Marc Almond has had a long and varied career spanning circa 40 years. During this time, after a career with Soft Cell and Marc and the Mambas, he has collaborated with an extremely wide range of artists including Antony and The Johnsons, Jools Holland, Siouxsie Sioux, Nick Cave, P.J. Proby, Nico, Kelli Ali of the Sneaker Pimps, Neal X (on the albums Fantastic Star and Open All Night), Marie France, Agnes Bernelle, Lydia Lunch, Gene Pitney on the #1 UK single "Something's Gotten Hold of My Heart", Foetus (a.k.a. J. G. Thirlwell), Jimmy Somerville of The Communards and Bronski Beat, Psychic TV, Coil, Sally Timms of Mekons, King Roc, John Cale and David Johansen of The New York Dolls and German band Rosenstolz.
Almond initially shot to fame in the early 1980s as one half of synth duo Soft Cell, whose combination of drama and peep show sleaze set to an electronic beat gave them hits such as "Tainted Love" (UK #1), "Bedsitter" (UK #3), "Torch" (UK #2), "Say Hello Wave Goodbye" (UK #3), "Soul Inside" (UK # 16), "What?" (UK #3) and the club hit "Memorabilia". They were first spotted by David Oddie, boss of Wakefield based Ambergris Records in a Bradford club, who passed his enthusiasm onto Dead Good Records in Lincoln, famous for their Hicks From The Sticks compilation, who in turn approached Polygram, the newly formed amalgam of Polydor and Phonogram. Although Soft Cell disbanded in 1984 just before the release of fourth album, This Last Night In Sodom, the duo reunited in 2001 for live shows and in 2002 released a new album entitled Cruelty Without Beauty, from which the single "The Night" (UK #39) was taken.
His biggest UK hits as a solo artist have been cover versions; the aforementioned 1989 number one duet with Gene Pitney and another near chart-topper in 1991 with David McWilliams' "The Days of Pearly Spencer", which peaked at #4. In 1985, he duetted with Jimmy Somerville and Bronski Beat on a cover of Donna Summer's "I Feel Love (Medley)" and it hit #3. The highest UK positions his self-penned singles have reached so far have been "Stories of Johnny" (#23 in 1985), "Tears Run Rings" (#28 in 1988) and "Adored and Explored" (#25 in 1995).
Almond's work runs the gamut from electronica and dance music to French chanson, traditional piano ballads, and Russian romance songs, as exhibited on his 2003 album Heart on Snow. Influences include David Bowie, a childhood hero of his, as well as early 1960s Northern Soul and disco. Other major influences have been Scott Walker from Walker Brothers and Jacques Brel, 12 of whose songs Almond reworked in English for his 1989 album Jacques. Almond's own lyrics are a creative expression of what he sees and are not to be confused with his own life. He also operates a record label, Blue Star Music, on which he has released many of his solo and collaborative records in the UK.
Almond currently lives in the Bermondsey area of south east London. In his autobiography he describes previously living in Earl's Court, in a converted church in Fulham and most memorably in Soho's Berwick Street, where he lived in a flat overlooking the Raymond Revuebar.
Something's gotten Hold of my heart
Marc Almond Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Keeping my soul and my senses apart
Something's gotten into my life
Cutting its way through my dreams like a knife
Turning me up, turning me down
Making me smile and making me frown
In a world that was small
With no trouble at all
But then you came my way
And a feeling unknown shook my heart
Made me want you to stay
All of my nights and all of my days
Yeah I gotta tell you now
Something's gotten hold of my hand
Dragging my soul to a beautiful land
Yeah something has invaded my nights
Painting my sleep with a color so bright
Changing the grey, changing the blue
Scarlet for me and scarlet for you
I've got to know if this is the real thing
I've got to know what's making my heart sing, woah yeah
You smile and I'm lost for a lifetime
Each minute spent with you is the right time
Every hour, yeah, every day, yeah
You touch me and my mind goes astray
And baby yeah
, something's gotten hold of my heart is a song that speaks to the feeling of being overwhelmed and consumed by love. The lyrics describe how the singer has been constantly preoccupied with thoughts of their lover, with something "getting into my life" and "cutting its way through my dreams." The singer is saying that this feeling has taken over their rationality and senses, emphasizing the intensity of the love they feel. The love has brought many ups and downs, with the person being overjoyed at times and also stressed and anxious.
The song also explores the transformation that the singer goes through when they meet their beloved. Before their encounter, they lived in a small world and things were peaceful. But then they met this person and their life was changed forever. They realized what they had been missing and how much they wanted the person to stay in their life forever. The lyrics describe how everything that was once grey has been painted red, emphasizing the passion that the person feels.
In the end, the singer expresses their confusion over whether this feeling is the real thing or not. They ask themselves whether they are really in love and what is making their heart sing. This shows that even though the person is deeply in love, they still have doubts and fears about the intensity of their emotions.
Overall, "Something's gotten hold of my heart" is a song that explores the overwhelming and transformative power of love. It speaks to the experience of being consumed by emotions and the confusion that can come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Something's gotten hold of my heart
A mysterious force has taken control over my heart
Keeping my soul and my senses apart
This force has separated my soul from my senses
Something's gotten into my life
This entity has entered my life and changed something significant
Cutting its way through my dreams like a knife
This entity is invading my dreams and cutting through them like a sharp knife
Turning me up, turning me down
This force is fluctuating my emotions, causing me to feel both happy and sad
Making me smile and making me frown
This force is responsible for both the happiness and the sadness of my emotions
In a world that was small
In a world that was once simple and uneventful
I once lived in a time that was peace
I used to live in peaceful times without any trouble
With no trouble at all
Life was simple and there were no complications at all
But then you came my way
Then you entered my life
And a feeling unknown shook my heart
You brought a new feeling that I've never experienced before, and it affected me deeply
Made me want you to stay
This feeling made me want you to stay in my life forever
All of my nights and all of my days
I think about you every moment of every day and night
Yeah I gotta tell you now
I have to express this to you now
Something's gotten hold of my hand
The force has now taken hold of my hand
Dragging my soul to a beautiful land
This entity is taking me to a beautiful and unknown land
Yeah something has invaded my nights
This force is now invading my nights too
Painting my sleep with a color so bright
This force is coloring my sleep with bright, vivid colors
Changing the grey, changing the blue
It's changing the dull grey and blue colors of my life to something much richer
Scarlet for me and scarlet for you
Now everything is bright red, a color that we'll share together
I've got to know if this is the real thing
I need to know if this feeling is genuine and not fleeting
I've got to know what's making my heart sing, woah yeah
I need to find out what's causing this overwhelming sense of happiness in my heart
You smile and I'm lost for a lifetime
Your smile is so captivating that it leaves me dazed for a long time
Each minute spent with you is the right time
Every moment spent with you feels perfect and right
Every hour, yeah, every day, yeah
Every hour and every day feels precious when I'm with you
You touch me and my mind goes astray
Your touch is so intense that it makes my mind wander in a different direction
And baby yeah
You make me feel so good and happy
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Roger Frederick Cook, Roger John Reginald Greenaway
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@princeofdaftness
25 years ago this week ;o) it was at #1 thank you Marc and thank you unforgettable Gene Pitney
@hbomb1964
princeofdaftness Fantastic song, loved Gene. Unique voice, love Marc too
@giuseppezuppardo645
Steve Hope i
@serjek
No likes yet? 55K views for 5 years? What's wrong with this world?
@susanyates1429
I just love this song
@JackSmash32
scarlet for me and scarlet for you!
@mrkinthdrk325
One of the voices that could keep up with Gene.....so good
@gothiclight7
Magic.
Timeless.
@johnerdmann7797
timeless classic
@helgazubiz1750
Super!