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.
Write It On Your Skin
Newton Faulkner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you can carry on and forget everything
Take everything you own and put it in your car
You can drive away, drive away so far
Then drive into a lake and take off all your clothes
Set your clothes on fire, now you are alone
But you've got all you know written on your skin
So you can carry on and forget everything
All the things I'd rather be
All the things I'd rather be
I can't, I can't, I can't stay around here
I can only leave
Take everything you know and write it on your skin
And you can carry on and forget everything
Take everything you own and put it in your car
You can drive away, drive away so far
Then drive into a lake and take off all your clothes
Set your clothes on fire, now you are alone
But you've got all you know written on your skin
So you can carry on and forget everything, oh
All the things I'd rather be
All the things I'd rather be
I can't, I can't, I can't stay around here
I can only leave
I can't, I can't, I can't stay around here
I can only leave
Life feels like a music box, I'm spinning 'round slowly and I can't get off
And life feels like a music box, I'm spinning 'round slowly and I can't get off
(Let's start again)
And life feels like a music box (start again, let's start again)
I'm spinning 'round slowly and I can't get off (let's start again)
And life feels like a music box (start again, let's start again)
I'm spinning round slowly and I can't get off
I can't, I can't, I can't stay around here
I can only leave
I can't, I can't, I can't stay around here
I can only leave
I can't, I can't, I can't stay around here
The song "Write It On Your Skin" by Newton Faulkner is about letting go of everything you know, everything you own and leaving behind the past to start a new life. The lyrics suggest that sometimes it is necessary to take extreme measures to achieve this new beginning. Writing everything you know on your skin is a metaphor for carrying your experiences with you as you move forward. The lines "Take everything you own and put it in your car, You can drive away, drive away so far, Then drive into a lake and take off all your clothes, Set your clothes on fire, now you are alone" suggest that this new beginning can only be achieved after leaving everything behind, including possessions and clothing, which can be seen as a symbol for shedding your old skin and starting anew.
The chorus, "All the things I'd rather be, I can't, I can't, I can't stay around here, I can only leave" suggest that the singer is aware of the changes that need to be made but does not have the means or the strength to do so without making drastic decisions. The lines "Life feels like a music box, I'm spinning 'round slowly and I can't get off" reinforces this sentiment, that the character feels stuck in a cycle and needs a drastic change to break free.
Line by Line Meaning
Take everything you know and write it on your skin
Memorize everything that you know and let it be a part of you forever
And you can carry on and forget everything
With that knowledge, you can keep moving forward and leave everything else behind
Take everything you own and put it in your car
Gather all your possessions and take them with you as you go
You can drive away, drive away so far
Travel as far away as you need to escape your problems
Then drive into a lake and take off all your clothes
Perhaps an extreme metaphor for shedding your past and starting anew
Set your clothes on fire, now you are alone
Symbolic of severing ties with your past and being truly independent
But you've got all you know written on your skin
The knowledge you have gained is the only thing you need to carry with you in life
So you can carry on and forget everything
With that knowledge as your foundation, you can continue forward and leave the past behind
All the things I'd rather be
An expression of dissatisfaction with the current circumstances
I can't, I can't, I can't stay around here
The need to escape and move on from the current situation
I can only leave
Leaving is the only option
Life feels like a music box, I'm spinning 'round slowly and I can't get off
Life can feel repetitive and unchanging, like being trapped in a cycle
Let's start again
An urge to begin anew, to start fresh
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: NEWTON FAULKNER, TOBY WILLIAM BATTENBERG FAULKNER, ALASDAIR FINLAYSON, JAMIE FINLAYSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Riley Littman
2020 here, been listening to him for years and really wnated to see him live this year, looks like that's not gonna happen because of Corona . But man has his music helped me get through this hell of a year so far , thank you Newton
Gacha Clif
Same hear
Ryan Lew94
I've been so see him twice, his music has helped me so much too. Hope you get to see him soon, he's even better than you imagine him to be
Liam ation
He deserves to be where all the pop artists are...
Alice Goode
Pop is shit. That's not music. He deserves to be known for what he is. Not a shitty pop artist. Pop is outdated. Newton Faulkner is an absolute legend 😴👊
Jon Atkinson
Helped me in my depression so many times. Write in your skin is so an expression of freedom and starting over again!
Life does feel like a music box, spinning around every day.
essennagerry
I had forgotten how much I like Newton Faulkner! Two years ago I asked somebody to recommend me some music and Newton Faulkner was some of the recommended. I'm glad I did.
thisguy08
Id never forget!
Beck
I woke up in spasms of excitement this morning! Seeing this genius tonight :')
Jojo
was it good