As a teenager, he lived with his parents in a fourteen-room Georgian guest-house, Wellington House, in Lydden near Canterbury. Here he was taught the drums by visiting American jazz drummer George Niedorf.
In 1962, Wyatt and Niedorf moved to Majorca where they stayed with the poet Robert Graves. The following year, Wyatt returned to England and joined the Daevid Allen Trio with Daevid Allen and Hugh Hopper. Allen subsequently left for France, and Wyatt and Hopper formed the Wilde Flowers with Richard Sinclair, Kevin Ayers and Brian Hopper. Wyatt was initially the drummer in the Wilde Flowers, but following the departure of Ayers, he became lead singer.
In 1966, the Wilde Flowers disintegrated, and Wyatt and Mike Ratledge formed the Soft Machine with Ayers and Allen. Here Wyatt both drummed and sang, an unusual combination for a stage rock band.
In 1970, after chaotic touring, three albums and increasing internal conflicts in Soft Machine, Wyatt released his first solo album, The End of an Ear, which combined his vocal and multi-instrumental talents with tape effects.
A year later, Wyatt left Soft Machine and formed his own band Matching Mole (a pun on "machine molle", the French for Soft Machine), a largely instrumental outfit. After two albums and a split, Matching Mole were about to embark on a third record when, on 1 June 1973, during a drunken party, Wyatt fell from a third floor window. He was subsequently paralysed from the waist down (paraplegia) and confined to a wheelchair.
The injury led Wyatt to abandon the Matching Mole project, and his drumming. He promptly embarked on a solo-career, and with a collective of session musicians (including Mike Oldfield, the poet Ivor Cutler and Henry Cow guitarist Fred Frith), he released his acclaimed solo album Rock Bottom. Later that same year he put out a single, a cover version of "I'm a Believer", which hit number 29 in the UK chart. There were strong arguments with the producer of Top of the Pops surrounding his performance of "I'm a Believer," on the grounds that his wheelchair-bound appearance 'was not suitable for family viewing', the producer wanting Wyatt to appear on a normal chair. Wyatt won the day and 'lost his rag but not the wheel chair', but gave a performance that could be described as disgruntled.
Wyatt's next album, Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard, was more jazz-led, with free jazz influences and nods to African music. These solo recordings were all produced by Nick Mason of Pink Floyd.
Throughout the rest of the 1970s, Wyatt guested with various acts, working with the likes of Henry Cow (documented on their Henry Cow Concerts album), Hatfield and the North, Carla Bley and Michael Mantler. His solo work during the early 1980s was increasingly politicised, and Wyatt became an outspoken member and supporter of the British Communist Party. In 1983, his interpretation of Elvis Costello's anti-Falklands War song "Shipbuilding", the last in a series of political cover-versions (collected as Nothing Can Stop Us), reached number 35 in the UK singles chart. In the late 1980s, after collaborations with other ex-Canterbury acts such as News from Babel, he and his wife Alfreda Benge spent a sabbatical in Spain, before returning in 1991 with a comeback album Dondestan, considered by many to be his best work since Rock Bottom. His 1997 album Shleep was also highly acclaimed.
An uncredited Wyatt contributed the haunting "Masters of the Field", as well as "The Highest Gander", "La Forêt Rouge" and "Hors Champ" to the soundtrack of the acclaimed 2001 film Winged Migration. He can be seen in the DVD's Special Features section, and is praised by the film's composer Bruno Coulais as being a big influence in his younger days.
In 2001, Wyatt was curator of the Meltdown festival, and in 2003 he put out his album Cuckooland.
In 2004, Wyatt collaborated with Björk on the song "Submarine" which was released on her fifth album Medúlla.
In October 2007 he released Comicopera, a 16-track album, his first for the Domino label.
It was produced by Wyatt himself, and recorded at his home in Louth as well as Phil Manzanera's Gallery Studio.
Comicopera is divided into three acts - 'Lost in Noise', 'The Here and The Now', and 'Away with the Fairies'. Featured musicians include previous collaborators Brian Eno, Paul Weller and Phil Manzanera. Wyatt said he was keen to capture the sound of a group of musicians playing in the room together, but more importantly to have friends playing together.
"Music isn't just an abstract pleasure, it is a company, when you play a record. Why I like Duke Ellington and Charles Mingus, the big bands - is because every character in the band is identifiable as that person - there's this group of humans in a room".
"He lives in Louth, Lincolnshire and he has equipment in his bedroom where he records himself and his albums. We brought a G4 and Pro Tools and recorded it in like one afternoon. He's such an extraordinary singer. Before he left, he insisted to give us a scale of his voice, where he sings all the tones – and he has the most amazing range, like 5 or 6 octaves. What's really interesting about his range is that each octave is of a totally different character. We actually ended up using that later for 'Oceania', we used what he calls the 'Wyattron'." — Björk, XFM 25 August 2004
Shipbuilding
Robert Wyatt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A new winter coat and shoes for the wife
And a bicycle on the boy's birthday.
It's just a rumor that was spread around town
By the women and children, soon we'll be shipbuilding
Well I ask you
But I'll be home by Christmas.
It's just a rumor that was spread around town
Somebody said that someone got filled in
For saying that people get killed in
The results of their shipbuilding.
With all the will in the world
Diving for dear life
When we could be diving for pearls.
It's just a rumor that was spread around town
A telegram for a picture postcard
Within weeks they'll be reopening the shipyard
And notifying the next of kin
Once again.
It's all we're skilled in
We will be shipbuilding.
With all the will in the world
Diving for dear life
When we could be diving for pearls.
Robert Wyatt’s “Shipbuilding” is one of the greatest anti-war songs ever written. The song is a commentary on the Falklands War of 1982, and it was released at the time the conflict was taking place. The lyrics explore the terrible cost of war on individual lives and communities, looking at the human cost of war while examining the broader economic and political context. The song’s opening lines immediately confront the question of whether or not participating in the war is worth the cost: the singer considers buying a new winter coat and shoes for his wife, as well as a new bicycle for his son’s birthday, before wondering whether or not it’s all worth it. Ultimately, the lyrics suggest that it isn’t: that the cost of war – not just in terms of money, but in terms of human lives – is much too high.
In the song, Wyatt portrays the human cost of war through a series of vignettes. The first is about a father and son, with the boy saying that he’ll be home by Christmas even though he knows he is likely going to be killed. Meanwhile, in another vignette, there is a rumor going around town about people getting killed in shipbuilding. The song then goes on to highlight the contrast between diving for dear life and diving for pearls - the irony being that lives are lost in war for political and economic agendas rather than for a noble cause. As the song progresses, the lyrics suggest that rebuilding the shipyard and notifying the next of kin will be all that the people can do, as shipbuilding is all they are skilled in, and hence will continue.
Line by Line Meaning
Is it worth it?
Is it worth the cost and risk to build ships?
A new winter coat and shoes for the wife
We could use the money spent on shipbuilding to buy clothes for our families during winter.
And a bicycle on the boy's birthday.
We could use the money spent on shipbuilding to give our children birthday presents.
It's just a rumor that was spread around town
There are false rumors going around about the benefits and consequences of shipbuilding.
By the women and children, soon we'll be shipbuilding
The decision to build ships is being influenced by those who are not directly involved in the process.
Well I ask you
The singer is questioning the decision to build ships.
The boy said 'Dad, they're going to take me to task
The singer's son is worried about the dangers of working in the shipyard.
But I'll be home by Christmas.
Despite the risks, the artist's son hopes to return home for the holidays.
Somebody said that someone got filled in
There are stories of violence and intimidation surrounding shipbuilding.
For saying that people get killed in
People have died as a result of shipbuilding, but speaking out about this can be dangerous.
The results of their shipbuilding.
The negative consequences of shipbuilding are beginning to show.
With all the will in the world
Despite our determination, shipbuilding is not the best use of our resources.
Diving for dear life
We are risking our lives to continue shipbuilding.
When we could be diving for pearls.
We could be using our skills and resources to do something more beneficial and rewarding instead of shipbuilding.
A telegram for a picture postcard
The singer is receiving a message from the shipyard that serves as a reminder of the dangers of shipbuilding.
Within weeks they'll be reopening the shipyard
Despite the risks, the shipyard will soon be reopening for business.
And notifying the next of kin
The families of those who die as a result of shipbuilding will be the first to be notified.
Once again.
Despite the dangers and consequences, shipbuilding will continue.
It's all we're skilled in
The workers in the shipyard have few other job prospects or skills outside of shipbuilding.
We will be shipbuilding.
Despite the risks and negative consequences, the workers will continue to build ships because it is their only option for employment.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ELVIS COSTELLO, CLIVE WILLIAM LANGER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind