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
The Babysitter
Pulp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is seventeen years old
Oh she looks like Susan
When she still lived at home
She's a lovely girl
She's got long black hair
If you go home now
Susan's babysitter
Is twenty-one years old
She still looks like Susan
When Susan was not at home
She's a lovely girl
She's got long blonde hair
If you go home now
She will not be there
Cause she left last June
She came home too soon
You were both upstairs
In your daughter's room
She's a lovely girl.
The song The Babysitter by Pulp tells the story of an older teenage babysitter who bears a striking resemblance to the child she is tending to. When Susan's babysitter is just 17 years old, she looks like Susan when she was still living at home. She's described as a lovely girl with long black hair. The singer advises the listener that if they were to go home now, the babysitter might still be there.
As the song progresses, we learn that the babysitter is now 21 years old and still looks like Susan, but now Susan is not at home. The babysitter now has long blonde hair, and if the listener goes home now, she won't be there. The reason given for her absence is that she left last June, as she came home too soon. The line 'you were both upstairs in your daughter's room' implies that there may have been some sort of inappropriate encounter between the singer and the babysitter, while the consequences of this are left to the listener's imagination. Regardless of what happened, the singer still refers to the babysitter as "a lovely girl."
The song taps into the feeling of nostalgia and longing for a simpler time in life, as well as exploring the subtle, sometimes inappropriate desires that people may feel in their relationships with others. The Babysitter has been interpreted in a number of ways by fans over the years, with some interpreting the lyrics as being about child abuse, while others believe it to be a story of a Man wanting to date his daughter's babysitter.
Line by Line Meaning
Susan's babysitter
The focus of the song and the one responsible for babysitting Susan.
Is seventeen years old
The age of the babysitter when the singer first met her.
Oh she looks like Susan
The babysitter has a resemblance to Susan.
When she still lived at home
The time when Susan lived with her parents.
She's a lovely girl
The babysitter is charming and well-mannered.
She's got long black hair
The description of the babysitter's hair color and length.
If you go home now
The time when the singer leaves Susan's house.
She might still be there
The possibility of the babysitter being still present.
Is twenty-one years old
The age of the babysitter when the artist last saw her.
She still looks like Susan
The babysitter's resemblance to Susan persists even though she has grown older.
When Susan was not at home
The time when Susan was not present in the house.
She's got long blonde hair
The description of the babysitter's current hair color and length.
If you go home now
The time when the singer is about to leave Susan's house.
She will not be there
The babysitter is not present anymore.
Cause she left last June
The reason why the babysitter is no longer there.
She came home too soon
The babysitter's early return home.
You were both upstairs
The artist and the babysitter were on the upper floor of the house.
In your daughter's room
The location of the singer and the babysitter's activities.
She's a lovely girl.
The last line highlights the attractiveness and charm of the babysitter.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: CANDIDA DOYLE, JARVIS BRANSON COCKER, NICK BANKS, RUSSELL SENIOR, STEPHEN PATRICK MACKEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind