History.
Naked Eyes was formed by two college friends from Bath, England. The band features Pete Byrne on vocals and Rob Fisher on keyboards. The two had formerly played in a band called Neon, which also featured future members of Tears for Fears. Naked Eyes was one of the first bands to make significant use of the Fairlight CMI sampling synthesizer on a recording.
The debut album Burning Bridges was produced by Tony Mansfield, along with the follow-up album Fuel for the Fire, which also featured two titles produced by Arthur Baker. Their second and third singles, "Promises, Promises" (the 12" mix of which features vocals from Madonna) and "When the Lights Go Out," were also hit singles in the United States.
Following the release of the band's second album, Byrne moved to California and performed session work. He performed on Stevie Wonder's "Part-Time Lover," sang backgrounds with Rita Coolidge and Princess Stephanie, and wrote and produced for the Olsen twins. Fisher also explored other projects, doing sessions in London and forming Climie Fisher with Simon Climie.
The group never toured due to the technical difficulties of recreating their studio sound in concert. Rob Fisher died on 25 August 1999, aged 42, following surgery for bowel cancer. Byrne released a solo album The Real Illusion in 2001, which featured some of the last tracks he wrote with Fisher for a proposed third Naked Eyes album. In 2005, Byrne put a band together to play some Naked Eyes shows and has been touring regularly since. In 2007, Naked Eyes released Fumbling with the Covers, an acoustic album which consisted of covers of Bob Dylan, The Beatles and Elvis Costello, among others, along with the Naked Eyes hits.
In the summer of 2008, Naked Eyes completed a US tour along with Belinda Carlisle, ABC and The Human League. In the summer of 2014, Naked Eyes did a US tour with The Go-Go's, Scandal and The Motels.
Fortune And Fame
Naked Eyes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
No one could ever lead her
She made the rules
And you're the pawn in the game
She tried so hard to make it
She even tried to fake it
She said "It's normal but to me it's insane"
She might have been unlucky but I think it must have been
Fortune and Fame
Shot down in flames
Isn't it strange
How fortunes can change
It's one slip away
You give your life to please her
She's got the world beneath her
She takes the line of most resistance, she said
She never lied about it
Until she died without it
If you could have seen her, then I'm sure you'd have said
She might have been unlucky but I think it must have been
Fortune and Fame
Shot down in flames
Isn't it strange
How fortunes can change
It's one slip away
She might have been unlucky but I think it must have been
Fortune and Fame
Shot down in flames
Isn't it strange
How fortunes can change
It's one slip away
The lyrics of the song, "Fortune And Fame" by Naked Eyes, are about a woman who is a non-believer, makes her own rules, and is always in control of everything. The woman had been trying hard to make it big in life, even faking it, and though she might have been unlucky, the lyrics hint that it could just be something to do with fortune and fame. She has a grip on everything around her, and she takes the line of most resistance, which sets her apart from the people around her.
The song speaks of one slip that could change everything - one tiny mistake that can bring down a person with everything that they have built up. The song tells the story of how one can give everything to please someone, how someone can have everything while others are struggling, and how fortunes can change in a matter of moments. The lyrics speak to us on how it is important to be careful and cautious in life, for we might never know the repercussions of a single mistake.
Line by Line Meaning
She was a disbeliever
She was a skeptic who did not easily believe in things.
No one could ever lead her
She was a tough and independent person who could not be easily influenced by others.
She made the rules
She was in control of the situation and imposed her own rules.
And you're the pawn in the game
You are being used as a tool in her game and have no real control over the situation.
She tried so hard to make it
She put in a lot of effort to succeed in her endeavors.
She even tried to fake it
She resorted to acting or pretending in order to achieve her goals.
She said 'It's normal but to me it's insane'
She had a different perspective on things and what was considered normal by others seemed insane to her.
She might have been unlucky but I think it must have been Fortune and Fame
Her lack of success may not have been entirely due to bad luck, but rather because of her desire for fortune and fame.
Shot down in flames
Her ambition backfired and led to failure.
Isn't it strange
It is surprising and unexpected.
How fortunes can change
One's luck or success can change quickly and dramatically.
It's one slip away
Success can sometimes hinge on just one small mistake or miscalculation.
You give your life to please her
You are sacrificing a lot to make her happy or gain her approval.
She's got the world beneath her
She is in a position of power and control over her surroundings.
She takes the line of most resistance, she said
She chooses the most difficult path, refusing to take the easy way out.
She never lied about it
She was always truthful about her intentions and actions.
Until she died without it
Unfortunately, she never achieved her desired fortune and fame before passing away.
If you could have seen her, then I'm sure you'd have said
If you had witnessed her struggles and determination, you would have been impressed by her efforts.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: ROB FISHER, PETER JAMES BYRNE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
philippe geronimo08
She was a disbeliever
No one could ever lead her
She made the rules
And you're the pawn in the game
She tried so hard to make it
She even tried to fake it
She said "It's normal but to me it's insane"
She might have been unlucky but I think it must have been
Fortune and Fame
Shot down in flames
Isn't it strange
How fortunes can change
It's one slip away
You give your life to please her
She's got the world beneath her
She takes the line of most resistance, she said
She never lied about it
Until she died without it
If you could have seen her, then I'm sure you'd have said
She might have been unlucky but I think it must have been
Fortune and Fame
Shot down in flames
Isn't it strange
How fortunes can change
It's one slip away
She might have been unlucky but I think it must have been
Fortune and Fame
Shot down in flames
Isn't it strange
How fortunes can change
It's one slip away
ledsith
What a beautiful song . The whole album is great !
Andrew JS
I like the way each song on the album has a slightly different atmosphere. (In that respect it's like Michael Jackson's Thriller). This song is wistful, Voices In My Head is mysterious, Promises Promises is sinister, I Could Show You How is hopeful.
JOZ
My favorite 80s band. Everything they did was good ❤️ The melodies and layering synths are so beautiful ❤️❤️
Andrew JS
This is a really interesting song because the melody in the chorus (and the synth chords) are so similar to the sort of thing that Stock Aitken Waterman were doing in the late 80s for Kylie Minogue and Jason Donovan. I wonder if they were influenced by this track.
philippe geronimo08
She was a disbeliever
No one could ever lead her
She made the rules
And you're the pawn in the game
She tried so hard to make it
She even tried to fake it
She said "It's normal but to me it's insane"
She might have been unlucky but I think it must have been
Fortune and Fame
Shot down in flames
Isn't it strange
How fortunes can change
It's one slip away
You give your life to please her
She's got the world beneath her
She takes the line of most resistance, she said
She never lied about it
Until she died without it
If you could have seen her, then I'm sure you'd have said
She might have been unlucky but I think it must have been
Fortune and Fame
Shot down in flames
Isn't it strange
How fortunes can change
It's one slip away
She might have been unlucky but I think it must have been
Fortune and Fame
Shot down in flames
Isn't it strange
How fortunes can change
It's one slip away
We'reOpen24Hours
I always felt this song and "Emotion in Motion" from the Naked Eyes album could have been legit contenders for hits.
Hansel Baker
love the '80s music! i love naked eyes! this song is about the desires of success, but the essence of success is hope!
bob si dog
Hansel Baker True. & fakers can never really attain it no matter how much they try.
sauquoit13456
On this day in 1983 {May 28th} Naked Eyes performed "Always Something There to Remind Me"* on the ABC-TV Saturday-afternoon program, 'American Bandstand'...
At the time the song was at position #12 on Billboard's Hot Top 100 chart, two weeks later it would peak at #8 {for 2 weeks} and it spent twenty weeks on the Top 100...
It also reached #8 on the Canadian Nielsen SoundScan Singles Chart...
On the same 'Bandstand' show the duo also performed "Fortune and Fame", the song was track four on side two from their U.S. debut album, 'Burning Bridges', the album reached #32 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart...
The British duo had three other Top 100 records; "Promises, Promises" {#11 in 1983}, "When the Lights Go Out" {#37 in 1983}, and "(What) In the Name of Love" {#39 in 1984}...
* And from the 'For What It's Worth' department; four other versions of "Always Something There to Remind Me" have made the Top 100 chart; Lou Johnson {#49 in 1964}, Sandie Shaw {#52 in 1965}, Dionne Warwick {#65 in 1968}, and R.B. Greaves {#27 ion 1970}...
RussBaker71
The whole Burning Bridges album was great!!!! Thanks!!!