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.
Yesterday When I Was Young
Marc Almond Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The taste of life was sweet as rain upon my tongue
I teased at life as if it were a foolish game
The way the evening breeze may tease the candle flame
A thousand dreams I dreamed
The splendid things I planned
I always built alas on weak and shifting sand
I lived by night and shunned the naked light of day
Yesterday when I was young
So many drinking songs were waiting to be sung
So many wayward pleasures lay in store for me
And so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see
I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out
I never stopped to think what life was all about
And every conversation I can now recall
Concerned itself with me, me, me and nothing else at all
Yesterday the moon was blue
And every crazy day brought something new to do
I used my magic age as if it were a wand
That never saw the waste and emptiness beyond
The game of love I played with arrogance and pride
And every flame I lit too quickly quickly died
The friends I made all seemed somehow drift away
And only I am left on stage to end the play
There are so many songs in me that won't be sung
I feel the bitter taste of tears upon my tongue
The time has come for me to pay
For yesterday....when I was young, young, young,......young
The song “Yesterday When I Was Young” by Marc Almond depicts the life of a person and the way he lived throughout his youth, highlighting the way he treated life as a playful and frivolous game. The song talks about the way life was experienced through the eyes of a younger, more naive person. The taste of life was sweet, and the world was full of dreams and splendid things, yet it was easy to fall into and build one’s fantasies and aspirations on weak, fragile grounds. Life is presented as a game, a playful yet dangerous thing that can lure us away, making us forget our responsibilities and the morals we should follow.
The song also demonstrates how the singer of the story wasted his time living by night and shunning the light of day as he tries to avoid coming to terms with the harsh realities of life. His arrogance and pride in love relationships make his flames burn out quickly, leaving him alone on the stage at the end of the story. The song beautifully concludes with the bitter realization that the time has come for him to pay for all the things he thought were beautiful when he was young, with the bitter taste of tears upon his tongue.
Overall, the song “Yesterday When I Was Young” is a touching and emotional representation of life, which shows the regrets of someone who didn't live up to their full potential or recognize the beauty and love around them.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterday when I was young
In the past, when I was young and inexperienced
The taste of life was sweet as rain upon my tongue
Life was delightful and seemed like the sweetest thing
I teased at life as if it were a foolish game
I played around with life, as if it was a child's game
The way the evening breeze may tease the candle flame
My relationship with life was fragile, like a flame that can easily be blown out by a breeze
A thousand dreams I dreamed
I had big and ambitious dreams
The splendid things I planned
I had grandiose plans for my life
I always built alas on weak and shifting sand
My plans were not practical and were based on unstable foundations
I lived by night and shunned the naked light of day
I preferred to stay up late and avoid facing the reality of the daytime
And only now I see how the years ran away
In hindsight, I realize that time has passed quickly and I'm not as young anymore
So many drinking songs were waiting to be sung
There were many opportunities for enjoyment and pleasure, particularly in the form of drinking and partying
So many wayward pleasures lay in store for me
There were many temptations ahead of me that I thought would bring me happiness, but they were not necessarily the best choices
And so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see
I was blinded by my desires and didn't realize the pain and consequences of my actions
I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out
I lived life at a fast pace and didn't appreciate the value of time and youth until it was too late
I never stopped to think what life was all about
I didn't take the time to understand the purpose of life and what really mattered
And every conversation I can now recall
Looking back, I realize that most of my conversations were self-focused and didn't consider other people's perspectives
Concerned itself with me, me, me and nothing else at all
My conversations were always centered around myself and my interests, and I didn't take the time to engage with others
Yesterday the moon was blue
The past seemed more vivid and full of life than the present
And every crazy day brought something new to do
There was always excitement and novelty in my life, but it didn't necessarily lead to fulfillment
I used my magic age as if it were a wand
I relied on my youth as a way to magically solve problems and make decisions that weren't necessarily wise
That never saw the waste and emptiness beyond
I didn't realize the emptiness and lack of meaning in my life
The game of love I played with arrogance and pride
I was overconfident and pompous in my romantic pursuits
And every flame I lit too quickly quickly died
My relationships didn't last because I rushed into them without really knowing what I wanted
The friends I made all seemed somehow drift away
My friendships were fleeting and didn't seem to last
And only I am left on stage to end the play
I am the only one remaining from my past, and must face the consequences of my actions alone
There are so many songs in me that won't be sung
There were many missed opportunities in my life that I now regret
I feel the bitter taste of tears upon my tongue
I am filled with regret and sadness for the choices I have made
The time has come for me to pay
The consequences of my actions have caught up with me
For yesterday....when I was young, young, young,......young
I am nostalgic for the past when I was young and carefree, but now realize that I must face the present and future with responsibility and wisdom
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind