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)
ONCE UPON A TIME
Simple Minds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yes you speak to me tonight
And you say so, say so
That once upon a time
When love, love was a white dove
And hope, long live hope, could spin the whole world 'round
I'm talking east to west
Get up to the mountain top
I'm going to drop unto the ground
That's once upon a time
You raise me up when I know you're around
But God only knows, what God only knows
You lift me up and you spin me around
God only knows, but God only knows
That's time
Time looked around herself
Time got excited
That's when we all got started
Still I hear you, yes still you speak to me tonight
You say then how come out of love, is all this cruelty arising?
Well I said, look, well will you look at you, you're frightened
I see that you smile through weariness
But there is not much else enlightened
Well, that's a question down to time
You lift me up when I know you're around
God only knows, God only knows
Still you raise me up when I know you're around
God only knows, God only knows
That's time
The Simple Minds’s song Once Upon a Time is a narrative about how time can be the ultimate judge of a person's life. The song begins with someone speaking to the singer, and reminiscing about a time when love was as pure as a white dove and hope spun the whole world around. The lyrics then go on to describe a sense of lost and found, with the singer determined to reach the mountain top and drop to the ground. The song highlights that this longing for an experience in the past is the strong, ever-present sense that hounds us all. The song is a dirge for the past, but also a rallying cry to accept the inevitability of time.
The chorus of the song is about someone lifting up the singer, who knows that they are around, and God only knows what it means, but it happens every time. Time is also a constant motif in the song, and the lyrics suggest that it is a powerful, unstoppable force that gets all of us started. The second half of the song suggests a conversation, where the singer is asked, "how come out of love, all this cruelty is arising." The singer responds, saying that the person asking is scared, and that they smile through their weariness, but there is little else that is enlightened.
In conclusion, Simple Mind’s “Once Upon a Time” is a musing on the power of time, and how it can shroud everything in both anxiety and uncertainty. The song suggests that time is the ultimate judge of a person's life, and that all we can do is celebrate the moments of beauty, love, and hope that it offers.
Line by Line Meaning
And you
Addressing someone or something.
Yes you speak to me tonight
You communicate with me in this moment.
And you say so, say so
You are firmly stating something to me.
That once upon a time
At some point in past history.
When love, love was a white dove
At a time when love was pure and innocent.
And hope, long live hope, could spin the whole world 'round
When hope was so strong that it could change the entire world.
I'm talking east to west
I am discussing everything and everywhere, in all directions.
I'm talking lost and found
I am discussing things that were once missing, but now found.
Get up to the mountain top
Go to a high place where you can see things from a different perspective.
I'm going to drop unto the ground
I will fall to the ground with a realization.
You raise me up when I know you're around
You make me feel better when you are near me.
But God only knows, what God only knows
Only a higher power knows what the future holds.
You lift me up and you spin me around
You make me feel energetic and alive.
That's once upon a time
That's how things were in the past.
God only knows, but God only knows
Only God knows what will happen.
Time looked around herself
Time took stock of all that had happened.
Time got excited
Time became hopeful about the future.
That's when we all got started
That's when everything began.
Still I hear you, yes still you speak to me tonight
I can still hear your voice, even now.
You say then how come out of love, is all this cruelty arising?
You question why there is so much cruelty despite love.
Well I said, look, well will you look at you, you're frightened
I respond by pointing out how scared you are.
I see that you smile through weariness
I notice that you seem tired but are still trying to stay positive.
But there is not much else enlightened
However, there is not much else that is positive or optimistic.
Well, that's a question down to time
That is a question that will only be answered over time.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CHARLES BURCHILL, JAMES KERR, MICHAEL MACNEIL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind