While "Good" earned the band critical notoriety and substantial underground cred, they did not -- with this release or any subsequent -- break into the mainstream. After the release of Good, the band replaced Dupree with Billy Conway, a former bandmate of Sandman. Morphine's 1992 release of Cure for Pain, promoted by heavy touring, received some mainstream positive attention, selling over 300,000 copies worldwide and spawning a chart hit in many countries with the single Buena
Subsequent releases include Yes and Like Swimming.
On July 3, 1999, Mark Sandman collapsed on stage in Palestrina, Italy, a suburb of Rome. He was pronounced dead of a heart attack at the scene. He was 46. Morphine released The Night -- arguably their best effort -- posthumously in 2000.
After Sandman's death, the remaining band members reformed and continued to record as Twinemen and later as The Ever Expanding Elastic Waste Band
In 2004, the Mark Sandman box set Sandbox was released by Hi-n-Dry, Mark Sandman's own label. It contains two CDs and a DVD of previously unreleased material spanning Sandman’s musical career. The DVD features clips from early Sandman shows, interviews from the Morphine tours, and various videos from other Sandman solo and group projects, such as Treat Her Right.
"Some day there'll be a cure for pain,
And that's the day I throw my drugs away" - Mark Sandman
Links:
The Other Side - A Morphine Fanzine
Morphine at Myspace
Free Love
Morphine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, what is it?
Free love
Oh, I can't stand it, it's a panic
Normally love costs a bundle and plenty of trouble
But you fooled me, you fooled me
You ran away to Italy, ahh
Yea, you fooled me, you fooled me
You ran away to Italy, ahh
With your psychiatrist
Who's now a scientologist
I should have foreseen this
Business with your psychiatrist
Free love
Don't bank on it, baby
Don't bank on it
Don't bank on it
Don't bank on it
Don't bank on it, baby
Free love
So the next time
You offer someone your love
You know it
You better run
Run for shelter
Run for help
Run for the nearest downtown lounge in the afternoon
Run for the cynical arms of a stranger
Run for the open arms of an unknown tomorrow
Because love, love, love is expensive, haa
Free love
Don't bank on it, baby
Don't bank on it
Don't bank on it
Don't bank on it
Don't bank on it, baby
Free love
Don't bank on it, baby
Don't bank on it
Don't bank on it
Don't bank on it
Don't bank on it, baby
Free love
In this song, Morphine is exploring the concept of free love. They seem to be taking a satirical stance on the idea, suggesting that it is not all it seems to be. The refrain of "free love, don't bank on it baby" is repeated throughout the song, indicating that love comes at a cost, and that there is a price to pay for it. This is reinforced in the lyrics, "Normally love costs a bundle and plenty of trouble, but you fooled me, you ran away to Italy."
The singer's resentment toward the idea of free love is heightened with the mention of the ex-partner's psychiatrist who is now a Scientologist. This seems to suggest that it was this relationship that led to the end of the singer's own relationship. The sarcastic tone of the lyrics, "I should have foreseen this business with your psychiatrist," further emphasizes the singer's cynicism towards the whole idea.
In the outro, the singer advises anyone who is being offered free love to run the other way. The lyrics almost take on a cautionary tone - "run for shelter, run for help, run for the nearest downtown lounge." The song ends with the repetition of the refrain, "free love, don't bank on it baby," emphasizing that love is something that has to be worked for and earned.
Line by Line Meaning
Free love
Questioning the concept of free love and what it actually means
Oh, what is it?
Expressing confusion about what free love is
Oh, I can't stand it, it's a panic
Disliking the idea of free love, finding it overwhelming
Normally love costs a bundle and plenty of trouble
Acknowledging that love typically comes with a cost, both financially and emotionally
But you fooled me, you fooled me
Feeling tricked or deceived in a relationship
You ran away to Italy, ahh
Referring to a specific incident in the relationship where their partner left for Italy
With your psychiatrist
Identifying the person their partner left with, who was once their therapist
Who's now a scientologist
Pointing out that their partner's former therapist has joined the Church of Scientology
I should have foreseen this
Regretting not being able to anticipate the situation
Business with your psychiatrist
Implying that there was an inappropriate relationship between their partner and therapist
Don't bank on it, baby
Warning against relying on the idea of free love
So the next time
Giving advice for future relationships
You offer someone your love
Encouraging the listener to be cautious when giving their love to someone
You better run
Using hyperbole to emphasize the importance of being careful
Run for shelter
Suggesting that love can be dangerous and unpredictable
Run for help
Encouraging the listener to seek the support of others
Run for the nearest downtown lounge in the afternoon
Offering a humorous suggestion for escaping from a troubled relationship
Run for the cynical arms of a stranger
Suggesting that it's better to be with someone who is honest and upfront about their intentions
Run for the open arms of an unknown tomorrow
Encouraging the listener to embrace the future and take risks
Because love, love, love is expensive, haa
Reiterating the idea that love comes at a cost
Free love
Returning to the idea of free love and dismissing it as unrealistic
Don't bank on it, baby
Repeating the warning against expecting too much from the idea of free love
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Mark Sandman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Levi Carvalho
The decadence in this song is so compelling, it's unique
But you fooled me, you fooled me
You ran away to Italy, ahh
You fooled me
Yea, you fooled me, you fooled me
You ran away to Italy, ahh
With your psychiatrist
Who's now a scientologist
I should have foreseen this
Business with your psychiatrist
Android MNSKY
Before I had heard this,I wouldn't ever say that a song called "Free Love",by a band that's labeled as avant rock/jazz could actually be this heavy. I mean even when I first discovered Morphine couple of months ago,I thought "Ok this is amazing and kind of trippy",but I wouldn't ever thought that I will hear something this heavy from a band that I knew from tracks like French Fries with Pepper,Like Swimming or Rope on Fire. A band that doesn't even use electric guitar but has saxophone instead. Well...they truly were ahead of their time and I feel like their still ahead of our time tbh
sweetmonkeylove1
Was blessed to see these guys at the Commodore Ballroom.
-komodo-
Amazing! I would've loved to see them live, but I was only 10 when Sandman passed. RIP
sheepkillindog
Totally jelly
Theodora Emanuella
This sax is killer!
Tre Noise
i find myself constantly “chasing the dragon”, looking for bands that can strangle & mix up the hell out of of a sax with a heavy rhythm section - and besides maybe Laddio Bolocko & a few others, find myself constantly disappointed with atonal “jazzcore” consisting of little substance & depth.
Morphine did it almost effortlessly & with vast superiority in this one juggernaut of a song - years later still sending the hairs on the back of my neck rigid with never ending chills.
what a crushing exercise in pain. Sheer genius.
Phil Renaud
Sabbath with a Sax.....pure genius.
Chris Mcgarry
Nobody puts out an evil bass vibe like that guy ---space bass untouchable bad ass -**! Drumer chris
Chris Mcgarry
Lm
Wirdo TV
I love the sax!!!