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
Love is Blind
Pulp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Give me the sea.
Give to me everything I need.
The future is shining like a giant metal beast.
It shines so bright tonight, with its legs open wide
And love is blind.
Falls in love with itself again, like it never should, the way it always can.
And she is mine, but the world is much bigger now
or take her heart and throw it far away?
Oh now is the time, to jump into it all.
I'll just hold my nose, and try not to fall.
To seek and to find, instead of walking around with eyes glued to the sky
I turn them down to the ground.
Oh and I used to think that maybe one day,
I'd find the love of my life.
Oh but it's so far away.
Oh I don't know why.
Oh but I, I want it all tonight.
And love is blind.
Falls in love with itself again, like it never should, the way it always can.
Oh and she is mine, but the world is much bigger now
Oh tell me, should I hold her hand, and give her love,
or take her heart and throw it far away?
We held hands, and we looked out of the bedroom window.
We could see all the buildings collapsing around us, so we kissed.
And we laid on the bed, and we waited for the ceiling to fall in.
But it never did.
In the morning it was all still there.
The spilled milk and the dog-turd,
in that grey ashtray morning light.
I could hear thousands of people,
and they were all singing this song:
La lala lala
Hey butcher!
Oh, oh, oh hey butcher!
What's your name?
Oh hey butcher, what's your game?
Oh, you take all their love, and you suck out their eyes,
and then you rip out their hearts, and you eat their insides.
Yeah, then you just walk away, with a smile on your face.
Hey butcher, hey butcher, I've seen your face before
Lalalalalalala
And love is blind.
The song "Love Is Blind" by Pulp talks about the complexity of love and relationships. The song opens with the singer asking for everything he needs, the city, and the ocean, expressing his yearning for more in life. The future is presented as a shining metal beast, but love is blind to all of that. It falls love with itself over and over again, regardless of the situation.
The second verse presents a romantic scenario, where the singer debates whether to hold her hand and give her love, or to take her heart and throw it far away. But now is the time to jump into it all, to see the world and find love instead of being myopic, only looking at the sky but not the ground. The chorus repeats that love is blind, and it falls in love with itself again and again, even when it shouldn't.
The final stanza takes a sharp turn, describing a night where the couple held hands, watching buildings collapsing, only to realize in the morning, everything was still there. The lyrics then take a surreal twist, where the singer speaks of hearing thousands of people singing a song, addressing a butcher and questioning his actions of taking away love and ripping out people's hearts. The song then concludes with the chorus emphasizing that love is blind.
Overall, the song narrates the struggles of love and relationships, offering its reflection of love as something that's both scary and worthwhile.
Line by Line Meaning
Give me the city.
I want everything the city has to offer.
Give me the sea.
I want everything the sea has to offer.
Give to me everything I need.
I want all the things I need to be happy.
The future is shining like a giant metal beast.
The future looks promising and exciting.
It shines so bright tonight, with its legs open wide
It's a metaphor for something enticing and seductive.
And love is blind.
Love doesn't always see things clearly.
Falls in love with itself again, like it never should, the way it always can.
Love can be self-centered sometimes.
And she is mine, but the world is much bigger now
Being in love doesn't protect me from other things in the world.
Oh tell me, should I hold her hand, and give her love,
or take her heart and throw it far away?
I'm not sure if I should love her or break up with her.
Oh now is the time, to jump into it all.
I'll just hold my nose, and try not to fall.
It's time to face my fears and take risks.
To seek and to find, instead of walking around with eyes glued to the sky
I turn them down to the ground.
I need to be practical and focus on what's in front of me.
Oh and I used to think that maybe one day,
I'd find the love of my life.
Oh but it's so far away.
I thought I'd find true love one day but now I'm not so sure.
Oh I don't know why.
Oh but I, I want it all tonight.
And love is blind.
I'm conflicted about love but I want it all anyway.
We held hands, and we looked out of the bedroom window.
We could see all the buildings collapsing around us, so we kissed.
And we laid on the bed, and we waited for the ceiling to fall in.
But it never did.
In the morning it was all still there.
The spilled milk and the dog-turd,
in that grey ashtray morning light.
We thought everything was going to fall apart but it didn't so we appreciate the little things.
I could hear thousands of people,
and they were all singing this song:
La lala lala
Hey butcher!
Oh, oh, oh hey butcher!
What's your name?
Oh hey butcher, what's your game?
Oh, you take all their love, and you suck out their eyes,
and then you rip out their hearts, and you eat their insides.
Yeah, then you just walk away, with a smile on your face.
Hey butcher, hey butcher, I've seen your face before
Lalalalalalala
This is a story about a butcher who takes people's love, heart, and soul and destroys them.
And love is blind.
Love doesn't always see things clearly.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: CANDIDA DOYLE, JARVIS COCKER, NICHOLAS BANKS, RUSSELL SENIOR, STEPHEN MACKEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind