Rupert Hine (born Rupert Neville Hine in Wimbledon on 21 September 1947; di… Read Full Bio ↴Rupert Hine (born Rupert Neville Hine in Wimbledon on 21 September 1947; died 5 June 2020) was an English musician and prolific producer in the synth pop era, helming albums such as Tina Turner's "Private Dancer", Howard Jones's "Human's Lib", SAGA's "World Apart", and The Fixx's "Reach the Beach". He was founder of the band Quantum Jump, and also recorded under his own name and the name Thinkman which he conceived as a virtual band. Many fans consider his tryptichon "Immunity", "Waving Not Drowning", and "Wildest Wish To Fly" to be his masterwork.

While being an extremely successful producer for the international Music Industry in the 1980s, today his genius as a solo artist is mainly remembered by music enthusiasts and electronic music insiders. The German electronic artist Bob Humid claims to be influenced a lot by Hine's highly developed production skills where audio-edits were to a large extent meaningful and precise. Rupert Hine was a enthusiastic user of the Fairlight CMI, the world's first Sampling Synthesizer.

The Outsider
Rupert Hine Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I hear them talking through walls
This one way mirror won't show their faces at all
Voices like my conscience shadowed inside a false reply
The young one won't relent, the other has a heart of stone
So to the spider the web is home
Now the fly lands
The fly must stay
I am the outsider

A night-watchman with no eyes
I am the outsider - about to break inside
I hear them talking through walls
Two brutal men who defy all danger one falls
Places dates then urgent footsteps fade down the hall unchased
In silence now I'm caught awake, at last he is alone
So to the spider the web is home
In the wrong hands
His wings were torn
I am the outsider
A night-watchman with no eyes
I am the outsider - too late to break inside
The Yugoslavian: Braco
(Orchestral & choral arrangement written & played by Rupert on the

'New England Digital' Synclavier ii Computer Synthesizer, P. P. G. Wave 2
Digital Synthesizer and, of course, the Mini-Moog

Overall Meaning

The song The Outsider by Rupert Hine is a haunting melody that speaks of a man who is trapped in a room, listening to the conversations of two men through the walls. The man is an outsider and a night-watchman with no eyes, meaning he has no physical sight of the things happening around him. Instead, he has to rely on his other senses, which leads him to listen to the voices around him. The lyrics depict a man who is isolated from the world, unable to connect with people or interact with them. It shows how he is forced to be an outsider, an observer, and not a participant in life.

The song is a beautiful representation of how we all feel at times, like we are outsiders in our own lives. The two men in the song are violent and dangerous, and the outsider is unable to do anything to stop them. The spider and the fly metaphor used in the song is an excellent commentary on how life can be, where we are all caught up in a web of circumstances and situations that we cannot escape from. The Outsider is a powerful song that speaks to the human condition and the struggle that we all face in trying to connect with others and find our place in the world.

Line by Line Meaning

I hear them talking through walls
I can hear people speaking in secret, as if they are behind closed doors.

This one way mirror won't show their faces at all
Despite having a window, it is impossible to identify the people hiding behind it, as it only works one way.

Voices like my conscience shadowed inside a false reply
Their whispers resemble an inner voice, but their message is misleading and dishonest.

The young one won't relent, the other has a heart of stone
One of them lacks compassion and empathy, while the other is stubborn and unyielding.

So to the spider the web is home
The people behind the secret window feel comfortable in their deceptive behavior, just like a spider in its trap.

Now the fly lands
An innocent person gets caught up in their plot.

The fly must stay
The victim has no means of escaping and is at their mercy.

I am the outsider
I am not part of their scheme and cannot relate to their actions.

A night-watchman with no eyes
Although I am monitoring what is happening, my ability to intervene is limited.

I am the outsider - about to break inside
I am an outsider who is ready to reveal the truth and disturb their sense of security.

Two brutal men who defy all danger one falls
The perpetrators are reckless and fearless, but eventually one of them meets a tragic end.

Places dates then urgent footsteps fade down the hall unchased
Their actions are calculated and premeditated, but they are not being pursued or stopped.

In silence now I'm caught awake, at last he is alone
After carefully monitoring what has been happening, I finally get a moment of clarity and realize that one of them is by himself.

In the wrong hands
Due to the evil intentions of those who have it, something valuable becomes dangerous instead of helpful.

His wings were torn
The innocent victim is hurt or damaged by the perpetrators' actions.

I am the outsider - too late to break inside
I am an outsider who realizes that my chance to intervene has passed and the damage has been done.

The Yugoslavian: Braco
This line is likely a reference to something personal or particular to the artist and not immediately meaningful to the song's narrative.

Contributed by Mila K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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