After recording their debut single "Ode to a Forgetful Mind" in 1988, P.M. Dawn released their first album Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience in 1991 to critical acclaim. It achieved immediate commercial success because of its single "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss". Their 1993 follow-up The Bliss Album...? was also praised by critics and featured the hit singles "I'd Die Without You" and "Looking Through Patient Eyes". P.M. Dawn continued to receive strong reviews, but sold poorly with their subsequent albums Jesus Wept (1995) and Dearest Christian, I'm So Very Sorry for Bringing You Here. Love, Dad (1998).
The Cordes brothers' father died of pneumonia when they were children. Further family tragedy occurred when their baby brother, Duncan, drowned at the age of two. The two elder brothers were raised by their mother and their stepfather George Brown, a founding member of Kool & the Gang.
Prince Be began DJing parties and composing songs in ninth grade. Within a few years, he had determined to make a demo tape of some of those pieces with the $600 he had set aside from his after school job as a security guard at a homeless shelter. By then, he and his brother were putting in studio time as P.M. Dawn.
They first approached Tommy Boy Records, the rap music subsidiary of Warner Brothers, with their demo, but they were told that they were too much like alternative hip-hoppers De La Soul, and not hardcore or ghetto, and were turned away. Eventually, Warlock, an independent record label, issued a debut single, "Ode to a Forgetful Mind", in 1989, but it went unnoticed.
The record label that released the single in the United Kingdom, Gee Street Records, found greater success. Gee Street mixed and marketed the song so that it earned considerable attention from music reviewers, and P.M. Dawn found themselves courted not just by Gee Street's head, Jon Baker, but also by most of the major UK record labels. Gee Street brought the brothers to London in 1990 to record tracks for an album; however, the label found itself facing bankruptcy during the recording. The entire Gee Street operation, along with P.M. Dawn's recording contract, was sold to the highest bidder, Island Records. Island issued a few more singles in the United Kingdom before releasing their debut album, Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross: The Utopian Experience.
Of the Heart, of the Soul and of the Cross featured the international hit "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss", which sampled the Spandau Ballet song "True", and featured a cameo by Spandau Ballet singer Tony Hadley in the music video of the song. "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss" hit #1 the week of November 30, 1991, and holds the distinction of being the first #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 chart following the introduction of Nielsen SoundScan to the chart. The song also reached #3 in the United Kingdom. "Paper Doll", which was one of the early singles Island released in the United Kingdom, was released in the US as a follow-up to "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss", and peaked at #28 in early 1992. "Paper Doll" is said well over 100 times in the song, which makes it second only to MC Hammer's "Pray", which holds the record for the most times a title is repeated in a US Top 40 hit (147).
With the success of their debut album, the band parted company with their manager Nick Hemmings and embarked on a world tour. During this world tour, a statement Prince Be made in Details magazine led Boogie Down Productions' KRS-One and his crew to storm the stage during a P.M. Dawn concert, forcing the group off the stage and performing three BDP classics. To warrant this reaction from KRS-One, Prince B had asked, "KRS-One wants to be a teacher, but a teacher of what?" Defending his motives to USA Today's James T. Jones IV, KRS-One remarked, "I answered his question. 'A teacher of what?' I'm a teacher of respect."
In 1992, P.M. Dawn appeared on the Red Hot Organization's compilation CD Red Hot + Dance, contributing the Richie Rich Mix of "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss". The album, featuring George Michael and Madonna among others, was meant to raise money and awareness in support of the AIDS epidemic.
Before releasing their follow-up album, The Bliss Album…? (Vibrations of Love and Anger and the Ponderance of Life and Existence), P.M. Dawn contributed the single "I'd Die Without You" to the 1992 Eddie Murphy comedy Boomerang and its soundtrack. This #2 pop hit was also included on The Bliss Album…?, as was the Billboard #2 pop hit "Looking Through Patient Eyes".
"Looking Through Patient Eyes" featured backing vocals by Cathy Dennis and sampled George Michael's hit "Father Figure". The music video for the song was shot in a church, and featured Christian images throughout — most notably, Prince Be wore a T-shirt with "Thank you, Jesus" written across it in black lettering.
The Bliss Album…? featured the Boy George duet "More Than Likely" and a cover of The Beatles' "Norwegian Wood (This Bird Has Flown)". The album also included "So On and So On," which led to a 1999 sampling lawsuit. In the lawsuit Batiste v. Island Records, Inc., Paul and Michael Batiste claimed that P.M. Dawn's song "So On and So On" used unauthorized samples from David Batiste & The Gladiators' "Funky Soul". The fifth Circuit Federal Appellate Court found that the Batistes point to no evidence in the record demonstrating that consumers were confused or deceived by either the use of a digital sample of "Funky Soul" in "So On and So On", or the attribution to David Batiste as a co-author of the track. The Batistes' claim that Paul and Michael Batiste were improperly excluded from the liner notes accompanying the album also failed to suggest that consumers were confused, especially because the liner notes do credit the name of the band in which both Paul and Michael Batiste performed. Though Island Records won the lawsuit, the song was removed from subsequent releases of The Bliss Album and is no longer available for purchase in their publishing catalog.
P.M. Dawn contributed a cover of "You Got Me Floatin'" to the 1993 compilation album Stone Free: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Artists ranging from Pat Metheny to Eric Clapton to Ice-T's Body Count were included.
Their 1995 album Jesus Wept was unable to attain the success of their first two albums. The album's highest charting single was "Downtown Venus", which contained a sample of Deep Purple's "Hush", and reached #48 on the Billboard chart. Also, in 1995, P.M. Dawn was credited with the remix of White Zombie's "Blood, Milk and Sky" (Miss September Mix) on the Supersexy Swingin' Sounds compilation album. In 1996, P.M. Dawn contributed "Non-Fiction Burning" to the AIDS benefit album Red Hot + Rio produced by the Red Hot Organization. In 1998, Prince Be contributed the tracks "Perfect for You" and "Gotta Be...Movin' on Up" to the Marlon Wayans and David Spade comedy Senseless, followed later in the year by P.M. Dawn's fourth album, Dearest Christian, I'm So Very Sorry for Bringing You Here. Love, Dad. It was less successful again, with the album's single, "Being So Not for You (I Had No Right)" being a minor chart hit.
In the same year, Jarret Cordes (DJ Minutemix) was accused of sexually abusing a 14-year old relative and was subsequently arrested in Burlington County. The girl is said to have been a "close relative".
In 2000, they released the compilation, The Best of P.M. Dawn. Through their website, they also began selling a mail-order-only album called Fucked Music on December 1, 2000. This was paired with a bonus CD, Unreleased Vol. 1, and a T-shirt.
Prince Be suffered a massive stroke in early 2005 that left him paralyzed on the left side of his body. Undeterred, P.M. Dawn appeared on NBC's Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, performing "Set Adrift on Memory Bliss", and covered Puddle of Mudd's "Blurry". Despite the fact that Prince Be was still suffering the effects of this stroke, they beat Animotion, Missing Persons, Juice Newton and Shannon to claim the $20,000 charitable prize, which they contributed to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, as Prince Be was a diabetic.
Following their appearance on Hit Me, Baby, One More Time, Minutemix was terminated for misconduct. This led to the introduction of the Cordes brothers' paternal first cousin, Gregory Lewis Carr II, known by his stage name Doc. G (also known as 'Dr. Giggles' or 'Blissboy #2'.)
On May 15, 2010, Prince Be's 40th birthday, Doc. G performed in Manila before an audience of 50,000 people and dedicated the performance to Guru of Gang Starr and Francis M.
On June 17, 2016, Prince Be died of renal disease at the age of 46.
Doc. G continues to perform and record music under the P.M. Dawn name. On April 6, 2018, Doc.G announced K-R.O.K. as a new member of P.M. Dawn.
If You Never Say Goodbye
P.M. Dawn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Head of a man
Eyes on the camera
Shaking everyone's hand
Vultures circle
And smack their lips
The sky goes black
As the lightning rips
Stars are new
Born without pity
As waves of blood
Roll over the city
It's not a rehearsal
Or special effects
It's the end of a story
It's what happens next
If I say, and I say
It's coming in a second
If I say, and I say
In the blink of an eye
And I say, and I say
With a bang and a whimper
And I say it's OK
If you never say goodbye
Son of a child
Son of a beast
As it slouchers and slithers
It's way from east
I dreamt a dream
But what can it mean
Angels and more
Devoured the queen
All the people danced
And tore at their clothes
The sky caught fire
And the oceans froze
It wasn't a fable
It wasn't a hoax
The servants and the devil
Keep making up jokes
And I say, and I say
It's coming in a second
And I say, and I say
In the blink of an eye
And I say, and I say
With a bang and a whimper
And I say it's OK
If you never say goodbye
I saw a chapel
Lain of God
The light was so blue
And the air was so cold
It sounded high
On a microphone
As the rats kept rhythm
On a chicken bone
People wept
And swallowed their jewels
Entered like soldiers
Departed as fools
It isn't a sentence
It's not a reward
It's a black parachute
With a noose for a cord
And I say, and I say
It's coming in a second
And I say, and I say
In the blink of an eye
And I say, and I say
With a bang and a whimper
And I say it's OK
If you never say goodbye
And I say it's OK
If you never say goodbye
And I say it's OK
If you never say goodbye
And I say it's OK
If you never say goodbye
The lyrics of P.M. Dawn's "If You Never Say Goodbye" are quite abstract and open to interpretation. The song describes a dramatic and catastrophic event, perhaps the end of the world or a massive disaster. The first stanza describes a strange creature - the legs of a cat and the head of a man - and vultures circling above. The second stanza describes a surreal dream or vision, with angels devouring the queen, the sky catching fire, and the oceans freezing. The third stanza describes a chapel of God and people entering as soldiers and leaving as fools.
The repeated lines of "It's coming in a second" and "If you never say goodbye" seem to suggest that the event is imminent and that there is no time to waste on goodbyes. The lyrics convey a sense of detachment and fatalism about the impending doom, as if it is inevitable and there is nothing that can be done to stop it. The song seems to urge listeners to live in the moment and not be held back by attachment or regret.
Overall, the lyrics of "If You Never Say Goodbye" create a vivid apocalyptic world and convey a sense of impending doom, while also urging listeners to live fully in the present.
Line by Line Meaning
Legs of a cat
The body parts of different creatures are mixed up, symbolizing the confusing and erratic nature of the world.
Head of a man
One of the body parts in this amalgamation, representing human consciousness and thought in the midst of chaos.
Eyes on the camera
Observers are present, watching and documenting what is happening.
Shaking everyone's hand
People are greeting each other, perhaps in recognition of the gravity of the situation.
Vultures circle
Carrion birds are present, foretelling death and destruction.
And smack their lips
The vultures are excited by the prospect of a meal as they wait for disaster to strike.
The sky goes black
Darkness symbolizes the ominous nature of what's to come.
As the lightning rips
The storm is powerful and destructive, perhaps indicative of a larger natural or man-made disaster.
Stars are new
Even celestial bodies are being affected by the changes taking place.
Born without pity
The stars' birth is not a comforting or happy event - they are born without mercy or compassion.
As waves of blood
The city is experiencing violence and bloodshed, with the waves of blood serving as a metaphor for the overwhelming and perhaps unstoppable nature of the destruction.
Roll over the city
The violence has taken over and is spreading throughout the city.
It's not a rehearsal
This is not a drill or a test - what is happening is real and significant.
Or special effects
What is happening is not staged, but instead is truly occurring in the world of the song.
It's the end of a story
Whatever is happening represents the conclusion of a narrative or journey.
It's what happens next
The events taking place are leading to a new or unknown future in the world of the song.
If I say, and I say
It's coming in a second
The impending disaster or change is imminent and cannot be avoided.
If I say, and I say
In the blink of an eye
The disaster is sudden and quick, leaving little time for reaction or preparation.
And I say, and I say
With a bang and a whimper
The disaster or change is simultaneously explosive and full of despair or a sense of resignation.
And I say it's OK
If you never say goodbye
Even without saying goodbye or making concrete preparations, it is possible to come to terms with what lies ahead.
Son of a child
Something that is born innocent and pure.
Son of a beast
Something that is born wild and perhaps dangerous.
As it slouchers and slithers
It's way from east
Whatever this entity is, it is moving ominously towards the location of the song's narrator.
I dreamt a dream
But what can it mean
Something strange and potentially foreboding has been experienced by the artist, but its significance is unclear.
Angels and more
Devoured the queen
Even entities that are typically associated with goodness or purity are participating in the chaos and destruction.
All the people danced
And tore at their clothes
In the midst of chaos and uncertainty, people are still finding ways to cope and express themselves emotionally.
The sky caught fire
And the oceans froze
The world is becoming increasingly erratic and threatening as the situation continues.
It isn't a sentence
It's not a reward
Whatever is happening cannot be easily explained or categorized - it is simply a statement of reality.
It's a black parachute
With a noose for a cord
Though the situation may initially seem to offer a way out, that hope is illusory and may instead lead to something just as bad or worse.
I saw a chapel
Lain of God
Even places and symbols of religion and faith are not immune to the chaos and upheaval of the song's world.
The light was so blue
And the air was so cold
The world is becoming more and more alien and inhospitable.
It sounded high
On a microphone
Whatever voice or power is communicating these changes is amplified and impossible to ignore.
As the rats kept rhythm
On a chicken bone
The natural order of things has been disrupted, with even rats participating in the chaos.
People wept
And swallowed their jewels
Even material possessions and wealth cannot protect people from the changes happening around them.
Entered like soldiers
Departed as fools
People may have entered the situation with confidence or certainty, but are now leaving it worse off than before.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: ATTRELL STEPHEN JR. CORDES, CHRISTOPHER CARTER, DAVID JAY WEISS, ATTRELL CORDES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ketchupkatsup9805
Probably the most beautiful song ever made about a biblical apocalypse and the end of the world
@obikenkenobi30
At this time in history, this song makes perfect sense.
@henchmen999
This song is so hard to find.
@QuentinBuetow1970
VERY. Hell, this entire ALBUM is hard to find.
@dougiegooner
I have the CD.... Original release!
@magzdilluh
@@QuentinBuetow1970 I had it on CD in the 90s! Someone had to tell me how to manually find the Nick Cave song by rewinding the very first track
@70mustang302
@@dougiegooner Word!
@Androgenies
@@dougiegooner Hi! May I request that you post the lyrics of this song from the original sleeve of the CD? Please? Maybe in the comments below. I really wanted to find out the exact official lyrics. Thank you!
@mattrice7150
Very underrated band
@jasononeil3816
This single Rob Zombie song lead me to purchasing "Hellbilly Deluxe" and I have liked his music ever since.
This X Files album helped me through some really bad times, so, thank you to all the artists who contributed to it...and thank you David for putting this on the Tube❤😊.