The band formed in 2006, and appeared on a compilation, The Kids At The Club, later that year. In April 2007, Pocketbooks played the first ever Indietracks event on a 1950s steam railway in Derbyshire. This show coincided with the release of the band's debut single, Cross The Line, on Atomic Beat Records. A year later, Pocketbooks released an EP Waking UP on Make Do And Mend Records.
The band's first album, Flight Paths, was released in July 2009 on How Does it Feel To be Loved?. The album contains the single Footsteps and the track Fleeting Moments, which appears on the Rough Trade Shops Indiepop '09 compilation.
The second Pocketbooks album, Carousel, was released in September 2011 on Odd Box Records, preceeded by the single Promises, Promises. The band were joined for the album recording by violin players from A Little Orchestra.
Pocketbooks have played live shows across the UK, Europe and the United States, including festival appearances at Offset, Indietracks and Rip It Up, and popfests in London, Edinburgh, New York and San Francisco.
https://pocketbooksgroup.blogspot.co.uk/
Skating On Thin Ice
Pocketbooks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That my friends have up and left me and I'm skating on thin ice
Threw my arms around a memory
Of laughter in the disco and the sense of family
The rain stopped falling
When you walked up to me
And my heart is heavy with the words you said to me
Threw my arms around a memory
Of late night drinking and dancing 'til three
The rain stopped falling
When you walked up to me
I can't stop crying
I'm running on empty
The lyrics of Pocketbooks's song Skating On Thin Ice convey a sense of abandonment and loneliness as the singer experiences the loss of his friends and struggles to find a sense of belonging. The opening lines "I've been dying to tell you for some time, that my friends have up and left me and I'm skating on thin ice" establish the theme of social isolation and vulnerability. The singer is left feeling alone and exposed, their thin ice implying that they are in danger of slipping away into deep uncertainty and instability. The line "Threw my arms around a memory, of laughter in the disco and the sense of family" implies that they are holding onto a past when they felt more connected and secure, making it all the more painful to face the present reality.
The arrival of someone new in the singer's life brings about a sense of hope as the rain stops falling and the singer's heart is lifted. This moment of connection is abruptly contrasted by the singer's realization that ultimately they cannot escape this feeling of emptiness- "And my heart is heavy with the words you said to me," the lyrics say. The continuing image of memory and the past is revisited in the line "Threw my arms around a memory, of late night drinking and dancing 'til three". The song ends with the singer feeling like they are running away, lost and unsure of what the future might bring.
Overall, Skating On Thin Ice is an introspective and melancholy song with a sense of longing for something that is missing. The lyrics are universal enough that anyone can relate to feeling isolated or disconnected from the people around them, and the image of skating on thin ice is striking in its vulnerability and fragility. For anyone struggling with similar feelings, the song can serve as a reminder that they are not alone in their experiences and that there is always hope for things to get better.
Line by Line Meaning
I've been dying to tell you for some time
I am anxious to express my emotions to you, which I have kept bottled up for a long time
That my friends have up and left me and I'm skating on thin ice
My companions have abandoned me, and I am now in a precarious situation
Threw my arms around a memory
I clung onto a remembrance
Of laughter in the disco and the sense of family
Recalling the joyous times at a club and feeling a sense of belonging
The rain stopped falling
The rainfall ceased
When you walked up to me
The moment you approached me
Now my backpack's bulging and I'm running away again
I am loading up my backpack and leaving once more
And my heart is heavy with the words you said to me
Your spoken words have greatly weighed on my heart
Threw my arms around a memory
I held onto another reminiscence
Of late night drinking and dancing 'til three
Recalling wild nights spent drinking and dancing until the early hours of the morning
The rain stopped falling
The rainfall ceased
When you walked up to me
The moment you approached me
I can't stop crying
I am unable to cease shedding tears
I'm running on empty
I am depleted of emotions and energy
Contributed by Riley I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.