but the band had also thrown everything at that first record. Once the touring was done and with no financial safety net to fall back on while the royalties came through, Lucky Soul returned to their normal lives. Not for the first time, Laidlaw found himself stone broke and south of the river. This time he had no choice but to live inside the band’s studio, then in a draught-ridden converted fire station on the gloomier side of Greenwich. He played piano til the early hours and showered in the local swimming pool, and put his heart and soul into creating a second album, going by his own admission a bit crazy along the way.
Turning down an offer from legendary Bowie producer Tony Visconti, the band opted to retain complete creative control. Laidlaw produced the record himself, only turning to outside help for the mixing sessions, handled in New York by Victor Van Vugt (Nick Cave, Sons & Daughters, Kirsty Macoll, PJ Harvey). Howard, Laidlaw and mercurial guitarist Ivor Sims were all that remained from the original lineup. Russell ‘Rusty’ Grooms and kiwi maverick Paul Atkins took the bass and drum briefs, and a new keyboardist was found in the form of Art Terry, a former protégé of Arthur Lee from Love who had initially just turned up to tune Laidlaw’s piano…
Months were spent in the studio, as Laidlaw – a synaesthetic to whom music appears in the form of vivid visuals that look “like an avant-garde Russian cartoon” – heaved his vision into awesome life. The result is a record with the gloves off, as trumpeted in the form of two advance singles Woah Billy! and White Russian Doll. The first album’s shameless love for pure melody remains, but any hint of knowing pastiche has been replaced with big, confident, lean production; it’s a soaring album of modern pop – music for a new decade.
Baby I'm Broke
Lucky Soul Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I don't just mean money,
My batteries are dead and my engine's stopped running.
Baby, I'm tired,
Past understanding,
How heartache and debt are my closest companions.
Nothing to lose.
I want you to help me but baby, you're cruel,
And talking to you,
I might as well throw my head back and howl at the
Moon,
Yeah, for all the good it'll do.
Baby, I'm broke.
I feel so lonesome.
Love, money or time, I don't mind, could I loan some?
But baby you're strange,
Your heart's all a flutter.
Your head's in the sky but your mind's in the gutter.
Baby, I'm broke.
The last train's left town,
And I left my way in the lost and the found.
I'm thinking out loud.
I might as well throw my head back and shout at the
Clouds.
Yeah, for all the good it'll do now.
For all the good it'll do now.
For all the good it'll do now.
Baby, I'm broke.
No use in crying.
I'll stay sitting here, filling time 'till I'm dying.
Baby, it's hard.
Nothing I can do.
I'm just some poor fool who life dealt a bad hand to.
Baby I'm broke.
And one thing holds true.
There's no gold for me, I was born to be blue.
For all of my money,
And all of my hopes,
Have gone up in smoke.
'Cause baby I'm broke.
The song "Baby I'm Broke" by Lucky Soul is a soulful tune that explores the theme of being both financially and emotionally broken. The lyrics of the song convey a sense of hopelessness and despair. The singer describes how their batteries are dead and their engine has stopped running, alluding to the fact that they have hit an emotional rock bottom. The lyrics reveal a constant feeling of fatigue and being at a loss about what to do next. The singer is looking for solace in love, money, or time, but finds none.
The singer then addresses their lover, asking for help, but the lover is described as cruel, which suggests that the relationship is not a healthy one. The singer feels so alone and is desperate for any company, even if it is distressing. The use of an animal metaphor when the singer says, "I might as well throw my head back and howl at the Moon," implies that the pain is so excruciating that it renders the singer into an animalistic state.
The final stanza of the song details how the singer accepts their current situation, recognizing that there is no way out. The lyrics suggest that the singer is resigned to their fate and the reality of being financially and emotionally destitute. The repetition of the line "Baby, I'm broke," throughout the song underscores the sense of helplessness and despair.
Line by Line Meaning
Baby, I'm broke.
I'm not just out of money but broken in every possible way.
I don't just mean money,
It's not just about money but much more than that.
My batteries are dead and my engine's stopped running.
I'm completely drained and have lost all motivation.
Baby, I'm tired,
I'm beyond exhausted.
Past understanding,
My heartache and debt are unbearable.
How heartache and debt are my closest companions.
I can't get rid of the feeling of heartbreak and the burden of debt.
Nothing to lose.
I have nothing left to lose.
I want you to help me but baby, you're cruel,
I need your help desperately but you're being unkind.
And talking to you,
Having a conversation with you.
I might as well throw my head back and howl at the Moon,
It's as pointless as howling at the moon.
Yeah, for all the good it'll do.
It won't do any good.
I feel so lonesome.
I'm incredibly lonely.
Love, money or time, I don't mind, could I loan some?
I don't care about what you're lending me, as long as I get some help.
Your heart's all a flutter.
You're really excited about something.
Your head's in the sky but your mind's in the gutter.
You have unrealistic expectations while also being quite vulgar.
The last train's left town,
I've missed my chance.
And I left my way in the lost and the found.
I'm completely lost.
I'm thinking out loud.
I'm just saying what comes to my mind.
I might as well throw my head back and shout at the Clouds.
I might as well scream into the void.
No use in crying.
Crying won't solve anything.
I'll stay sitting here, filling time 'till I'm dying.
I'm just passing the time until the end.
Nothing I can do.
I'm powerless.
I'm just some poor fool who life dealt a bad hand to.
I'm just a helpless person with a bad life condition.
And one thing holds true.
One thing I know for sure.
There's no gold for me, I was born to be blue.
I was destined for misery, riches were never in my fate.
For all of my money,
Despite having money.
And all of my hopes,
And having hopes.
Have gone up in smoke.
Everything has turned to nothing.
'Cause baby I'm broke.
Because I'm broken inside.
Contributed by Ava V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.