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
Pencil Skirt
Pulp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Like a veil before my eyes
Like the look upon his face as he's zipping up his flies
Oh, well, I know that you're engaged to him
Oh, but I know that you want something to play with baby
I'll be around when he's not in town
Oh, yeah, I'll show you how you're doing it wrong
Oh, it's turning me on
Now, you can tell some lies
About the good times that you've had
But I've kissed your mother twice
And now I'm working on your Dad
Oh, baby
I'll be around when he's not in town
Oh, yeah, I'll show you how you're doing it wrong
Oh, I really love it when you tell me to stop, oh-oh
Oh, it's turning me on
If you look under the bed
Then I can see my house from here
So just lie against the wall
And watch my conscience disappear now baby
Yeah, I'll be around when he's not in town
Oh, yeah, I'll show you how you're doing it wrong
Oh, I really love it when you tell me to stop, oh-oh
Oh, it's turning me on
I only come here cause I know it makes you sad
I only do it cause I know you know it's bad, oh, don't you know
That it's ugly and it shouldn't be like that
Oh, but oh it's turning me on, oh
The lyrics of Pulp's song Pencil Skirt present a story of a man who is attracted to a woman that he knows is engaged to someone else. He describes his infatuation with her, even as she raises her pencil skirt like a veil before his eyes. The graphic imagery continues as he compares his pleasure to the look on the face of the woman's fiancé as he zips up his flies. Despite knowing that she is engaged, the man desires something to play with, and he promises to be around when her fiancé is out of town.
The man suggests that the woman has been lying about the good times she's had with her fiancé, and he's even kissed her mother twice and is working on her father. He wants to show her that she's doing it wrong, and he enjoys it when she tells him to stop, even though he knows it's turning her on. By the end of the song, the man acknowledges that what he's doing is ugly and shouldn't be like that, but he can't help how it makes him feel.
Line by Line Meaning
When you raise your pencil skirt
When you lift your skirt, exposing your body
Like a veil before my eyes
Like a curtain drawn over my vision, creating an enchanting illusion
Like the look upon his face as he's zipping up his flies
Similar to the expression on his face after having sex, zipping up his pants
Oh, well, I know that you're engaged to him
I'm aware that you're committed to him
Oh, but I know that you want something to play with baby
However, I understand that you desire something more exciting and playful
I'll be around when he's not in town
I'll be available when he's away
Oh, yeah, I'll show you how you're doing it wrong
I'll teach you how to please yourself in a more fulfilling way
Oh, I really love it when you tell me to stop, oh-oh
I enjoy when you resist me and ask me to stop, arousing me further
Oh, it's turning me on
It's exciting and arousing me
Now, you can tell some lies
You can try to deceive me with untruths
About the good times that you've had
Regarding positive experiences you've shared with your partner
But I've kissed your mother twice
However, I've been intimate with your mother twice
And now I'm working on your Dad
And now I'm pursuing your father
Oh, baby
Expressing affection
If you look under the bed,
If you search underneath the bed
Then I can see my house from here
I'm so close to you physically that I can see my own house from your location
So just lie against the wall
So just lean against the wall
And watch my conscience disappear now baby
And witness my moral sense vanish, as we give in to temptation
I only come here cause I know it makes you sad
I only come here because I know it upsets you
I only do it cause I know you know it's bad, oh, don't you know
I only continue because I'm aware that it's wrong, and I know you're aware of it too
That it's ugly and it shouldn't be like that
That it's unappealing and it shouldn't happen
Oh, but oh it's turning me on, oh
However, despite this, it's still arousing and exciting me
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