Simple Minds have achieved 24 top 40 singles on the UK Singles Chart, including eight top 10 and one number one, and 26 albums on the UK Albums Chart, including 22 top 40 albums, 12 top 10 albums and five number one albums: Sparkle in the Rain (1984), Once Upon a Time (1985), Live in the City of Light (1987), Street Fighting Years (1989), and Glittering Prize 81/92 (1992). They have sold more than 60 million albums worldwide, and were the most commercially successful Scottish band of the 1980s. Simple Minds have also achieved considerable chart success in the United States, Australia, Germany, Spain, Italy and New Zealand. Despite various personnel changes, they continue to record and tour.
In 2014, Simple Minds were awarded the Q Inspiration Award for their contribution to the music industry and an Ivor Novello Award in 2016 for Outstanding Song Collection from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors (BASCA). Other notable recognitions include nominations for both the MTV Video Music Award for Best Direction and MTV Video Music Award for Best Art Direction for "Don't You (Forget About Me)" in 1985, nomination for the Brit Award for British Group in 1986 and for the American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Band/Duo/Group in 1987. "Belfast Child" was nominated for the Song of the Year at the Brit Awards 1990.
The nucleus of Simple Minds consists of the two remaining original members, Jim Kerr (vocals) and Charlie Burchill (electric and acoustic guitars, occasional keyboards after 1990, saxophone and violin). The other current band members are Ged Grimes (bass guitar), Cherisse Osei (drums), Sarah Brown (backing vocals), Gordy Goudie (additional guitar and keyboards) and Berenice Scott (keyboards). Notable former members include Mick MacNeil (keyboards), Derek Forbes (bass guitar), Brian McGee and Mel Gaynor (drums).
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simple_Minds
Discography
Life in a Day (1979)
Real to Real Cacophony (1979)
Empires and Dance (1980)
Sons and Fascination/Sister Feelings Call (1981)
New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) (1982)
Sparkle in the Rain (1984)
Once Upon a Time (1985)
Street Fighting Years (1989)
Real Life (1991)
Good News from the Next World (1995)
Néapolis (1998)
Our Secrets Are the Same (1999/2004)
Neon Lights (2001)
Cry (2002)
Black & White 050505 (2005)
Graffiti Soul (2009)
Big Music (2014)
Acoustic (2016)
Walk Between Worlds (2018)
Direction of the Heart (2022)
Love Song
Simple Minds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Reptile man drop
Stay below it [Repeat: x4]
Temperature drop
America's a boyfriend
Untouched by flesh of hand
Heartbeat under [Repeat: x4]
Love song [Repeat: x4]
On and on and
On and on and
Flesh of heart
Heart of steel
So well so well
I cut my hair
Paint my face
Break a finger
Tell a lie
So well so well
America's a boyfriend
Untouched by flesh of hand
Stay below it
Stay below
In glory days that come and go
Some promised land
Love song [Repeat: x4]
And on and on and
On and on and
On and on and
Stay below
Shout below
Flesh of heart
Heart of steel
Flesh of heart
Heart of steel
Flesh of heart
Heart of steel
Flesh of heart
Heart of steel
Love song
Love song
Love song
And love song
Stay below
Shout below
In glory days that come and go
Stay below
Shout below
In glory days that come and go
Love song
Love song
Love song
On and on and
On and on and
On and on and
And on and on and
The lyrics of Simple Minds’s song “Love Song” express the band’s experience of being a pop group in a world where everyone wants to be a star. The line “America’s a boyfriend, untouched by flesh of hand” reflects the band’s feeling of distance from their American audience, whom they viewed as being indifferent to them. The song explores themes of performance, artifice, and the struggle to maintain an authentic identity in the face of commercial pressures. The lyrics suggest that the band feels like reptiles, shedding their skins to reveal new personas, painted faces and broken fingers, all to create the illusion of something new and exciting. However, this constant transformation inevitably leads to alienation and a sense of disconnection.
The chorus “Love Song” is repeated throughout the song, but it’s ambiguous if it’s a sincere declaration or a cynical comment on the band’s attempt to create a hit. The repetition of “Stay below it” suggests that the band is aware of the need to stay grounded and not get carried away with their success, but they also seem frustrated by the limitations of their position. The song ends with the phrase “On and on and”, which suggests that the struggle to maintain authenticity, while trying to be successful, is never ending.
Line by Line Meaning
In coats of many colour
Present in multiple variations and shades
Reptile man drop
A shedding of skin to reveal a different self
Stay below it [Repeat: x4]
Remain hidden and out of sight
Temperature drop
A sudden change in atmosphere and mood
America's a boyfriend
A distant and unattainable ideal
Untouched by flesh of hand
Inaccessible and beyond reach
Heartbeat under [Repeat: x4]
A passionate desire kept hidden and suppressed
Some promised land
A place of hope and aspiration, but not necessarily real
Love song [Repeat: x4]
A song of love and devotion
Flesh of heart
The emotional depth of one's being
Heart of steel
An unwavering strength and resilience
So well so well
A sense of security and confidence
I cut my hair
A symbolic act of change and transformation
Paint my face
A way to hide and cover up one's true self
Break a finger
A painful sacrifice made for love
Tell a lie
A deception made to protect oneself or someone else
America's a boyfriend
The same distant and unattainable ideal as before
Stay below it
The same desire to remain hidden and out of sight
Stay below
Repeat of the desire to stay hidden and out of sight
In glory days that come and go
Times of triumph and success that are fleeting
Love song [Repeat: x4]
Repeated declaration of love and devotion
Stay below
Another call to remain hidden and out of sight
Shout below
Expressing the desire to be heard despite staying hidden
Flesh of heart
Reiteration of the emotional depth of one's being
Heart of steel
Reiteration of the unwavering strength and resilience
Love song
Final repetition of the song of love and devotion
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Dillon Acklins, Jameds Castor, Jamahl Kaleel Hanna, Harold W Lee, Johnny Pruitt, Dante Smith, Jerry Thomas
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Roland Danielsson
TOP 10
Simple Minds
01. Love Song
02. Don't You
03. I Travel
04. Glittering Prize
05. Promised You A Miracle
06. New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84)
07. Somewhere In Summertime
08. Alive And Kicking
09. Mandela Day
10. Sanctify Yourself
CHABBO
Love Song Lyrics
[Verse 1]
In coats of many colour
Reptile man drop
Stay below it, stay below it
Stay below it, stay below it
Temperature drop
America's a boyfriend
Untouched by flesh of hand
Heartbeat under, heartbeat under
Heartbeat under, heartbeat under
Some promised land
[Hook]
Love song
Love song
Love song
Love song
On and on and
On and on and
[Verse 2]
Flesh of heart, heart of steel
So well, so well
I cut my hair, paint my face
Break a finger, tell a lie
So well, so well
America's a boyfriend
Untouched by flesh of hand
Stay below it, stay below
In glory days that come and go
Some promised land
[Hook]
[Verse 3]
Stay below
Shout below
Flesh of heart
Heart of steel
Flesh of heart
Heart of steel
Flesh of heart
Heart of steel
Flesh of heart
Heart of steel
[Hook]
Love song
Love song
Love song
A love song
[Verse 4]
Stay below
Shout below
In glory days
That come and go
Stay below
Shout below
In glory days
That come and go
[Hook]
DJI chris64
You know, one of the best things about being in my 50's now is that I lived my teenage years in the 80's..........Priceless and I wouldn't change them for the world!
Eirene30
Exactly feel the same as I’m in my 52s!😊
Mortis xx
The beginning of the 80's was a New Gold Dream
panicmerchants
Totally agree it was a very fun time
Robert Tripp
Still a tuff song as I’m in 50’s and still love it, best to listen to this when your walking or jogging whether early or late at night 🇦🇺
Antonio Villafranca
yes Sir, I would not mind to be an older guy, as long as I had lived through the 1950s and especially the 1980s.
the 80s had the best music, fashion, movies, etc. I can only fantasize about being a young man in those golden years of music!
Luis Avina
Guys, believe it or not, I just randomly clicked on this song this morning, and I’ve been playing it over and over all day, what a FANTASTIC song!!!!😍
V Hayes
Really glad you discovered it my friend. Have you heard the extended edition with the different, more drawn out ending? I would also urge you to look into - if you haven't already - New Gold Dream 81 82 83 84. Their finest album hands down. Hunter and the Hunted is pure genius. Give it a few listens. Let it seep into your soul.
flugsven
This was the first song I ever heard with Simple Minds, so I was late to the party. (And jumped off when Forbes left/were ousted) They were amazing!
Dominic Portelli
Great band! Search out more.