Forster met McLennan during drama classes at the University of Queensland and, inspired by a mutual love of Bob Dylan and the New York music scene, they formed the Go-Betweens in 1977. In addition to his work with the Go-Betweens, Forster has released several solo albums, including: Danger in the Past, recorded in Berlin in 1990; Calling from a Country Phone, recorded at Sunshine Studios, Brisbane, in 1993 with members of local pop group Custard; I Had a New York Girlfriend, a collection of cover versions recorded in Melbourne in 1994; Warm Nights, recorded in London in 1996 and produced by Edwyn Collins; and The Evangelist, recorded (all but one track - "A Place to Hide Away") at Good Luck Studios, London, September - November 2007 with long time collaborators Glenn Thompson and Adele Pickvance.
Critically-acclaimed internationally as a songwriter, Forster reveals a strong literary influence in his work. In 2005, Forster began writing for the Australian magazine, The Monthly. Prior to this he had virtually no print experience, with only a column on hair care for a fanzine in the 1980s to his credit. On 25 October 2006, it was announced that Forster was the winner of the Pascall Prize for Critical Writing for his columns.
On 6 May 2006, Grant McLennan died in his sleep at his home in Brisbane. Forster picked three songs co-written by Grant McLennan, including "Demon Days", which is the last song the pair wrote together, and recorded them alongside some of his own material to produce his first album in 11 years. The Evangelist was released on April 26, 2008 through Yep Roc Records.[5]
Forster announced his return to live performance with four nights at the Queensland Music Festival in July 2007.
Is This What You Call Change
Robert Forster Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What I
Adored
We should have
Kept it
It could have
Been restored
It
Many things
Is This What You Call Change
Look at me
Not
The floor
I hate your taste
From the centre
To the shore
You stuck
A knife
In our side
Is This What You Call Change
As I breathe your deadly wind
As the oil in the river sends
Everything that's alive
To a painful end
I was
In the forest
It was
August
Come September
My whole world was
Sawdust
The poison
Is moving
Is This What You Call Change
In this song, Robert Forster laments the destruction caused by a supposed "change" by an unnamed entity. He opens by telling the entity that they have destroyed something he adored, something that could have been restored if they had kept it. It could have been many things, but they destroyed it. He then tells the entity to look at him, not the floor. He hates their taste from the center to the shore. He is angry at them for sticking a knife in their side with their actions.
In the bridge of the song, Forster sings about the deadly wind of the entity's actions and how it is poisoning everything around them. He uses the metaphor of oil in the river sending everything alive to a painful end. He was in the forest in August, but by September, it was all sawdust. The poison is moving, and he questions whether this destruction is what they call change.
The song is a powerful commentary on how damaging actions under the guise of "change" can be. It is a call to those in power to consider the consequences of their actions and to question the motives behind their decisions.
Line by Line Meaning
You destroyed
You caused harm and damage
What I
Something precious and valuable to me
Adored
That was deeply cherished
We should have
It would have been better for us to have
Kept it
Preserved and retained that precious thing
It could have
There was a possibility for it to have
Been restored
To bring back what was lost and damaged
It
That precious thing
Could have been
Possibly could have been other things
Many things
It possessed a great potential for different forms
Is This What You Call Change
Asking if this situation is truly considered as change or something else
Look at me
Pay attention to me
Not
Do not look at
The floor
Something unimportant
I hate your taste
Strong distaste or dislike for what the other person represents or offers
From the centre
Starting from the core of something
To the shore
Reaches all the way to the coast or the end of something
You stuck
You intentionally installed
A knife
An instrument of violence
In our side
Directly into the most vulnerable and important part of our being
As I breathe your deadly wind
Metaphorical breathing in of something harmful and lethal
As the oil in the river sends
The oil pollutes the flowing water causing harm to living species
Everything that's alive
All life forms
To a painful end
A tragic and brutal termination of life
I was
At a certain point in time
In the forest
In a natural world
It was
At that point in time
August
During the month of August
Come September
As soon as September arrives
My whole world was
The core essence of everything that was important to me
Sawdust
Matter that was once solid is now reduced to particles of dust
The poison
Something toxic and dangerous
Is moving
Becoming more dangerous and active
Is This What You Call Change
Again, questioning if this should be considered as progress or something different entirely
Contributed by Bella K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.