2) Peter Thorogood was educated at Brentwood School, Essex. He studied piano and composition at the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal Irish Academy of Music. After graduating in Modern Languages at Trinity College, Dublin, he taught English in Italy. His popular course on the History of English Literature, at the University of Milan, continued for several years and, on his return to England in 1958, he continued his series of lectures at the British Council in London, with spells as a visiting lecturer in Poland, Israel, Bulgaria and Germany. During this time, he divided his interests between teaching, writing poetry, composing music and researching the life and times of the Victorian poet and caricaturist, Thomas Hood.
In the late 1960's, Peter Thorogood was Radio Talks Critic for the BBC periodical, The Listener, and compiled a radio series, English Funny Writing, for the BBC World Service. In the 1970's and 1980's, he published three collections of his own poetry, and delivered a number of papers on his researches into the life and work of Thomas Hood. He has given many recitals of music and poetry, including his own compositions, in and around London, but since 1984 he has devoted his energy to the restoration of St. Mary's, where the Music Room has proved to be the perfect setting for his successful series of concerts and recitals.
Haunted
Peter Thorogood Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Ba da pa pa ba da pa pa...
Come here
Pretty please
Can you tell me where I am
You won't you say something
I need to get my bearings
And the shadows keep on changing
And I'm haunted
By the lives that I have loved
And actions I have hated
I'm haunted
By the lives that wove the web
Inside my haunted head
Ba da pa pa ba da pa pa...
Don't cry,
There's always a way
Here in November in this house of leaves
We'll pray
Please, I know it's hard to believe
To see a perfect forest
Through so many splintered trees
You and me
And these shadows keep on changing
And I'm haunted
By the lives that I have loved
And actions I have hated
I'm haunted
By the promises I've made
And others I have broken
I'm haunted
By the lives that wove the web
Inside my haunted head
Hallways... always
I'll always love you
I'll always need you
I'll always want you
And I will always miss you
Ba da pa pa ba da pa pa...
Come here
No I won't say please
One more look at the ghost
Before I'm gonna make it leave
Come here
I've got the pieces here
Time to gather up the splinters
Build a casket for my tears
I'm haunted
(By the lives that I have loved)
I'm haunted
(By the promises I've made)
I'm haunted
By the hallways in this tiny room
The echos there of me and you
The voices that are carrying this tune
Ba da pa pa...
Father:
What is it Annie?
Daughter:
You think I'll cry? I won't cry!
My heart will break before I cry!
I will go mad.
The song "Haunted" by Peter Thorogood is a melancholic and reflective piece that deals with the themes of loss, regret, and haunted memories. The lyrics convey the state of mind of a person who feels lost and haunted by the people and actions of the past that have shaped their present. They ask for help in finding their bearings and seeing through the shadows that keep changing. There is a sense of longing for something or someone that is out of reach, which is reflected in the repetition of the lines "I'll always love you, I'll always need you, I'll always want you, And I will always miss you."
The lyrics also touch upon the idea of promises made and broken, which adds to the feeling of remorse and unease. The haunting imagery of the hallways in a tiny room and the echoes of past memories suggest that the singer is trapped in a cycle of haunting thoughts that they cannot escape. The final lines, spoken by a father and daughter, hint at the possibility of madness or a breakdown caused by the overpowering emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Ba da pa pa ba da pa pa...
The song begins with an instrumental tune.
Come here
The singer is asking someone to come closer to him/her.
Pretty please
The singer is being polite and requesting the person to come closer.
Can you tell me where I am
The singer is lost and asking for help.
You won't you say something
The person whom the singer is asking help from is not responding.
I need to get my bearings
The singer is trying to find out his/her exact location.
I'm lost
The singer is lost and doesn't know where he/she is.
And the shadows keep on changing
The changing shadows might be making it difficult for the singer to find his/her way around.
And I'm haunted
The singer is haunted by something.
By the lives that I have loved
The singer is haunted by the memories of the people he/she loved.
And actions I have hated
The singer is haunted by the things he/she did that he/she regrets.
I'm haunted
The singer is saying that he/she is still struggling with his/her past.
By the lives that wove the web
The singer is haunted by the people who were connected to his/her life in some way.
Inside my haunted head
All these memories are playing out in the singer's mind.
Don't cry,
The singer is comforting someone who is crying.
There's always a way
The singer is saying that there is always a way to fix things.
Here in November in this house of leaves
The singer might be trying to create an atmosphere that fits perfectly with the mood of the song.
We'll pray
The singer is comforting someone with faith and prayer.
Please, I know it's hard to believe
The singer is empathizing with someone who is having a hard time believing something.
To see a perfect forest
The singer is saying that sometimes it's hard to see the good through the bad.
Through so many splintered trees
The singer is saying that there are many obstacles in the way of seeing the good.
You and me
The singer is talking about himself/herself and the person he/she's comforting.
And these shadows keep on changing
The shadows might still be causing difficulty for the singer and the person he/she's comforting.
By the promises I've made
The singer is haunted by the promises that he/she broke.
And others I have broken
The singer is confessing that he/she has broken other people's promises too.
I'm haunted
The singer is still struggling with his/her past.
By the lives that wove the web
The connected lives are playing a big part in the singer's mind.
Inside my haunted head
The singer is saying that everything is happening inside his/her head.
Hallways... always
The singer might be saying that he/she's always haunted by these memories no matter where he/she goes.
I'll always love you
The singer is confessing his/her love for someone.
I'll always need you
The singer is saying that he/she'll always need the person he/she's talking about.
I'll always want you
The singer is confessing that he/she'll always want the person he/she's talking about.
And I will always miss you
The singer is confessing that he/she'll always miss the person he/she's talking about.
Come here
The singer is asking someone to come closer to him/her.
No I won't say please
The singer is being straightforward and not polite this time.
One more look at the ghost
The singer might be referring to a memory as a ghost.
Before I'm gonna make it leave
The singer might be saying that he/she wants to get rid of this memory for good.
I've got the pieces here
The singer is saying that he/she has all the broken pieces within him/herself.
Time to gather up the splinters
The singer is saying that it's time to collect everything that's broken within him/herself.
Build a casket for my tears
The singer might be saying that everything that's broken can be put to rest in a coffin for good.
By the hallways in this tiny room
The singer might be talking about a place where he/she's trapped.
The echos there of me and you
The echoes of past memories might be trapped in this tiny room.
The voices that are carrying this tune
The memory of these past events is affecting the present situation in the singer's life.
Father:
The lyrics shift to a conversation between a father and his daughter.
What is it Annie?
The father is asking his daughter (Annie) to tell him what's wrong.
You think I'll cry? I won't cry!
Annie is saying that she won't cry.
My heart will break before I cry!
Annie is saying that crying is too weak and her heart will break instead.
I will go mad.
Annie might be saying that she will go crazy if she doesn't cry, but she won't.
Writer(s): O. B. J., Mike Elizondo, Annie Danielewski
Contributed by Caden R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@TibetanFox68
Great song, so many touches of originality.
@SimonDyer
I have been told this is my Uncle, must say well impressed.
@cupriferouscatalyst3708
This song is fantastic. A cover of it (which is also great) by Bob Clarke randomly popped into my suggestions on Spotify one day, and I added it to the list of songs I'd like to learn to play one day. When looking up the chords today I not only realized that it was a cover, but that I can't find the chords or really any info at all on it, yet I can't stop listening to it.
@rafmarazzi
Heard this from saint etienne's mario's cafe compilation, jaunty and creepy classic!
@martyw34
Brilliant!
@iansmith8783
Great track. Haven’t thought about it in years.
@agemoth
I have this compilation album.. I love the broken piano effect!!
@lymehausdj8
Fantastic trippy song by a multi-instrumentalist who remains mysterious. Who was/is he?
@marty-fh1rw
Did this song chart? Cant find any info.Thanks.
@narcs1500
Graet song, such a shame so well kept.