The Thompsons recorded three albums I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight (1974), Hokey Pokey (1975) and Pour Down Like Silver (1975) before they decided to leave the music business and moved to a Sufi commune in East Anglia. Songwriting was by Richard throughout, lead vocals generally by Linda,and backing by a consistent core band of English folk-rock stalwarts
I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight showed a clear development from Richard Thompson's first solo effort Henry The Human Fly with Linda's vocals adding grace, as well as the opportunity for Richard to write from a female perspective. Although Thompson's trademark gloom is already evident, the lightness and beauty of the arrangements counterbalances this to produce moments of great beauty. The use of brass, from the renowned CWS silver band in particular takes forward Thompson's continuing crusade to find a more contemporary and ordinary expression of Englishness in music,(as opposed to say the forays into the Morris form of his Fairport contemporary Ashley Hutchings, solo and with The Albion Band). The next year's release, Hokey Pokey to some extent repeats the formula, although it is improved in production values, and is stylistically more adventurous still. A Heart Needs a Home is a minor miracle of songwriting, expressing the longing for love without cynicism and has a standout multi-tracked vocal from Linda.
Pour Down Like Silver extended the reach of Richard and Linda's music, and without the occasional weaker tracks of the preceding releases. Here in the writing cynicism is balanced with humour, (Hard Luck Stories, Streets of Paradise), and love and need is expressed directly, and to touching effect ( Jet Plane in a Rocking Chair, Beat the Retreat). The impact of Sufism on their lives is expressed in Night Comes In, which borrows imagery from Sufi mystic poetry, and the practice of finding union with the Spirit through dance. The playing, arrangements and production are uniformly excellent throughout.
In 1978, Thompson decided to take his family out of the commune and go back to their old home in Hampstead. He also decided to return to making music, partly because, as he commented at the time, he'd come to realise "that [he] wasn't really any good at anything else".
Re-uniting the core band, the resulting album, First Light was warmly received by the critics but did not sell particularly well. Neither did its follow up, 1979's harder-edged and more cynical Sunnyvista. Chrysalis Records did not take up their option to renew the contract, and the Thompsons found themselves without a contract, but not without admirers.
About a year later Joe Boyd signed the Thompsons to his small Hannibal label and a new album was recorded. Shoot Out the Lights included new recordings of many of the songs recorded in 1980, and was clearly a very strong album. Linda Thompson was pregnant during the sessions, and so the album's release was held back until the Thompsons could tour in support of the new album. Linda's pregnancy also meant that she did not sing on all of the songs.
On its release in 1982, Shoot Out the Lights was lauded by critics and sold fairly well - especially in the USA. The Thompsons, now a couple for professional purposes only, toured the USA to support the album and then went their separate ways. Both the album and their live shows were well received by the American media, and Shoot Out the Lights effectively relaunched their career - just as their marriage was falling apart.
As against the first phase of their career, this last offering is sparer, without the instrumental augmentation that characterized the earlier albums, much more rock orientated, and altogether more ferocious. Although Thompson in interviews has always resisted over-personal interpretations of his songs, it is difficult not to see in its energy, tone and themes the difficulties of the final stages of the Thompson's marriage, transmuted into musical gold.
Never Again
Richard & Linda Thompson Lyrics
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And still feel the silence as close as before
And was there a season without any rain,
And never, o never, o never again?
The time for dividing and no-one will speak
Of the sadness of hiding, and the softness of sleep
O will there be nothing of peace â??till the end,
Old man how you tarry, old man how you weep
The trinkets you carry and the garlands you keep
For the salt tears of lovers and the whispers of friends
Come never, o never, o never again
In the song "Never Again" by Richard Thompson, the lyrics delve into themes of memory, loss, and the passage of time. The opening lines, "O who will remember, o who will be sure / And still feel the silence as close as before," convey a sense of melancholy and uncertainty about what will become of the memories and feelings associated with past events. The line "And was there a season without any rain" suggests that the singer is reflecting on difficult times, and wonders if there was ever a time when things were easy.
The second verse touches on the idea of division and suppression of emotions, with the line "The time for dividing and no-one will speak / Of the sadness of hiding, and the softness of sleep." This highlights the challenge of coping with emotional pain when people are unable to communicate openly about their struggles. The following line "O will there be nothing of peace 'till the end" raises the question of whether there will ever be a resolution to these issues.
The final verse seems to address an older person, with the lines "Old man how you tarry, old man how you weep / The trinkets you carry and the garlands you keep." The imagery suggests a person who has accumulated a lot of memories and keepsakes over the years, but is now feeling sadness and regret. The final line "Come never, o never, o never again" serves as a haunting chorus that runs throughout the song, emphasizing the idea that some things can never be regained once they are lost.
Line by Line Meaning
O who will remember, o who will be sure
Who among us will remember, and who among us will be sure that something like this will never happen again?
And still feel the silence as close as before
Even though the silence has been broken, we still feel its presence as strongly as we did before.
And was there a season without any rain,
Was there ever a time when everything was perfect and nothing bad ever happened?
And never, o never, o never again?
And will that time never come again?
The time for dividing and no-one will speak
It's a time for division, and people are reluctant to speak up and take a stand.
Of the sadness of hiding, and the softness of sleep
People are hiding their sadness and pain, and no one can sleep peacefully.
O will there be nothing of peace â??till the end,
Will there be no peace until the very end of everything?
Or never, o never, o never again?
Or will we never experience peace and harmony again?
Old man how you tarry, old man how you weep
Old man, why are you delaying? Old man, why are you weeping?
The trinkets you carry and the garlands you keep
The trinkets and garlands you keep are no comfort for your sorrow.
For the salt tears of lovers and the whispers of friends
Both the tears of lovers and the whispers of friends will never come again.
Come never, o never, o never again
They will never come back again.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JAY ANDERSON, KELLEN ASEBROEK, MIMI NAJA, KEITH SIMON, TYLER THOMPSON
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