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
Thursday
Morphine Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Thursday in the afternoon
For a couple of beers and a game of pool
We used to go to a motel a motel
A motel across the street
And the name of the motel was the Wagon Wheel
Oh
Why don't you come back to my house
She said my husband's out of town
You know he's gone till the end of the month
Well I was just so nervous so nervous
You know I couldn't really quite relax
'Cause I was never really quite sure when her
Husband was coming back
Sure one of the neighbors yea one of the neighbors
One of the neighbors that saw my car
And they told her yea they told her
I think they know who you are
Well her husband he's a violent man a very violent and jealous man
Now I have to leave this town I got to leave while I still can
We should have kept it every Thursday Thursday
Thursday in the afternoon
For a couple of beers and a game of pool
We should have kept it every Thursday Thursday
Thursday in the afternoon
For a couple of beers and a game of pool
She was pretty good too
The lyrics to Morphine's song Thursday tell a story of a secret affair that takes place on Thursday afternoons. The singer and his lover used to meet every Thursday at a motel called the Wagon Wheel, where they would drink beer and play pool. One day, the woman invites the singer back to her house because her husband is out of town. The singer is nervous about the husband coming back and when one of the neighbors sees his car, the secret affair is exposed. The woman's husband is a violent and jealous man and the singer must leave town to avoid any retribution.
The song is poignant in its portrayal of a doomed love affair. The lyrics describe the excitement and fear of secret meetings, and the sense of doomed inevitability when the affair is revealed. The singer's regretful tone in wishing they had continued their Thursday afternoon trysts underscores the sadness of lost love. The lyrics are accompanied by Morphine's characteristic bluesy and jazzy sound, creating a melancholic and reflective atmosphere.
Overall, Thursday is a song about the dangers of infidelity and the consequences that arise when secrets are discovered. The lyrics and music combine to convey a story of love and loss that is universal and timeless.
Line by Line Meaning
We used to meet every Thursday Thursday
They had a regular meeting every Thursday afternoon
Thursday in the afternoon
The meeting was always held on a Thursday afternoon
For a couple of beers and a game of pool
They would drink beer and play pool when they met
We used to go to a motel a motel
They would go to a nearby motel
A motel across the street
The motel was located across the street from where they met
And the name of the motel was the Wagon Wheel
The name of the motel they went to was the Wagon Wheel
One day she said come on come on she said
One day, she invited him to her house
Why don't you come back to my house
She invited him to come to her house
She said my husband's out of town
She told him that her husband was out of town
You know he's gone till the end of the month
She specified when her husband would be gone
Well I was just so nervous so nervous
He was very nervous the whole time
You know I couldn't really quite relax
He couldn't really relax the whole time
'Cause I was never really quite sure when her
He didn't know when her
Husband was coming back
Her husband would return
Sure one of the neighbors yea one of the neighbors
One of the neighbors for sure
One of the neighbors that saw my car
One of the neighbors saw his car parked outside
And they told her yea they told her
They told her about seeing his car
I think they know who you are
They suspected he was involved with her
Well her husband he's a violent man a very violent and jealous man
Her husband was known to be violent and jealous
Now I have to leave this town I got to leave while I still can
He has to leave town to avoid the husband's wrath
We should have kept it every Thursday Thursday
They should have continued to meet every Thursday
Thursday in the afternoon
As they had always done on Thursdays in the afternoon
For a couple of beers and a game of pool
Drinking beer and playing pool together
She was pretty good too
She was good at playing pool
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Mark Sandman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Lupo de' Lupis
Cure For Pain is a masterpiece. I play it very loud on my stereo cause it'so cathartic.
da man
I saw Morphine live when the played this song to start their performance in Portland,OR, at La Luna (long since closed) in 1995. Appropriately, it was on a Thursday. They were an awesome live act. Probably my 2nd favorite live act after seeing Johnny Cash play at the "Blue Note" in Columbia, MO. Morphine still is the epitome of cool even 20 years later!
Sean Medlock
@da man Yeah, I couldn't believe it even as I was seeing it.
Eric Dean Scott
'95 was Ihe year I saw Morphine too at Irving Plaza in NYC. Fuckin beat shamans sweating out dangerous hot tunes and knowledge n licks. Also in my top all time show experienced
David Shuey
I remember La Luna. I saw Paul Westerberg there one year later. And also: Mark Lanegan without Screaming Trees. He didn't look so hot that day; but cleaned up real good.
Eduardo
You're so fucking lucky
BOH10666
i remember la luna. christ, i miss grad school and portland.
trilingual
Yes! We need more music like this!!
Robert Grant
Mark//Morphine music makes my days a little brighter and a little lower. Honesty, originality, depth, a sweet ass drum grove, Dana playing two saxs' at once and the one and only Mr.Sandman who produced one of the most RAW and expressive bass sounds that I have heard. My Good Sirs. I SALUTE YOu!
luv2eatpuss79
this guy played a 2 string bass. How cool is that !