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
You're A Nightmare
Pulp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm doing fine.
'cause there are things
To pass the time.
Smoke a cig
And drink some tea
Watch a programme
On TV.
'cause I'm sorted out, and how.
I've got it all set up you see.
But when I close my eyes it happens to me.
You're a nightmare
And you've made it all wrong
You're a nightmare to me
Oh oh
You're a nightmare
Oh and I just can't see
Why you should keep on happening to me.
Oh yeah.
Well it stopped some time in May,
Whilst you were still away.
Was I in bed or on a bus
Doing something pathetically ridiculous?
I never noticed it at first
But when you came back it got worse.
It's the idea of you, you see
When I close my eyes it happens to me.
Oh you're a nightmare
And you've got it all wrong
You're a nightmare to me
Oh oh
You're a nightmare
And I just can't see
Why you should keep on
Happening to me
You're a nightmare
And you've got it all wrong
You're a nightmare to me
Oh oh
You're a nightmare
And I just can't see
Why you should keep on
Happening
Happening to me
Oh oh oh
And there were hotel bedroom birthdays
Sleep in factory hallways
I remember always.
Yeah there were hotel bedroom birthdays
And sleep in factory hallways
I remember always
Why do you keep on
Hanging round
Can't you see it gets me down?
Because when I look at you I see
Somebody I just don't want to be
Oh whoa you're a nightmare
And you got it all wrong
You're a nightmare to me
Oh oh
You're a nightmare
And you just can't see
Why you should keep on
Happening to me
You're a nightmare
And you've got it all wrong
Yeah you're a nightmare to me
Oh oh
You're a nightmare
And I just can't see
Oh why why you should keep on
Happening to me
You're a mightmare
And you've got it all wrong
Oh you're a nightmare to me
Oh oh
You're a nightmare
Oh and I just can't see
Why you're
Why you're
You're always hanging around
You're always hanging round
You're always hanging around
You're always hanging round
You're always hanging round
You're always hanging round
You're always hanging round
You're always hanging round.
"You're a Nightmare" by Pulp is a song about someone who is haunted by their past relationship, struggling to move on and forget about their ex. The singer tries to distract themselves by watching TV, smoking and drinking tea, but they can't get the memories out of their head, it's like they're a "nightmare" that won't go away. The song expresses frustration and confusion towards the ex-lover, questioning why they keep happening to the singer and why they can't just disappear. The lyrics convey a sense of lost control, as the singer cannot help but think about their ex, even when they have seemingly moved on with their life. The song ends on a note of resignation, with the singer acknowledging that their ex is always going to be a part of their life, whether they like it or not.
Overall, "You're a Nightmare" is a relatable and raw expression of heartbreak and the difficulty of moving on. The simple yet catchy music, combined with the evocative lyrics, create a powerful and emotional composition that captures the essence of post-breakup anguish.
Line by Line Meaning
All day, I'm doing fine.
I am doing good all day long
'cause there are things To pass the time.
There are things to do to keep my mind occupied
Smoke a cig And drink some tea Watch a programme On TV.
I pass the time by smoking, drinking tea and watching TV
I just don't care where you are now 'cause I'm sorted out, and how.
I don't care where you are because I'm okay
I've got it all set up you see. But when I close my eyes it happens to me.
Everything is set up but you still haunt me in my thoughts
You're a nightmare And you've made it all wrong You're a nightmare to me Oh oh
You make everything go wrong and you're a nightmare to me
You're a nightmare Oh and I just can't see Why you should keep on happening to me. Oh yeah.
I don't understand why you keep coming back in my thoughts
Well it stopped some time in May, Whilst you were still away. Was I in bed or on a bus Doing something pathetically ridiculous?
I stopped thinking about you when you were away, but now I wonder if I was just being foolish
I never noticed it at first But when you came back it got worse.
I didn't realize at first, but when you came back, you started haunting me again
It's the idea of you, you see When I close my eyes it happens to me.
It's the thought of you that keeps coming back to me when I try to shut it out
Oh you're a nightmare And you've got it all wrong You're a nightmare to me Oh oh
You make everything go wrong and you're a nightmare to me
You're a nightmare And I just can't see Why you should keep on Happening to me
I don't understand why you keep coming back in my thoughts
And there were hotel bedroom birthdays Sleep in factory hallways I remember always.
I think about the past when we used to party in hotels or sleep in factory halls
Yeah there were hotel bedroom birthdays And sleep in factory hallways I remember always
I still remember those moments vividly
Why do you keep on Hanging round Can't you see it gets me down?
I don't understand why you keep coming back to my thoughts when it brings me down
Because when I look at you I see Somebody I just don't want to be Oh whoa you're a nightmare
You remind me of something I don't want to be, and it makes you a nightmare
And you got it all wrong You're a nightmare to me Oh oh You're a nightmare And you just can't see
You make everything go wrong and you don't understand how much of a nightmare you are to me
Why you should keep on Happening to me You're a nightmare And you've got it all wrong
I don't understand why you keep coming back in my thoughts and you make everything go wrong
Yeah you're a nightmare to me Oh oh You're a nightmare And I just can't see Oh why why you should keep on Happening to me
You're a nightmare and I can't understand why you keep happening to me
You're always hanging around You're always hanging round You're always hanging around You're always hanging round You're always hanging round You're always hanging round You're always hanging round You're always hanging round.
You're always there in my thoughts no matter what
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CANDIDA DOYLE, JARVIS BRANSON COCKER, NICK BANKS, RUSSELL SENIOR, STEPHEN PATRICK MACKEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind