Faulkner began playing guitar at the age of 11-12 with session guitarist Bob "crazy guy" Cranham and also attended the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, where he spent 2 years gaining both diploma and the higher diploma award under the tutelage of Eric Roche.
His first band was a Green Day cover band, in which he played bass guitar. His experience on the stage grew as he formed Half a Guy, a funk rock group with a quirky edge, with fellow band mates Matt Buchanan, Dave Elvy and Nicola Crawshaw. Half a Guy recorded two demo CDs and managed 2 years before splitting. He then spent time recording and gigging under the name Newton Battenberg Faulkner, where he played the Lapagestock festival on the 11th June 2005.
Recent appearances on BBC Radio 2 as well as a publishing deal with Peermusic UK compelled the Independent on Sunday to tell its readers to "Watch this face". Faulkner performed at the 2006 South by Southwest music festival and at Guilfest 2007.
In 2006 he had a support slot for Steve Forbert at The Spitz in London, England.
Newton has recently been signed by [labelSony BMG records and on the 30th of July 2007 he released his debut album Hand Built By Robots. He supported James Morrison on his February UK tour as well as Paolo Nutini on his UK tour in April, and also John Mayer on his September dates in the United Kingdom. He also supported The John Butler Trio on a number of European dates.
In June 2007 Newton's second single Dream Catch Me was selected Jo Whiley's 'Pet Sound' on her daily Radio 1 show. This gave the track much exposure and was highly commented on by listeners to Jo's show.
Newton appeared twice at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2007 - once on the Friday on the Acoustic Stage and once on the Sunday on the Leftfield Stage. He appeared at V Festival 2007 in August where he played in the Virgin Mobile Sessions Tent - a venue much too small as people overflowed outside. He also appeared at the Connect Music Festival at the end of August 2007 on the Guitars and Other Machines stage
On July 29, Dream Catch Me entered the UK Singles Chart at number 16. The following week it had risen to number 7 with Hand Built By Robots entering the album charts at number 3. The song rose to #8 on 12 August, the album to number 1 on 26 August.
Eric Roche is undoubtedly one of Newton's biggest influences, both from a stylistic point of view (vis a vis the percussive use of the guitar's body) and through the use of tapping, uncommon tunings and inventive chord changes, such as in I Need Something and Ageing Superhero, from his debut album. This method of playing also shows heavily in the work of Jon Gomm and Pete Wailes, although with a slightly different feel in both.
Pulling Teeth
Newton Faulkner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We break up and then change our minds
But it's alright
I don't mind at all
I don't mind at all
Disagree then we compromise
Tooth and nail over truth and lies
I don't mind at all
I don't mind at all
It's no sin to shed your thick skin
Throw it in the bin
Show me who you really are
I'll do the same
To hell with the games
Why don't we both just open up
We make it so hard
When it's so simple underneath
If we just stroll on
The ground is right beneath our feet
It's taken
It's taken so long
Oh it's been like pulling teeth
I got it wrong
Instead of pushing back
I'll pull you into me
Spoken question, a screamed reply
Compliment then we criticize
But it's alright
I don't mind at all
I don't mind at all
It's no sin to shed your thick skin
Throw it in the bin
Show me who you really are
I'll do the same
To hell with the games
Why don't we both just open up
We make it so hard
When it's so simple underneath
If we just stroll on
The ground is right beneath our feet
It's taken
It's taken so long
Oh it's been like pulling teeth
I got it wrong
Instead of pushing back
I'll pull you into me
Running out of hope
Running out of time
Don't you dare let go
When it gets a little hard
Looks like no one's home
See you hiding in the dark
'Cuz your heart is glowing
We make it so hard
When it's so simple underneath
If we just stroll on
The ground is right beneath our feet
It's taken
It's taken so long
Oh it's been like pulling teeth
I got it wrong
Instead of pushing back
I'll pull you into me
So long
It's taken
It's taken so long
Oh it's been like pulling teeth
I got it wrong
Instead of pushing back
I'll pull you into me
I'll pull you into me
I'll pull you into me
I'll pull you into me
The song "Pulling Teeth" by Newton Faulkner is a song about the complexities of relationships and the challenges that come with opening up and being vulnerable. The first verse talks about how the couple fights, breaks up, and changes their minds but despite all of this, the singer doesn't mind. He understands that disagreements are a normal part of any relationship and that compromise is necessary to move forward.
The chorus encourages the listener to shed their thick skin and show their true selves, to stop playing games and instead open up. The singer acknowledges that it can be hard to do so, but it's worth it. The second verse reiterates the theme of compromise and encourages both people in the relationship to open up to each other.
The bridge speaks to the challenges of the relationship, but the singer encourages the other person to not give up, to not hide away. He sees the other person's heart glowing and encourages them to hold on, even when it's hard.
Overall, "Pulling Teeth" is a message about emotional openness and honesty being the key to a healthy and fulfilling relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
We just fight to apologize
We argue just to make amends
We break up and then change our minds
We split up then get back together again
But it's alright
It's not a big deal
I don't mind at all
I have no problem with it
Disagree then we compromise
We don't see eye to eye, but we find a middle ground
Tooth and nail over truth and lies
We argue fiercely about what's real and what's not
It's no sin to shed your thick skin
It's not a bad thing to let your guard down
Throw it in the bin
Get rid of it
Show me who you really are
Be your true self around me
I'll do the same
I'll be my true self around you
To hell with the games
I don't want to play any more mind games
Why don't we both just open up
Let's be honest and sincere with each other
We make it so hard
We're making things more complicated than they need to be
When it's so simple underneath
The solution is actually quite easy
If we just stroll on
If we just keep moving forward
The ground is right beneath our feet
We have everything we need already
It's taken so long
It's been a long time coming
Oh it's been like pulling teeth
It's been a struggle to get here
I got it wrong
I made a mistake
Instead of pushing back
Instead of fighting back
I'll pull you into me
I'll pull you closer to me
Spoken question, a screamed reply
We ask questions and answer with passion
Compliment then we criticize
We compliment each other then point out flaws
Running out of hope
Losing optimism
Running out of time
Almost out of time
Don't you dare let go
Don't give up
When it gets a little hard
When things get difficult
Looks like no one's home
Seems like no one is listening
See you hiding in the dark
You're concealing yourself
'Cuz your heart is glowing
But I can see that you care deeply
I'll pull you into me
I'll bring you closer to me
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: SAM FARRAR, TOBY WILLIAM BATTENBERG FAULKNER, NEWTON FAULKNER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind