Martin Creed was born in Wakefield and brought up in Glasgow. He studied art at the Slade School of Art in University College, London from 1986 to 1990. Since 1987, Creed has numbered each of his works, and most of his titles relate in a very direct way to the piece's substance. Work No. 79, some Blu-tack kneaded, rolled into a ball and depressed against a wall (1993), for example, is just what it sounds like, as is Work No. 88, a sheet of A4 paper crumpled into a ball (1994). One of Creed's best known works is Work No. 200, half the air in a given space (1998), which is a room with enough inflated balloons in it for them to contain half the air in it. Perhaps Creed's best known piece among the general public is the work he exhibited for the 2001 Turner Prize show at the Tate Gallery, Work No. 227, the lights going on and off. This was an empty room in which the lights periodically switched on and off. As so often with the Turner Prize, this created a great deal of press attention, most of it questioning whether something as minimalist as this could be considered art at all. Artist Jacqueline Crofton threw eggs at the walls of the room containing Creed's work as a protest. Creed won the prize. Creed formed a band, Owada, in 1994. In 1997 they released their first CD, Nothing, on David Cunningham's Piano label. Here too there is a very direct relation between the song titles and the work itself: in songs like "1-2-3-4" the entire lyrics are contained in the title. Sound has also featured in his gallery-based work, with pieces using doorbells and metronomes. Some of Creed's works use neon signs. In these cases, the title of the work indicates what the sign says. These pieces include Work No. 220, Don't Worry (2000); Work No. 225, Everything Is Going To Be Alright (2000), which was mounted to the side of a gallery Gavin Brown, New York City; and Work No. 232, the whole world + the work = the whole world (2000), which was mounted on Tate Britain in London.
I Cant Move
Martin Creed Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't move
I can't move
I can't move
I can't move
I can't move
I can't move
I can't move
I can't do things
I want things to happen to me
I want to let go things
I want to be free
I want you to leave me
I want you to see me
I want you to be with me
A, A, A, E, I, O, U
A, A, A, E, I, O, U
I can't move
I can't move
I can't move
I can't move
I can't move
I can't move
I can't move
I can't move
I can't move
I can't do things
I want things to happen to me
I want to let go things
I want to be free
I want you to leave me
I want you to see me
I want you to be with me
A, A, A, E, I, O, U
A, A, A, E, I, O, U
The repetitive and simple lyrics of Martin Creed's song "I Can't Move" seem to reflect a sense of powerlessness and a desire for change or release. The repeated lines of "I can't move" could represent feeling stuck in a particular situation or emotional state, unable to make a change or move forward. This feeling is reinforced by the subsequent lines expressing a desire to let go of things and be free, to have someone leave or see and be with the singer.
The use of the vowels in the chorus, "A, A, A, E, I, O, U" could be interpreted in a few different ways. One possibility is that they represent different sounds and emotions, reflecting the range of feelings the singer is experiencing. Alternatively, the vowels could be seen as representing a lack of words or the inability to fully express oneself.
Overall, the song seems to capture a sense of frustration and longing for change, while also acknowledging an inability to move and make that change happen.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't move
I am currently unable to physically move
I can't do things
My current state prevents me from performing tasks
I want things to happen to me
I desire external events to occur in my life
I want to let go things
I desire to release certain things from my life
I want to be free
I desire to experience a sense of liberation
I want you to leave me
I desire for someone to distance themselves from me
I want you to see me
I desire for someone to acknowledge my presence or existence
I want you to be with me
I desire the companionship of another person
A, A, A, E, I, O, U
Repetition of vowel sounds with no clear meaning
Contributed by Charlotte B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.