Paul Weller (born 25 May 1958) is an English singer / songwriter, leader of… Read Full Bio ↴Paul Weller (born 25 May 1958) is an English singer / songwriter, leader of two successful bands: The Jam and The Style Council. In England, he is recognised as something of a national institution yet, because much of his songwriting is rooted in English culture, he has remained essentially a national rather than an international star.

Weller's eleventh studio album, Sonik Kicks, was released on 19 March 2012. The Green Songfacts reports that it was recorded in Weller’s own Black Barn Studios in Ripley, Surrey, with co-producer Simon Dine and engineer Charles Rees.

Born John William Weller in Stanley Road, Woking, he was also a central figure in the Mod revival. As the leader of the Jam, Paul Weller fronted the most popular British band of the punk era, influencing legions of English rockers that ranged from his mod-revival contemporaries to the Smiths in the '80s and Oasis in the '90s. During the final days of the Jam, he developed a fascination with Motown and soul, which led him to form the sophisti-pop group the Style Council in 1983. As the Style Council's career progressed, Weller's interest in soul developed into an infatuation with jazz-pop and house music, which eventually led to gradual erosion of his audience — by 1990, he couldn't get a record contract in the UK, where he had previously been worshipped as a demi-god. As a solo artist, Weller returned to soul music as an inspiration, cutting it with the progressive, hippie tendencies of Traffic. Weller's solo records were more organic and rootsier than the Style Council, which helped him regain his popularity within Britain. By the mid-'90s, he had released three successful albums which were both critically-acclaimed and massively popular in England, where contemporary bands like Ocean Colour Scene were citing him as an influence. Just as importantly, many observers, while occasionally criticizing the trad-rock nature of his music, acknowledged that Weller was one of the few rock veterans that had managed to stay vital within the second decade of his career.

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Foot of the Mountain
Paul Weller Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Like a dream on the ocean
Always drifting away
And I can't catch up
She just skips away on the tide

Sometimes a great notion
Can lead you astray
So weak to devotion
So strong to desire

Come on baby, baby won't you let me ride
Take me off on your sail boat ride
Come on Angels, are on your side
She slips away oh, never stays

Like mercury gliding
Silver teardrop that falls
And I can't hold her
Through my fingers, she's gone

Through my fingers, she's gone
Through my fingers, she's gone
Through my fingers, she's gone
Through my fingers, she's gone
Through my fingers, she's gone
Through my fingers, she's gone

At the foot of the mountain
Such a long way to climb
How will I ever get up there
But I know I must try

Come on baby, baby won't you let me ride?
Take me off on your sail boat ride
Come on now Angels, are on your side
But she slips away oh, and never stays

Like a dream on the ocean
Always drifting away
And I can't catch up

She just skips away on the tide
Just slips away on the tide
She just slips away on the tide
Aah skip away, she glides, she glides

Overall Meaning

In Paul Weller's song "Foot of the Mountain", the lyrics describe the fleeting nature of love and the struggle to hold onto it. The first stanza compares the object of the singer's affection to a dream on the ocean, always drifting away and out of reach. Despite the singer's desire to catch up to this person, they "just skip away on the tide." The second stanza further explores this struggle, emphasizing the contrast between "weak devotion" and "strong desire." The chorus pleads for the person to "let me ride" and take the singer on a "sail boat ride" with the help of the angels. However, the final stanza suggests that all efforts to hold onto this person are ultimately futile, as they slip away "like mercury gliding" and can never be held onto.

The overall tone of the song is melancholic and reflective, highlighting the pain of unrequited love and the difficulty of moving on from someone who is always just out of reach. The use of ocean imagery emphasizes the vastness and enormity of this emotional struggle, while the repeated plea to "let me ride" emphasizes the singer's desperation to hold onto the object of their affection.

Line by Line Meaning

Like a dream on the ocean
Like a fleeting thought on the vast sea

Always drifting away
Always moving farther from reach

And I can't catch up
Unable to get close

She just skips away, on the tide
She effortlessly leaves with the current

Sometimes a great notion
Opportunities that seem promising

Can lead you astray
Can mislead in hindsight

So weak to devotion
Susceptible to dedication

So strong to desire
Intense longing

Baby, baby, baby won't you let me ride
Asking for a chance to be with her

Take me off on your sail boat ride
To be swept away by her

Come on now angels, are on your side
Hopeful that fate is in favor