Mother Love Bone was established in 1988 by former Green River members Jeff Ament, Bruce Fairweather and Stone Gossard, former Malfunkshun frontman Andrew Wood and former Ten Minute Warning and Skin Yard drummer Greg Gilmore. Initially, the group was formed in 1987 out of the cover band Lords of the Wasteland which featured Wood, Gossard, Ament and Malfunkshun drummer Regan Hagar. By early 1988 the band had added Fairweather, replaced Hagar with drummer Greg Gilmore and changed its name to Mother Love Bone.
This new line-up quickly set about recording and playing area shows and by late 1988 had become one of Seattle's more promising bands. Wood's exuberant on-stage personality, outlandish clothes and dreamy lyrics helped bring attention to the band. In the 1996 grunge documentary, Hype!, Seattle engineer Jack Endino called Wood "the only stand-up comedian frontman in Seattle," a reference to Wood's playful style of interacting with Mother Love Bone fans.
In early 1989, the band signed to PolyGram subsidiary Mercury Records. As part of its contract PolyGram also created the Stardog Records imprint exclusively for the band. In March 1989, the group issued its debut EP, Shine, becoming the first of the new crop of Seattle bands to have a release on a major label. The record sold well and rapidly increased the hype surrounding the band. John Book of Allmusic said the "record contributed to the buzz about the Seattle music scene."
In late 1989, the group returned to the studio (this time in San Francisco, California) to record its debut album, Apple. Despite some initial difficulties, the record was on-time for its projected March 1990 release. By this point interest in the band had hit a fever pitch and it seemed destined that the band were going to make it big. Only days before Apple was slated to be released, however, frontman Andrew Wood, who had a long history with drug problems, overdosed on heroin. After spending a few days in the hospital in a coma, Wood died, effectively bringing the group to an end. The album would see release later that year on July 19, 1990. Kim Neely of Rolling Stone said that the album "succeeds where countless other hard rock albums have failed, capturing the essence of what made Zep immortal – dynamics, kids! – and giving it a unique Nineties spin."
Stargazer
Mother Love Bone Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
who defies all
lift me higher than anyone
and hold me arms
woman, woman she outta mind
and simply out of soul
she gets me higher than anyone
i miss her so
stargazer you call the shots
and i take um
stargazer won't ya kick with me
(again)
dancer dancer i'm all wrong
she thinks she's young and wise
she dance around my cable car
and fix me up with a guy - why?
stargazer you cry in blue
anything i've ever seen
ain't as good as you
i'm not trying to push your feelings (inside)
but i know you hold me like a putty in yo' hands
cry for me and rub it in
cry for the saviors and the prophets son
dream of me and julie ann
...oh xana come back again
The song Stargazer by Mother Love Bone is about a man who is crazy and defies all odds, yet he finds solace in the arms of a woman who takes him higher than anyone else. However, this woman is out of her mind and soul, leaving the man to miss her so, despite her craziness. The chorus "stargazer you call the shots and I take um" refers to the woman having control over him, and he's willing to follow her anywhere. The second verse introduces a new character, a dancer, who the man cannot connect with as she thinks she's young and wise. Rather, she tries to set him up with another guy. The man, however, is hooked on the stargazer woman, who cries in blue and is better than anything he's ever seen. The song ends with a plea for the Stargazer to come back again.
Line by Line Meaning
crazy, crazy i'm the boy
I'm a wild and unpredictable guy
who defies all
I don't follow the rules or expectations of society
lift me higher than anyone
Make me feel better than anyone else has
and hold me arms
Hold me tightly in your arms
woman, woman she outta mind
This woman is not like anyone else; she's special
and simply out of soul
She's unique and different, in a good way
she gets me higher than anyone
She makes me feel better than anyone else ever has
i miss her so
I really miss her; I wish she were here
stargazer you call the shots
You're in control; you make the decisions
and i take um
And I follow your lead
stargazer won't ya kick with me
Let's hang out and have a good time together
dancer dancer i'm all wrong
I'm not very good at dancing
she thinks she's young and wise
She thinks she knows everything because she's young
she dance around my cable car
She dances around me and my problems
and fix me up with a guy - why?
She tries to set me up with other guys, which is confusing and frustrating
stargazer you cry in blue
You get sad and emotional
anything i've ever seen
More than anything I've experienced before
ain't as good as you
You're better than anything else
i'm not trying to push your feelings (inside)
I don't want to hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable
but i know you hold me like a putty in yo' hands
You have power over me, and I'm powerless to resist you
cry for me and rub it in
Cry for me and make me feel even worse
cry for the saviors and the prophets son
Cry for the people who are supposed to save us and their children
dream of me and julie ann
Think of me and Julie Ann (my lover)
...oh xana come back again
I miss you, Xana, please come back to me
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANDREW WOOD, BRUCE IAN FAIRWEATHER, GREG A. GILMORE, JEFFREY ALLEN AMENT, STONE C. GOSSARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Video-Poemas - Curiosas Impressões
Olá passado !
Quem dera você ter passado
Mas se escondeu na lembrança
Me lembrando que eu não a tinha amado!
Olá Ilusão!
Pesou que já a tinha esquecido?
Foste tão forte que me deixou abatido
Agora me dou por vencido!
Olá Tempo!
Estas passando até agora
Sinto te avisar
Mas tua luta é com a Vida e não comigo
Olá medo!
Falhaste até comigo
Ficaste me assustando
E não venceu, foste tempo perdido!
Olá Deus!!
Quando a pedi e sonhei
Nada me deste
Disse ser pai mas negou ao filho
O que quer mais agora?
Lhe fiz o bem
Bem a tratei
Amei, clamei, me desculpei
Sofri
Já me dei por vencido...
Agora na derrota não mais insisto
Não persisto pois já a perdi...
Para que mais sirvo?
Se foi tu que me criaste Deus
Talvez seja hora de me levar
Pois ficar sem ela, sem ela vou ficar...
Sem ela pouco de bom irei passar
Negaste meus pedidos
Te desafiei quanto morto ou antes de nascer?
Peço perdão pois passei por tudo que poderia sentir
E assim não peço para morrer
PEÇO SIM PARA DEIXAR DE EXISTIR!!!
Sei que não é simples assim,..O Senhor é mais criativo
Insiste em me dar lições
Quer que eu fique vivo!
E continue com as reclamações,..
Continuarei vivendo...
É a sua vontade
Eu sei que tu és a majestade
Sei que podes fazer tudo ficar pior
Continuarei procurando um novo amor...
Alexandre P. Kaffer
suedanny lizardking
I used to walk home from school with Andy Every day. He lived 4 blocks from my house. I never knew he wanted to sing or start a band at that time. He was just the nicest cutest blondie and a joy to walk home with. I'm a huge fan of his talent but I'd love to go back and get him back. He was just my "Walk Home Buddie" from Ingraham but I loved him!! RIP Andy!! <3
SAL Ninethousand
Connections. AMAZING.
R-Mick-G
Hits so close to home....talent is within the creatives....don't pick on what isn't familiar.
We used to walk home & play....keep your childhood spirit
Devil Breathes Easy
✌️
MHP CoJ
Pearl Jam sucks, and Chris Cornell was unmatched. And you really can't compare Eddie Vedder, or this singer, nor any other grunge act to Chris Cornell. It's not up for discussion. Most grunge singer's literally blow.
Erik Persch
@Dawsmagoss is still v
Richard Smith
Damn, this is transitional from glam rock to grunge. Mother love bone is the missing link seperating 80s rock and 90s rock.
Neal Lehman
@Hoblem I think what the OP is referring to is this is both glam and alternative mixed, aka the missing link. All the other bands you listed in their earlier bands were straight-up glam without any mixing of alternative and then transitioned directly to alternative with no in-between. Mother Love Bone is the in-between.
UnlifeOne
@Richard Smith Indeed. Hiphop had every rights to soar high but rock was never weak during that time.
Lots of freaking great rock music after Grunge era
Marina Araújo
Totally agree with you, Richard.