The original members were Richard Fielding and Andrew Wright, and were soon joined by Tom Ellard. This later changed to Garry Bradbury, Paul Deering, and Tom Ellard; Ellard has been the only one to remain throughout the group's career, with changing lineups throughout its two and a half decades of existence, later working mainly with Stephen Jones. Robert Racic was an integral part of the band during the late eighties/early nineties.
Severed Heads performed a final concert in Sydney in January 2010. Tom Ellard uploaded a farewell video of Sevs in Space to Youtube, which may be considered as a requiem of sorts.
In early 2008, Ellard added the following text to the bottom of the official site's front page, "Severed Heads do not have a MySpace page. It is a fake. The band is dead,". (www.sevcom.com).
Oscar's Grind
Severed Heads Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Dead Eyes Open
Oscar's Grind
Harry's eyes--waterfall--
Smoulder burn with pain (something kinda nice)
Harry's love--his heart--
Patters down like rain (something kinda warm)
You could hear her name (something kinda close)
C In the dark of the evening
In the dark of the evening
Oscar's grind and wounds that never heal
Harry's hands--his strength--
Tumbles in the sheets (something kinda warm)
Harry's arse--his life--
Crumbles in the sun (something kinda soft)
If you were an astronaut
You could touch her toes (something kinda fine)--C
The lyrics of "Oscar's Grind" by Severed Heads explore the feelings of Harry, the singer of the song, as he deals with the pain of a lost love. The first stanza describes Harry's eyes that are filled with tears and burning with pain. Despite this discomfort, he finds something "kinda nice" in the experience. The next line talks about Harry's love, which is now just a memory, falling down like rain.
The second stanza talks about what could be done to feel closer to the lost love. Harry imagines being able to hear her name if he had a stethoscope. The chorus talks about the "dark of the evening" and the "wounds that never heal" emphasizing the feeling of grief and loss that Harry is experiencing.
The third stanza talks about Harry's physicality as he tumbles in the sheets and his life crumbles in the sun. The final line of the verse suggests that if one were an astronaut, it may be possible to touch the toes of the lost love, but it is just a fanciful dream. The song ends with a repeat of the chorus, emphasizing the sense of despair and helplessness.
Line by Line Meaning
Harry's eyes--waterfall--
Harry is crying intensely
Smoulder burn with pain (something kinda nice)
Despite the pain Harry is feeling, there is something alluring or comforting about it
Harry's love--his heart--
Harry loves deeply with all his heart
Patters down like rain (something kinda warm)
His love for someone (presumably the person mentioned earlier) is abundant and comforting
If you had a stethoscope
You could hear her name (something kinda close)
The person mentioned earlier is always on Harry's mind and he's so in love that he can feel their presence
C In the dark of the evening
In the dark of the evening
Oscar's grind and wounds that never heal
Despite the darkness, Harry is still relentlessly grinding away at something that is causing him pain and his wounds are not healing
Harry's hands--his strength--
Tumbles in the sheets (something kinda warm)
Harry's strength seems to fail him, likely due to the earlier mentioned pain and heartache
Harry's arse--his life--
Crumbles in the sun (something kinda soft)
Even what Harry considers his foundation in life is crumbling, leaving him vulnerable and exposed
If you were an astronaut
You could touch her toes (something kinda fine)--C
Presumably referring to the person mentioned earlier, they are so close and entwined in Harry's life that even an astronaut could reach them
Contributed by Elijah N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.