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 Sandmanâs 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
Scratch
Morphine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I really had things in my hand
But something went wrong I'm not sure what
And now I'm sitting here at home alone
People they want to give you free advice
Well that's something that I always try
But you get what you pay for that's what I say
And now I'm paying and paying and paying
I'm starting over from scratch
I lost everything I had
I'm starting over from scratch
Everything I wanted cooking on the stove
Everything I needed right in the home
I had the best thing you can have
You can have it you can have it now
I lost everything I had
I'm starting over from scratch
I lost everything I had
I'm starting over from scratch
It's just a fact (?)
Wiped that smile off my face
Put me down in my proper place
But the world just keeps on spinning around
And I'm still hanging around in this world
I lost everything I had
I'm starting over from scratch
I lost everything I had
I'm starting over from scratch
The Morphine song "Scratch" is a melancholic and reflective ballad about the singer's downfall from a position of power and success to a state of complete loss and starting over. The song's opening lines, "I was once sitting on top of the world, I really had things in my hand, But something went wrong I'm not sure what, And now I'm sitting here at home alone," set the tone and mood of the song. The singer nostalgically remembers the good times he had, but also acknowledges that he messed up, resulting in his current situation of being alone and penniless.
The chorus, "I lost everything I had, I'm starting over from scratch," is a simple and poignant statement that encapsulates the essence of the song. The verses talk about how people offer free advice but how it's important to remember that you get what you pay for. The singer had everything he needed, but he lost it all, and now he has to start from scratch.
The song's final verses deal with the singer coming to terms with his situation and his new reality. He accepts that his smile has been wiped off his face, and he has been put in his proper place. Nevertheless, despite feeling lost, he acknowledges that the world continues to spin around, and he's still here, trying to find a new start.
Overall, "Scratch" is a melancholic and reflective song that speaks to the human experience of loss, struggle, and trying to start over in life. It is a reminder that even the most successful people can fall and have to rebuild, but it is worth pushing through and starting again.
Line by Line Meaning
I was once sitting on top of the world
I was in a very good position with everything under my control
I really had things in my hand
I was the master of my own fate and everything was going my way
But something went wrong I'm not sure what
Something unexpected happened and I don't know what caused it
And now I'm sitting here at home alone
The situation has changed and now I find myself alone at home
People they want to give you free advice
People are always willing to give you advice without any cost
Well that's something that I always try
I always try to listen to advice given to me
But you get what you pay for that's what I say
The quality of the advice received is often proportional to the cost one pays for it
And now I'm paying and paying and paying
I am paying the price for not heeding the advice given to me
I lost everything I had
I lost all my possessions, achievements, and status
I'm starting over from scratch
I have to start from the beginning and build everything back up again
Everything I wanted cooking on the stove
All my plans and dreams were in the works and were about to be fulfilled
Everything I needed right in the home
All the resources and support I needed were at home
I had the best thing you can have
I had the most valuable and desirable thing one can possess
You can have it you can have it now
But now it's gone and anyone can have it
It's just a fact (?)
I have accepted that this is the reality and I can't change it
Wiped that smile off my face
The unfortunate event caused me to lose my happiness and optimism
Put me down in my proper place
I was humbled by the event and reminded of my true position and limitations
But the world just keeps on spinning around
Despite my personal setbacks, the world keeps moving and life goes on for everyone else
And I'm still hanging around in this world
Despite the hardships, I haven't given up and I'm still living and trying to make the best of things
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: MARK J. SANDMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
ilay rodriguez gomes
Sandman)
I was once sitting on top of the world
I really had things in my hand
But something went wrong I'm not sure what
And now I'm sitting here at home alone
People they want to give you free advice
Well that's something that I always try
But you get what you pay for that's what I say
And now I'm paying and paying and paying
I lost everything I had
I'm starting over from scratch
I lost everything I had
I'm starting over from scratch
Everything I wanted cooking on the stove
Everything I needed right in the home
I had the best thing you can have
You can have it you can have it now
I lost everything I had
I'm starting over from scratch
I lost everything I had
I'm starting over from scratch
It's just a fact [?]
Wiped that smile off my face
Put me down in my proper place
But the world just keeps on spinning around
And I'm still hanging around in this world
I lost everything I had
I'm starting over from scratch
I lost everything I had
I'm starting over from scratch
Marco Venieri
just incredible: sad, inspiring, hopeful, sexy, powerful, carefree, dreamy. all in this brief song
HelloKittyHellFire
My favorite band of all time. I love Sandman's huanting voice. Their sound was unique and mind blowing. RIP Mark.
Brian J. Carnevale
Morphine was an American alternative rock group formed by Mark Sandman, Dana Colley, and Jerome Deupree in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1989. After five successful albums and extensive touring, they disbanded after lead vocalist Sandman died of a heart attack onstage in Palestrina, Italy, on July 3, 1999.
Mass boys to the bone. My fucking birthplace.
Christmas Carpenter
If kevin Morby had a deeper voice :)
Edward Fetner
a live performance of this song with coordinated lighting could be fucking SICK
AsocialFairy
Morphine is (was) an outrageously underrated band. Amazing crooning vocals; the fact that the play excellent jazz fusion should say enough...
Android MNSKY
I'm so glad my bandmate showed me their music. Without that happening I still wouldn't know them,since in the flood of mediocre bands of that period,being praised,they don't get a single credit. And after all those years that passed,for me who was fed up with overrated relics of that time,Morphine sounded totally fresh and it still sounds like that to me. They are simply amazing
Javier Pacci
Temon...te vuela la cabeza Morphine.
Federico Palacio
daleee
AllTheGloryToGod
Only 20 yrs old. Have my mama to thank for introducing me to thisđđđ