Originally called "Arabicus Pulp" (although they shortened it to Pulp within a year), the band achieved sudden success some thirteen years after their formation and became known during the Britpop era as much for their music as for frontman Cocker's antics (notably conducting a stage invasion during Michael Jackson's performance of Earth Song at the 1996 BRIT Awards).
Achieving little success off the back of a Peel session in 1981, Pulp were finally able to release their debut album, It, in 1983. This album and its 1986 follow-up, Freaks, showcased a Pulp keen on Nick Drake (notably on the It single, My Lighthouse), with strong folk roots and little sign of the tendencies for storytelling and acid house music which would eventually bring forth success.
After the release and commercial flop of "Freaks", the band disbanded for a year, but reformed a year later to record a third album, Separations. Delayed for three years after its recording, Separations showed Cocker's increasing exposure to acid house, featuring multiple synths, and a hit single, My Legendary Girlfriend, which helped Pulp's career start to rocket.
Their next single, Babies, which would eventually feature on their 1994's commercial breakthrough His 'n' Hers, and it was the first example of the Pulp-sound most listeners associate with the band--cheap synths, rolling guitars, and Cocker's deadpan vocals telling a story. "His 'n' Hers" in sound, was lumped in with the Britpop movement of the time, receiving commercial and critical acclaim. However, it was the 1995 single Common People, which finally saw them become known, eventually charting at number 2 in the UK charts. Awash with Britpop guitars, catchy keyboard lines and that trademark Cocker vocal performance it has remained a favorite. A successful appearance at Glastonbury that summer cemented their fame, and their success was subsequently confirmed by the release of Different Class, which arrived at the peak of the Britpop movement and featured this song and other UK hits as Disco 2000 and Sorted for E's & Wizz.
Their last two albums, 1998's darker This Is Hardcore, -an album that marked the end of the Britpop era- and 2001's more downbeat We Love Life were commercial successes, but Pulp were no longer as famous or trendy as they had been in the height of Britpop. Following their curation of a music festival, Auto, in 2002, the band announced that they would be embarking on an "indefinite hiatus".
In 2003, Jarvis Cocker released an album as Relaxed Muscle and then two solo efforts, 2006's Jarvis and 2009's Further Complications.
On 8th November 2010, it was announced that the band with its most relevant lineup will reform to play a series of gigs in summer 2011.
Discography:
It 1983
Freaks 1986
Separations 1992
His 'n' Hers 1994
Different Class 1995
This Is Hardcore 1998
We Love Life 2001
Official website:
http://www.pulppeople.com
Fairground
Pulp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Nature sometimes makes mistakes.
Was it the mother or the father to blame,
Inside the damp grass and tilted tent?
As the signs outside proclaimed,
Nature sometimes makes mistakes.
Was it the mother or the father to blame,
Inside the damp grass and tilted tent?
Won't you come with me to the fairground?
Your head
Will be spinning,
I said your head
Is your feet.
And the man at the side of me starts a lewd laugh
(ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
At the cat with two heads and the dog with eight legs.
(ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
The man has come between us,
His cheeks rattle like a fence,
(ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
He's come between us, and he starts a lewd laugh.
(ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
I sought shelter from the storm in a small inn by the coast.
In the children's room three identical sisters sat,
Except for the one who was hideously deformed;
Her grotesque features seemed to parody her sisters' beauty,
Ridiculing and mocking everything I held dear.
Won't you come with me to the fairground?
Your head
Will be spinning,
I said your head
Is your feet.
And the man at the side of me starts a lewd laugh
(ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
At the cat with two heads and the dog with eight legs.
(ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
The man has come between us,
His cheeks rattle like a fence,
(ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
He's come between us, and he starts a lewd laugh.
(ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
The fish-eyed foetus floated blankly in the yellowed waters, still as wax.
The man came between us,
My sister and I,
Ridiculing and parodying everything we held dear,
Making a mockery of our former emotions.
Dragging it all down to his level.
Won't you come with me to the fairground?
Your head
Will be spinning.
And the man at the side of me starts a lewd laugh
(ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
At the cat with two heads and the dog with eight legs.
(ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
The man has come between us,
His cheeks rattle like a fence,
(ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
He's come between us, and he starts a lewd laugh.
(ah ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
And then we went for rides.
[Jarvis:] Roll up, roll up, nice rides...
Come on, spin those cars boys and make the girls scream!
The louder you scream the faster we go!
Come on, roll up, go on, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,
For the ride of a lifetime.
There's plenty of seats, come on, don't be shy!
Roll up, come on, come on!
And then we went for rides.
The lyrics to Pulp's song Fairground seem to be telling a story about visiting a rundown fairground, where the attractions are strange and unsettling. The first verse suggests that the fairground includes a tent where a baby with deformities is on display. The chorus invites the listener to come to the fairground, but the repeated refrain of the man's lewd laugh hints at a sense of danger or even exploitation. In the second verse, the singer seeks shelter from a storm in a small inn by the coast, where he encounters three identical sisters and a fourth sister who is hideously deformed. The final verse is more cryptic, with the image of a "fish-eyed fetus" floating in yellow waters. The singer suggests that the man's mockery has somehow tainted his relationship with his sister.
Overall, the lyrics to Fairground explore themes of exploitation, cruelty and the idea of the freak show that was popular in travelling fairs. The song raises questions about who is really being exploited in such situations: the performers or the visitors who come to gawk at them. The lyrics are rich in metaphors and unsettling imagery that paint a vivid picture of a surreal and unsettling world.
Line by Line Meaning
As the signs outside proclaimed,
Despite what the signs say, sometimes things don't go as planned.
Nature sometimes makes mistakes.
Nature can create imperfections and abnormalities.
Was it the mother or the father to blame,
Who is responsible for the imperfections - the parent's genes.
Inside the damp grass and tilted tent?
The setting of the fairground; everything is not perfect and polished.
Won't you come with me to the fairground?
Join me in experiencing something out of the ordinary.
Your head Will be spinning, I said your head Is your feet.
The sights and experiences of the fairground can alter your perception of reality.
And the man at the side of me starts a lewd laugh (ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
An unsettling presence juxtaposed against the excitement of the fairground.
At the cat with two heads and the dog with eight legs. (ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
Even more anomalies exist at the fairground.
The man has come between us, His cheeks rattle like a fence, (ah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!)
The unsettling presence has created an uncomfortable barrier between the artist and others around him.
I sought shelter from the storm in a small inn by the coast.
The artist sought refuge from something unpleasant.
In the children's room three identical sisters sat, Except for the one who was hideously deformed;
The hideous deformity highlights the imperfection in everything.
Her grotesque features seemed to parody her sisters' beauty, Ridiculing and mocking everything I held dear.
The deformity represents an opposing force to beauty and what is cherished.
The fish-eyed foetus floated blankly in the yellowed waters, still as wax.
A grotesque image that amplifies the theme of imperfection.
The man came between us, My sister and I, Ridiculing and parodying everything we held dear, Making a mockery of our former emotions. Dragging it all down to his level.
The unsettling presence continues to cause disruptions, corrupting the singer's sense of what matters and what is good.
And then we went for rides.
The fairground still provides a temporary escape from the uncomfortable presence.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CANDIDA DOYLE, JARVIS COCKER, PETER MANSELL, RUSSELL SENIOR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind