As Postcard's flagship band, Orange Juice quickly distinguished the label as a leading proponent of independent pop music; their 1980 debut single "Falling and Laughing," recorded for less than 100 pounds, garnered massive critical acclaim, and subsequent releases like "Blueboy," "Simply Thrilled Honey," and "Poor Old Soul" further established the group as a major new talent. Soon, sessions began for a full-length album; however, in the midst of recording, Orange Juice left Postcard to sign to Polydor, which funded the LP's completion. After the 1982 release of the album, titled You Can't Hide Your Love Forever, ex-Josef K guitarist Malcolm Ross joined the group, hastening the exit of Kirk and Daly (who went on to form Memphis) and paving the way for Zimbabwe-born drummer Zeke Manyika.
The addition of Manyika gave Collins the new capability of exploring a more complex fusion of pop and blue-eyed soul; consequently, 1982's Rip It Up was a more ambitious affair than its predecessor, veering from the buoyant Motown tribute "I Can't Help Myself" to the energetic pop of the title track, Orange Juice's lone Top Ten single. However, subsequent releases failed to chart, and relations between the group and Polydor began to disintegrate; amid these tensions, both Ross and McClymont quit, with Ross later resurfacing in Aztec Camera. Reduced to the duo of Collins and Manyika, Orange Juice enlisted reggae producer Dennis Bovell to record the 1984 EP Texas Fever.
After a makeshift tour, Collins and Manyika returned to the studio to record a dark, ambitious full-length effort; released in 1984, neither The Orange Juice nor its singles "What Presence?!" and "Lean Period" charted, and Collins was dropped from his contract, although Polydor kept Manyika on as a solo act. Only in 1995 did the stunning single "A Girl Like You" finally win Collins the commercial respect that had so long eluded him and his former bandmates. Later on, throughout the late '90s and early 2000s, the rise of Scottish bands as disparate as Belle & Sebastian and Franz Ferdinand won Orange Juice a younger set of fans, helped in great part by the 2005 compilation The Glasgow School.
Biography by Jason Ankeny
Rip It Up
Orange Juice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Something stirred within me
You were standing sultry in the rain
If I could've held you
I would've held you
Rip it up and start again
Rip it up and start again
I hope to God you're not as dumb as you make out
I hope to God
I hope to God
And I hope to God I'm not as numb as you make out
I hope to God
I hope to God
And when I next saw you
My heart reached out for you
But my arms stuck like glue to my sides
If I could've held you
I would've held you
But I'd choke rather than swallow my pride
Rip it up and start again
Rip it up and start again
Rip it up and start again
I hope to God you're not as dumb as you make out
I hope to God
I hope to God
And I hope to God I'm not as numb as you make out
I hope to God
I hope to God
And there was times I'd take my pen
And feel obliged to start again
I do profess
That there are things in life
That one can't quite express
You know me I'm acting dumb-dumb
You know this scene is very humdrum
And my favourite song's entitled 'boredom'
Rip it up and start again
I said rip it up and start again
I said rip it up and rip it up and rip it up and rip it up and rip it up and start again
The lyrics to Orange Juice's song Rip It Up are about unrequited love and the frustration and uncertainty that comes with it. The singer of the song has feelings for someone they see in the rain, but they are unable to express those feelings, and the chance to act on them passes them by. The title of the song, "Rip It Up", suggests a desire to start over or try again, but the repetition of the phrase "rip it up and start again" also suggests a sense of futility or hopelessness.
Throughout the song, the singer expresses hope that the person they are admiring is not as dumb as they appear, and that they themselves are not as numb as they may come across. However, they are unable to bridge the gap between themselves and their love interest, and they feel trapped in their own insecurity and self-doubt. The song ends with the singer acknowledging that they may need to rip up their own self-image and start over in order to move forward.
Overall, Rip It Up is a poignant and relatable exploration of the complexities of human emotion, particularly in the realm of romantic relationships. The lyrics are filled with raw emotion and vulnerability, highlighting the universal struggle to convey our true feelings to others.
Line by Line Meaning
When I first saw you
The singer's initial experience of love at first sight
Something stirred within me
The intense emotions that were aroused within the singer when he first saw the girl
You were standing sultry in the rain
The girl looked very attractive to the singer and he felt an immediate connection to her
If I could've held you
The singer's desire to be close to the girl
I would've held you
The singer's longing for physical contact with the girl he saw
Rip it up and start again
A desire for change in the singer's life, to leave the past behind and move on
I hope to God you're not as dumb as you make out
A plea for the girl to prove her intelligence, rather than pretend to be less intelligent than she is
And I hope to God I'm not as numb as you make out
A hope that the girl will see the singer as more than just a dull, numb person
And when I next saw you
The singer's second experience of seeing the girl he longs for, this time with greater emotion
My heart reached out for you
The singer's deep emotional connection toward the girl that fills him with longing
But my arms stuck like glue to my sides
The singer's inability to approach the girl due to his shyness and insecurity
But I'd choke rather than swallow my pride
The singer's unwillingness to admit his true feelings to the object of his affection
And there was times I'd take my pen
The singer's creative outlet for expressing his emotions
And feel obliged to start again
A desire to start fresh and put his past experiences aside
I do profess
The singer's declaration of honesty and vulnerability
That there are things in life
The singer's understanding of life's complexities and the difficulty of expressing his emotions
That one can't quite express
The limitations of language to fully capture one's feelings
You know me I'm acting dumb-dumb
The singer putting up a façade of ignorance and being tongue-tied due to his attraction to the girl
You know this scene is very humdrum
The singer's feelings of boredom with his current life circumstances
And my favourite song's entitled 'boredom'
The singer's sarcastic statement about his own situation, highlighting his dissatisfaction with the status quo
I said rip it up and rip it up and rip it up and rip it up and rip it up and start again
The ultimate plea for change, repeating the chorus to drive home the message of wanting to leave the past behind
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: SCOTT RAYMOND GREENAWAY, TRAVIS WILLIAM COLLINS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@mandyforrester3120
2024 anyone ❤
@shesaiddestroy000
Absolutely
@shonabeggs4640
❤
@TheUrbanPrude
Retail workers unite
@renpereiradx
this track sounds better and better
@wjfox2006
2055 here.
@teedubyabee23
Simply one of the greatest pop songs of all time.
@user-fs6sl2er1x
The best music ever the late 70s early 80s
@kitharrison8799
Now I hit forty and realise what a fucking great record this is. It has it all. Still fresh af after four decades.
@brittsteed3978
The level of detail in this old school TARDIS recreation is impressive.