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
Trees
Pulp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your skin so pale against the fallen Autumn leaves &
No-one saw us but the trees.
Yeah, the trees, those useless trees produce the air that I am breathing.
Yeah, the trees, those useless trees; they never said that you were leaving.
I carved your name with a heart just up above - now swollen,
The smell of leaf mould & the sweetness of decay
Are the incense at the funeral procession here, today.
In the trees, those useless trees, etc.
You try to shape the world to what you want the world to be.
Carving your name a thousand times won't bring you back to me.
Oh no, no I might as well go & tell it to the trees.
Go & tell it to the trees, yeah.
The Pulp song "Trees" tells a story of heartbreak and guilt. The singer starts by shooting a magpie with an air-rifle, killing it quietly. The scene is set among fallen autumn leaves with nobody but the trees as witnesses. The singer then launches into an angry tirade against the trees, calling them useless but acknowledging that they are the ones producing the air that he is breathing. In the second verse, the focus shifts to a lost love - the singer has carved her name with a heart above it, but now the carving is distorted and unrecognizable, much like their relationship. The smell of decay and the funeral procession underscore the sadness and finality of the situation. In the final verse, the singer accepts that no amount of carving or pleading or talking will bring this love back, and "I might as well go & tell it to the trees."
The lyrics use a powerful symbol in the trees - at once beautiful and essential, but also silent and powerless to change human behavior or reconcile lost love. Jarvis Cocker, Pulp's lead singer and songwriter, has said that the song was inspired by the trees in a park near his childhood home, where he would often hang out and daydream. He also said that the song was his attempt to write a protest song that tackled environmental issues, but that it ended up becoming more personal and inward-looking than he had intended.
Line by Line Meaning
I took an air-rifle, shot a magpie to the ground & it died without a sound.
I used an air-rifle to shoot a magpie bird, which died instantly and silently as it fell to the ground.
Your skin so pale against the fallen Autumn leaves &
No-one saw us but the trees.
Your skin looked very pale next to the leaves that had fallen from the trees during autumn. We were alone in our private moment and only the trees were there as silent witnesses.
Yeah, the trees, those useless trees produce the air that I am breathing.
Yeah, the trees, those useless trees; they never said that you were leaving.
Despite calling them useless, the trees are the ones producing the air that I breathe to survive. Though they never revealed that you were going to leave me.
I carved your name with a heart just up above - now swollen,
Distorted, unrecognisable; like our love.
In an act of love, I carved your name with a heart above it. However, the carving became distorted and swollen, just like our love which also became unrecognizable.
The smell of leaf mould & the sweetness of decay
Are the incense at the funeral procession here, today.
In the trees, those useless trees, etc.
The smell of the decaying leaves and the sweet rotting scents seem like they are the perfumes being brought to a funeral procession. All while the trees remain silently observing and unresponsive.
You try to shape the world to what you want the world to be.
Carving your name a thousand times won't bring you back to me.
Oh no, no I might as well go & tell it to the trees.
Go & tell it to the trees, yeah.
You cannot force the world to be as you want it to be, no matter how many times you carve your name into it. Despite this, I might as well let the trees know my feelings since you cannot be reached anymore.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ANGEL LAFAELE NOA, ARMANDO CHRISTIAN PEREZ, DAVID VURDELJA, DRAZEN KVOCIC, RONALD RAY BRYANT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind