The middle child of two semi-professional folk singers, in Plymouth on October 10th 1978, Jay was born into a highly musical family. His parents, Tony and Hilary, performed regularly in a folk band, and when Matthew was only eight years old, he joined the line-up, playing bass, along with his two brothers, Eddy and Pete.
He started writing his own songs as a teenager, and at the end of his final year in high school in 2000, he decided to give his music just one shot before leaving for university to study a nice 'sensible' subject: (optometry). Happily for Jay, after bombarding record labels with his demo throughout the summer, he was signed to EMI. At that point, somewhat unusually, he hadn't even played one solo gig.
While at EMI, Jay released two EPs: 'Four Songs' and 'Friendly Fire,' followed by the critically-acclaimed album 'Draw,' and three singles: 'Let Your Shoulder Fall,' 'Please Don't Send Me Away,' and 'Call My Name Out.' He enjoyed moderate chart success with the singles, and on the strength of this toured extensively throughout Europe and the States, supporting many acts including Starsailor, Travis, Dido and The Divine Comedy.
In 2002 Jay separated amicably from EMI and started work on songs which marked a slight change in creative direction, as he began experimenting with a number of new influences, including hip-hop.
Sadly, in the autumn of 2003, the singer-songwriter died suddenly in the small hours of the 25th of September, in an unexplained fall from his London apartment block. It was a shocking end to what had been a life full of promise, and one built upon a remarkable foundation of accomplishment for one so young.
In 2004, the independent record label Jays Music Ltd released a retrospective album called 'Too Soon': a collection of Matthew Jay early songs and rarities, and followed this in December 2006 with a single: 'What Would Love Do Now,' which was one of the last songs he had recorded.
The new material Jay had been working on until the time of his passing showcased a mature writing style for the artist, which although something of a departure from the tracks on 'Draw,' still maintained his distinctive vocals, and trademark bittersweet and often humourous lyrical style.
An album featuring a selection of these songs is due for release in the spring of 2008, and will be available via his official website.
You're Always Going Too Soon
Matthew Jay Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I miss those days, when the world would wait for us
With our crowd of friends we'd sit along the pavement near your house
'Till the sun came down and we brought the stars out
When I heard it for the first time I could only stand and cry
You were just a boy, we were all so innocent
Oh we never thought this kind of thing would happen in our lives
All this time has fallen through me since you've been gone
And I wonder where you are
''cause you've never let me know
Oh no no
You're always going too soon
I'm always left on my own
It's OK I understand, sometimes life can hold you down
I can see your face as clearly now, today, as I could then
And it doesn't fade, but the times have changed so much
I would like to tell you all about the things that we have done
And we're doing fine, but I think you know that
The lyrics to Matthew Jay's song "You're Always Going Too Soon" reminisce about the good times and the loss of a friend. The first verse mentions how the singer and their friends used to hang out on the street, reminiscing about how the world used to wait for them. They would sit on the pavement near the friend's house until the sun went down and the stars came out. This verse creates a nostalgic, wistful mood and sets up the idea of missing someone close to them.
The second verse talks about the loss of this friend. The singer reveals that they heard about it for the first time and couldn't help but cry. The friend was young, and the singer never expected something like this to happen in their life. The line "but it broke our hearts and we won't forget" exemplifies the intensity of their emotions and how the loss of their friend has stayed with them. It creates a sense of emotional trauma and unhealed wounds.
The chorus repeats twice, with the line "You're always going too soon, I'm always left on my own." This line further emphasizes the theme of loss, and how losing their friend has left the singer feeling alone and abandoned. The third verse is more of a message to their departed friend that they miss him and would like to share everything they've been doing. The final line "but I think you know that" shows that the singer believes that their friend is somehow aware of all the good things that their friends have accomplished since his passing.
Line by Line Meaning
It's been a long time since we hung around together in the street
It's been ages since we roamed around the streets together.
And I miss those days, when the world would wait for us
I miss those days when the world felt like it was waiting for us to grow up and conquer it.
With our crowd of friends we'd sit along the pavement near your house
We used to sit on the pavement outside your house with all our other friends.
'Till the sun came down and we brought the stars out
We would spend hours outside until sunset, and we felt like we brought out the stars.
When I heard it for the first time I could only stand and cry
When I first heard the news of your death, I couldn't do anything but cry.
You were just a boy, we were all so innocent
You were so young, and we were all still so naive and pure.
Oh we never thought this kind of thing would happen in our lives
We never imagined that something like this would happen to one of us.
But it broke our hearts and we won't forget no
Our hearts were shattered, and we will never forget you.
All this time has fallen through me since you've been gone
So much time has passed by since you left us behind.
And I wonder where you are
I often wonder where you might be now.
''cause you've never let me know
We lost touch, and you never reached out or let me know where you were.
You're always going too soon
You left us too early, and we were never ready to let you go.
I'm always left on my own
I'm always left to deal with the aftermath of your absence on my own.
It's OK I understand, sometimes life can hold you down
It's okay, I understand that life can be hard and get you down.
I can see your face as clearly now, today, as I could then
I can still see your face just as clearly in my mind's eye as I could when we were still together.
And it doesn't fade, but the times have changed so much
My memories of you haven't faded, but things have changed so much since then.
I would like to tell you all about the things that we have done
I wish I could catch you up on all the things we've been up to since you've been gone.
And we're doing fine, but I think you know that
We're all doing okay, but I have a feeling you already know that somehow.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Globetrotting In Style
It's been a long time since we hung around together in the street
And I miss those days, when the world would wait for us
With our crowd of friends we'd sit along the pavement near your house
'Till the sun came down and we brought the stars out
When I heard it for the first time I could only stand and cry
You were just a boy, we were all so innocent
Oh we never thought this kind of thing would happen in our lives
But it broke our hearts and we won't forget no
All this time has fallen through me since you've been gone
And I wonder where you are
'Cos you've never let me know
Oh no no'
You're always going too soon
I'm always left on my own
It's OK I understand, sometimes life can hold you down
I can see your face as clearly now, today, as I could then
And it doesn't fade, but the times have changed so much
I would like to tell you all about the things that we have done
And we're doing fine, but I think you know that
johant23
bought this album when came out.. great revisiting it now. such a talent and such a sad loss. no doubt Matthew would have gone on to produce loads more fantastic stuff.
Geoff W
Picked up Matthew's album up as a promo CD back in 1999/2000. What a great album/musician and 19 years of musical pleasure...
AceToneRecords
i remember buying his album by chance when i was a kid. good singer, and seems like he was a decent fella. Terrible loss, hope his family is doing alright.
rockadaisical
Posted this for my friends on 9/25. Amazed at how many had never heard of him. Converted a few to fans tho. Listen to him daily and it saddens me that we will never have any more. BUT, his music nearly always makes me happy- sometimes melancholy... Thank you for posting - To this life things of sense Make their pretence; In th' other angels have a right by birth. Man ties them both alone, And makes them one, With th' one hand touching heaven, with th' other earth. -Geo. Herbert
Andrew Davies
A friend had put this album up on Social media yesterday,remember going to watch him in Barfly Cardiff,Great gig!! Didn’t know of his passing,🙏🏼
Globetrotting In Style
It's been a long time since we hung around together in the street
And I miss those days, when the world would wait for us
With our crowd of friends we'd sit along the pavement near your house
'Till the sun came down and we brought the stars out
When I heard it for the first time I could only stand and cry
You were just a boy, we were all so innocent
Oh we never thought this kind of thing would happen in our lives
But it broke our hearts and we won't forget no
All this time has fallen through me since you've been gone
And I wonder where you are
'Cos you've never let me know
Oh no no'
You're always going too soon
I'm always left on my own
It's OK I understand, sometimes life can hold you down
I can see your face as clearly now, today, as I could then
And it doesn't fade, but the times have changed so much
I would like to tell you all about the things that we have done
And we're doing fine, but I think you know that
Leah Gee
Beautiful song, I think my dad used to play it growing up. So sad he died.
Matthew Jay
Thanks to everyone for their comments - much appreciated. Exclusive interview with Matthew Jay uploaded today on YouTube Jays Music
electronicshed
Very talented.. he left the world some great music
Keith Owen
I love Matthew Jay. Sleep tight, my darling friend.