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
Monday Morning
Pulp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, poor thing
Why live in the world when you can live in your head?
Hmm, when you can go out late from Monday
Till Saturday turns into Sunday
And now you're back here at Monday
So we can do it all over again
And you go ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah
Oh, I want a refund, I want a light
I want a reason
To make it through the night, all right
And so you finally left school
So now what are you going to do?
Now you're so grown up, yeah, oh-oh-oh-oh, so mature oh
Going out late from Monday
Chuck up in the street on Sunday
You don't want to live till Monday
You're gonna do it all over again
And you go ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah
Ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah, ah-ah-ah
I want a refund, I want a light
I want a reason for all this night after night after night after night, oh
Oh, I know that it's stupid but I just can't seem to spend a night at home
'Cause my friends left town and I'm here all alone
Yeah, they say the past must die for the future to be born
In that case die, die, die
Stomach in, chest out
On your marks, get set, go
Now, now that you're free
What are you going to be?
And who are you going to see?
And where, where will you go?
And how will you know
You didn't get it all wrong?
Is this the light of a new day dawning?
A future bright that you can walk in?
No, it's just another Monday morning
Do it all over again, oh baby
La, la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la, oh-oh-oh
La, la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la-la, oh-oh-oh
Do, do-do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do-do
Do, do-do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do-do, do-do-do-do-do, oh-oh-oh
The song Monday Morning by Pulp is about the monotony of daily life, particularly in relation to the weekend. The first verse tells us that the singer can't find anything to do, so they stay in bed. They wonder why anyone would bother participating in the world around them when they can just live inside their own head. The chorus tells us that the singer spends the entire weekend partying and staying out late, only to find themselves back at the start of the week with nothing to show for it. They want a reason to make it through the night, to have some purpose for their existence.
The second verse talks about leaving school and becoming an adult, but not really knowing what to do next. The singer is caught in a cycle of repeating the same behavior every week, unable to stay at home even though their friends have left town. The bridge asks the bigger questions of what the future holds and where the singer will go, without any clear answers. The final line of the song brings the cycle back around to the beginning, emphasizing that the same routine will just start all over again.
Overall, the song is a reflection on the futility of living for the weekend and the lack of direction in many people's lives. It's a commentary on the cyclical nature of existence, and the dissatisfaction and boredom that can come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
There's nothing to do so you just stay in bed
There are no activities or obligations, so you prefer to stay in bed and do nothing.
Why live in the world when you can live in your head?
Why experience the external world when you can live within your own thoughts and imagination?
And now you're back here at Monday, so we can do it all over again
After the weekend of partying and staying out late, you are back to the start of the workweek and ready to repeat the cycle.
Oh, I want a refund, I want a light, I want a reason to make it through the night, all right
You feel dissatisfied and empty, searching for a purpose or motivation to get through the night.
So now what are you going to do? Now you're so grown up, yeah, oh-oh-oh-oh, so mature oh
After finishing school, you are faced with a question of what to do next as you are expected to be more responsible and mature.
Chuck up in the street on Sunday, you don't want to live till Monday, you're gonna do it all over again
After losing control and vomiting on Sunday, you feel a sense of dread towards the thought of returning to work and are resigned to repeat the same weekend cycle again.
I know that it's stupid but I just can't seem to spend a night at home 'cause my friends left town and I'm here all alone
You admit that it may be foolish, but you cannot bear to spend an evening alone at home, especially since your friends have left.
They say the past must die for the future to be born, in that case die, die, die
You acknowledge that the past must end for progress to happen, but there is a sense of bitterness and resistance to change.
Now that you're free, what are you going to be? And who are you going to see? And where, where will you go? And how will you know, you didn't get it all wrong?
Now that you have finished school and have more freedom, there are various questions about your identity, your plans, and your future, and a fear that you may have made the wrong choices.
Is this the light of a new day dawning? A future bright that you can walk in? No, it's just another Monday morning, do it all over again, oh baby
There is a glimmer of hope for a new beginning, but ultimately, it is another dreary Monday morning and you are compelled to repeat the same cycle.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Candida Doyle, Jarvis Branson Cocker, Mark Andrew Webber, Nick Banks, Russell Senior, Stephen Patrick Mackey
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind