Roxy Music became a successful act in Europe and Australia during the 1970s. This success began with their self-titled debut studio album in 1972. The band pioneered more musically sophisticated elements of glam rock while significantly influencing early English punk music, and provided a model for many new wave acts while innovating elements of electronic composition. The group also conveyed their distinctive brand of visual and musical sophistication with their focus on glamorous fashions. Ferry and co-founding member Eno have had influential solo careers. Eno became one of the most significant British record producers of the late 20th century. Rolling Stone originally ranked Roxy Music No. 98 on their greatest artists list ("The Immortals – The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time"), but dropped the group from the list when they updated it in 2011.
Roxy Music's final studio album was Avalon (1982), which was certified Platinum in the United States. In 2005, the band began recording what would have become their ninth studio album—and their first album with Eno since 1973 (he wrote two songs for it and also played keyboards). However, Ferry eventually announced that the material from these sessions would instead be released as a Ferry solo studio album, with Eno playing on "a couple of tracks", and that he believed the group would never again produce a record as Roxy Music. The album was released in 2010 as the Ferry solo studio album Olympia. It featured contributions from Eno, Manzanera, and Mackay (amongst many other session players).
In 2011, Roxy Music played a series of 40th-anniversary shows, but went inactive as a performing entity following the concerts. In 2019, Roxy Music were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
In 2022, Roxy Music reformed for a tour to mark the 50th anniversary of their debut studio album.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roxy_Music
Studio albums
Roxy Music (1972)
For Your Pleasure (1973)
Stranded (1973)
Country Life (1974)
Siren (1975)
Manifesto (1979)
Flesh and Blood (1980)
Avalon (1982)
No Strange Delight
Roxy Music Lyrics
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Disappeared from ever loving friends
And now a slave to obsession
Your strange delight
You lie awake
How your senses ache
Shaking off the night
There goes your self
In the clear forever out of line
And there you'll stray through obsession
Your strange delight
Can't bear this heat
Your poor heart skips a beat
Tearing off the years
To when you really cared
So where's your soul?
In the field where every story ends
And then how plain your obsession
Your strange delight
So this is hell
Not so hard to tell
Better men than I
Have tried your strange delight
Is there no strange delight?
The lyrics in Roxy Music's song "No Strange Delight" are a reflection on the negative consequences of becoming obsessed with something. The lyrics suggest that when someone becomes obsessed with something, they can lose touch with reality and become a slave to their obsession. The opening lines, "So there goes your life / Disappeared from ever loving friends," suggest that the person being spoken to has become so immersed in their obsession that they have isolated themselves from those who care about them. The lines "And now a slave to obsession / Your strange delight" further reinforce this idea.
The lyrics also touch on the physical toll that obsession can take on a person. The lines "You lie awake / How your senses ache" suggest that the person is physically and mentally exhausted from their obsession. They are unable to sleep and are constantly thinking about the thing that they are obsessed with. The line "Can't bear this heat / Your poor heart skips a beat" suggests that the obsession has caused the person to experience physical symptoms, such as a racing heart.
Despite the negative consequences of obsession, the lyrics also suggest that there is something enticing about it. The lines "Is there more strange delight? / So where's your soul? / In the field where every story ends" suggest that the person may be addicted to the excitement and thrill of their obsession, even though it is harming them. The final line "Is there no strange delight?" suggests that the person cannot help but be drawn to their obsession, even though they know it is destructive.
Overall, the lyrics to Roxy Music's "No Strange Delight" are a warning about the dangers of becoming obsessed with something. While the feeling of being completely consumed by something may seem exciting and alluring, it can ultimately lead to isolation, physical and mental exhaustion, and harm.
Line by Line Meaning
So there goes your life
Your life is fleeting and passing by quickly.
Disappeared from ever loving friends
Your friends are gone, and you are alone.
And now a slave to obsession
You are now consumed by your addiction.
Your strange delight
Your unusual pleasure.
You lie awake
You can't sleep.
How your senses ache
You feel pain and discomfort.
Shaking off the night
Trying to forget the past.
Is there more strange delight?
Are there more unusual pleasures to be had?
There goes your self
You have lost your sense of identity.
In the clear forever out of line
You have left the world of normalcy and conformity forever.
And there you'll stray through obsession
You will wander aimlessly through your addiction.
Your strange delight
Your unusual pleasure.
Can't bear this heat
You are unable to handle the pressure.
Your poor heart skips a beat
Your heart is failing you.
Tearing off the years
Trying to recapture your youth.
To when you really cared
To when you once lived a more virtuous life.
So where's your soul?
Where is your essence?
In the field where every story ends
Where everything comes to an end.
And then how plain your obsession
Your addiction becomes clear and obvious.
Your strange delight
Your unusual pleasure.
So this is hell
This is your personal hell.
Not so hard to tell
It's pretty obvious.
Better men than I
More virtuous people than me.
Have tried your strange delight
Have attempted to have your unusual pleasure.
Is there no strange delight?
Is there no longer any unusual pleasure to be had?
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BRYAN FERRY, PHIL MANZANERA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind