Released on the Rough Trade record label in 1981, "The Sweetest Girl" (also known as "Sweetest Girl") became Scritti Politti's first song to be a hit, peaking at #64 on the U.K. singles chart. According to the The Sweetest Girl Songfacts, was cited by The New York Times as one of the ten best singles of the year. Scritti Politti went on to enjoy significant success in the music charts in the U.K. and U.S. as the decade went on, rivaling slick new wave contemporaries such as Duran Duran, The Human League, Simple Minds, and others.
Following this period of fame, however, Gartside became disillusioned with the music industry and the related pressures of being an artist. He retired to the South Wales of his childhood for nearly a decade. He returned to music-making in the late 90s, releasing two critically-acclaimed albums (in 1999 and 2006). As well, the success of the 2006 Mercury Music Prize-nominated 'White Bread Black Beer' release proved to be a major comeback for Gartside. He toured the U.K., Ireland, the U.S.A., and Japan in the same year, these efforts being his first time performing live on stage for about twenty-five years.
Gartside is known for his distinctive, whispering vocal style; he was described by one critic as having "a voice that's eternally 14 years old". Born in Cardiff in 1956, Gartside attended Leeds Polytechnic and experienced the Sex Pistols' infamous 'Anarchy tour' in 1977. Like so many others who saw this musical and cultural car crash, he felt inspired to make music. As well, again like so many others, he swiftly became disillusioned with punk's stylistic parameters of the time. Following years of work evolving Scritti Politti's sound, the group's debut studio album, titled 'Songs to Remember', came out on 3 September 1982. Though not a commercial hit, the relase's eccentric set of influences,including 60s pop rock and 70s soul, and many philosophical lyrical references, with Gartside avoiding direct left-wing preaching in favour of confessional storytelling, brought the band serious critical praise.
In 1989, the British music magazine 'Record Mirror' placed 'Songs to Remember' at number fourteen in their critics' list of the best albums of the 80s. Nonetheless, heavy line-up changes occured after that album's release. When 1985's 'Cupid & Psyche 85' came out, that work proved both to be a commercial smash as well as to be innovative in terms its early use of the techniques of sampling and MIDI sequencing. Hit singles such as "Perfect Way", "The Word Girl", "Wood Beez", and "Absolute" brought the group legions of fans.
As stated before, Scritti Politti is known for being, at times, a commercially-friendly outfit, particularly during when Gartside worked with American producer and keyboard player David Gamson and drummer Fred Maher, yet its songs still retained a critically acclaimed, heavily poetic look on life (a factor which, no matter what sound or guise Gartside's current band may adopt, has always been carried through).
In a recent BBC Radio 2 interview, Gartside enthusiastically stated that he will be working on two further albums in the future, one being hip-hop based (a la 1999's Anomie & Bonhomie).
Recently, Gartside has been performing live with Alexis Taylor of Hot Chip - a fellow Mercury Music Prize nominee - and it is rumoured that the pair are currently writing a joint album.
Die Alone
Scritti Politti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Not what the letter of the law suspected
Candy and Sublime are friends of mine
Maybe I'll have met 'em in the mists of time
Whenever hold tight to what (what) to whatever I got
And how I'm going to get to the whether or not
We oughta see through this
Oh we do this yeah
Round and round
Round and round
Round and round and round
I'll make an incision, sleep like volcano (oh yeah, it's not
better)
I'll make the confession, good 'cause I say so (oh yeah, it's not better)
I'll make an admission, big like neutrino (oh yeah, it's not better)
I'll make a decision, I'm all ones and zeros
Throw me up 'n' come over
Throw me down 'n' come under
Roll around in the clover and wonder
So you were the alone
Since I was a boy
Hold 'em down and we know you'll die alone
Yeah, let a thousand thoughts contend
I can hear myself thinking but it all depends
It's like a Tower of Babel
Unable to get your fix on it
Get your kicks on it
I bet you're sick with it, tell you how it is
White grey for your livelong day
Refrigerator humming
You're going or
You're coming
You're numb enough to tolerate the pain
The penalty for gaining an insight, damn right
Round and round
Round and round and round
Round and round
Round and round and round
I'll make an incision, sleep like volcano (oh yeah, it's not
better)
I'll make the confession, good 'cause I say so (oh yeah, it's not better)
I'll make an admission, big like neutrino (oh yeah, it's not better)
I'll make a decision, I'm all ones and zeros
Throw me up 'n' come over
Throw me down 'n' come under
Roll around in the clover and wonder
So you were the alone
Since I was a boy
Hold 'em down and we know you'll die alone
We know you by now
We know you by now
Throw me up 'n' come over
Throw me down 'n' come under
Throw me up 'n' come over
Throw me down 'n' come under
The song Die Alone by Scritti Politti is a complex reflection on the human condition and the challenges we face in connecting with others. The lyrics describe a sense of disconnection and frustration, as the singer wrestles with feelings of isolation and the desire for deeper relationships. The opening lines, "Disconnected inter-connected, I wrecked it / Not what the letter of the law suspected", suggest that despite our ability to communicate and connect with others, we often struggle to understand each other on a deeper level. The mention of Candy and Sublime, "friends of mine", suggests that the singer may have had some fleeting connections or moments of friendship in the past, but they are now distant memories.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the cyclical nature of our struggles with connection and loneliness, as the words "round and round" are repeated several times. This repetition suggests that the cycle is difficult to break, and that the singer is caught in a pattern of seeking connection, but ultimately being disappointed or let down.
The middle section of the song introduces a series of confessional statements, as the singer declares that they will "make an incision", "make the confession", "make an admission", and "make a decision". These statements suggest a desire to be honest and open with themselves and others, but also a sense of uncertainty and fear about the consequences of this honesty. The final lines of the song, "Throw me up 'n' come over / Throw me down 'n' come under", suggest a willingness to be vulnerable and take risks in the pursuit of meaningful connection.
Overall, Die Alone is a thoughtful and introspective exploration of the struggle to connect with others and the importance of being honest and vulnerable in our relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Disconnected inter-connected, I wrecked it
I am both dissociated and associated with the world, and in doing so I destroyed it
Not what the letter of the law suspected
I did something unexpected, which was not in accordance with the law
Candy and Sublime are friends of mine
I have an affinity for pleasurable things and artistry
Maybe I'll have met 'em in the mists of time
Perhaps I have encountered them in a distant past or future
Whenever hold tight to what (what) to whatever I got
No matter what happens, I will cling onto what I have
And how I'm going to get to the whether or not
I need to figure out how to arrive at a conclusion, whether that is a positive or negative outcome
We oughta see through this
We should be able to see beyond this
Oh we do this yeah
And indeed, we do
Discensus is our word for today, now is that okay?
Our word for today is 'discensus', is that acceptable for you?
I'll make an incision, sleep like volcano (oh yeah, it's not better)
I will cut deeply into myself, feeling a burst of intense emotion, that does not improve anything
I'll make the confession, good 'cause I say so (oh yeah, it's not better)
I will disclose my faults, which is good because it's what I want, even though it doesn't make it any better
I'll make an admission, big like neutrino (oh yeah, it's not better)
I will admit something huge, akin to a neutrino, but that does not improve the situation
I'll make a decision, I'm all ones and zeros
I will take a firm decision, as if I'm a programmed machine composed of binary digits
Throw me up 'n' come over
Toss me upwards and approach me
Throw me down 'n' come under
Throw me downwards and be underneath me
Roll around in the clover and wonder
Let's frolic in the green fields and ponder
So you were the alone
So, you were the one who is lonely
Since I was a boy
Ever since I was a child
Hold 'em down and we know you'll die alone
Suppress your emotions and thoughts, and we know that you will eventually perish in solitude
Yeah, let a thousand thoughts contend
Yes, let there be a thousand ideas in conflict with one another
I can hear myself thinking but it all depends
I can hear my own thoughts, but their validity is uncertain
It's like a Tower of Babel
It's like a scene from the story of the Tower of Babel, where language was confounded
Unable to get your fix on it
Unable to come to grips with the situation
Get your kicks on it
Find some pleasure in the situation
I bet you're sick with it, tell you how it is
I wager that the situation makes you ill, so I will explain how it truly is
White grey for your livelong day
The drab and colorless existence persists throughout your life
Refrigerator humming
The constant, monotonous hum of the refrigerator
You're going or
You're either coming or
You're coming
You're approaching
You're numb enough to tolerate the pain
You're desensitized to the point of being able to endure the suffering
The penalty for gaining an insight, damn right
The consequence of acquiring knowledge or understanding is indeed negative
We know you by now
We have come to understand you well
Contributed by Abigail N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Jan
on Absolute
It should be principle, not principal
Reg Side
on After Six
The context is the dumbed-down public sphere in which all politics is spun and lying is always a matter of how more or less convincing it can be. In its chart-topping heyday Scritti Politti was a pop political project concerned with language and power and this song is a remnant from that, albeit more personalised like most of what's on White Bread Black Beer. The result here is an irony of the kind you might expect to find in a vintage Paul Simon song.