They built up a small following on the Birmingham circuit playing venues including The Mermaid, Hare & Hounds, Peacocks and various halls of residence.
The band recorded their first single (Everybody Knows The Monkey/You're On My Mind) for the princely sum of £40 and released it in '86 on their own Girlie Records. This was followed by Is There Anyone Out There (4 track 12") before signing to Chapter 22.
The Mighty Mighty sound stood them apart from from many of their contemporaries. Chief songwriter Mick drew on influences as varied as Al Green, Billie Holiday, Josef K and Phil Spector. His guitar style paid homage to the aforementioned Scots, Ian McCulloch and The Au Pairs. Hugh's vocals echoed those of Scott Walker and Edwyn Collins. H's tight, fast beats came of years listening to punk, The Only Ones and the Pogues. Russell's pumping, melodic bass style was honed playing along to This Year's Model whilst at university in Sheffield. Pete's keyboard sound was influenced by The Doors and Al Kooper while his guitar style was a blend of Bunnymen, Johnny Marr, and The Velvets.
One way
Mighty Mighty Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Afraid the words might get in the way
Afraid the word we might be forced to say
We never really gave it a second thought
Now we can look back and say
"We should of seen it coming all the way"
Look for the wonder we used to love ago
There's only one way to go
There's only one way to go
You touched a part of me
You never really got to know
I'd never hold you to any promises
Made in tender moments and
all those dreams and foolish paths
I never stopped to think of reality
I started thinking I'd have command
It all came apart in my hands
Look for the wonder we used to love ago
Once it's gone too far,
There's only one way to go
There's only one way to go
You took away a part of me
You had no right to own
There's only one way to go
There's only one way to go
The lyrics of Mighty Mighty's song "One Way" convey a sense of regret and loss of a relationship that could have been. The lines "We never took the time to really talk" and "We never really gave it a second thought" highlight the lack of communication and attention that ultimately led to the downfall of the relationship. The fear of saying the wrong things and the inability to confront reality are expressed through the lines "Afraid the words might get in the way" and "I never stopped to think of reality."
The chorus, "Look for the wonder we used to love ago, Once it's gone too far, there's only one way to go" suggests that the relationship had potential for greatness, but due to lack of effort, communication, and attentiveness, it slowly became damaged until there was no other way to go except for a painful ending. The lines "You touched a part of me you never really got to know" and "You took away a part of me you had no right to own" show a sense of resentment towards the other person for not fully understanding or valuing what the relationship meant to them.
Overall, the song "One Way" is a reminder to take the time to appreciate and nurture relationships before they reach the point of no return.
Line by Line Meaning
We never took the time to really talk
We never made a genuine effort to communicate
Afraid the words might get in the way
We were afraid that our words might complicate things
Afraid the word we might be forced to say
We were afraid to say what needed to be said
We never really gave it a second thought
We didn't give our relationship proper consideration
Now we can look back and say
We can reflect on our past experiences now
"We should of seen it coming all the way"
We should have been more aware of the impending problems
Look for the wonder we used to love ago
Try to find the sense of curiosity and excitement we once had
Once it's gone so far,
Once the situation has deteriorated significantly,
There's only one way to go
There is only one outcome
You touched a part of me
You affected me in a significant way
You never really got to know
You never truly understood me
I'd never hold you to any promises
I wouldn't hold you accountable for any promises you made
Made in tender moments and
Made during intimate, emotional moments when we were vulnerable
all those dreams and foolish paths
All the unrealistic hopes and ambitions we had
I never stopped to think of reality
I was too caught up in fantasy and didn't consider the practicalities
I started thinking I'd have command
I thought I could control the situation
It all came apart in my hands
It fell apart and I couldn't salvage it
You took away a part of me
Your actions had a negative impact on me
You had no right to own
You didn't have the right to control me or my emotions
There's only one way to go
There is only one possible outcome
There's only one way to go
There is only one outcome
Contributed by Adam P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Molokomas
Una auténtica delicia!!!!!!
amanyc
wow! thanks for posting this! Happy memories