Influenced by Tim Buckley (whose 1970 album gave the band their name), Van Morrison, and Neil Young, they played their first London show at the Heavenly Social in April 2000. At the same time, a demo tape containing the tracks "Fever," "Coming Down," and "Love Is Here" began circulating rapidly around the music industry. By the summer there was a queue of record companies to sign the nascent band. EMI won the race for their signature. After spending January 2001 on an NME-sponsored tour with JJ72 and Amen, Starsailor released their debut single, "Fever," to unanimous critical praise.
A sold-out headline U.K. tour at the end of March preceded the release of their second single, "Good Souls," in April. Once again it was ecstatically received and reached the Top 20. As the single was released, the band went to Wales to record their debut album. They re-emerged in June to begin a summer of festival appearances sandwiched between an American tour supporting Doves and a couple of headline dates of their own.
After achieving their first U.K. Top Ten hit with the single "Alcoholic," Starsailor's debut album, Love Is Here, was released in September 2001 to much critical fanfare, and a European tour closed out a highly successful year. The following year kicked off with the American release of Love Is Here in January, and a few weeks on the road for a brief North American tour, ending with a performance at the SXSW festival in March. Their sophomore album, Silence Is Easy, followed in 2004.
Starsailor released their third album, On The Outside, in the UK on 17 October 2005 along with the first single from the album, "In The Crossfire".
Their song, "Way To Fall" was featured (during the ending sequence) in the blockbuster Playstation 2 video game, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater
"All The Plans" was released March 9, 2009, in the UK.
Lead singer, James Walsh began to work on a solo project at the end of 2009. In November 13, 2009 it was officially announced by Lancashire Evening Post that Starsailor was on hold and that James Walsh was concentrating on his solo career. In an interview with VirtualFestivals.com he stated that at this moment he was working on his first solo album and that he was writing the lyrics with American songwriter and singer Suzanne Vega.
Starsailor announced their reunion on 23 May 2014 and began performing worldwide. Good Souls: The Greatest Hits was released in September 2015, and featured two new songs. A fifth studio album All This Life was released in 2017.
More can be found on their official website: http://www.starsailorband.co.uk/
Alcoholic
Starsailor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And your Daddy was an alcoholic
But your mother kept it all inside
Threw it all away
I was looking for another you
And I found another one
I was looking for another you
When I looked round you were gone
And the pipe dream is yours now
Stay by my side
And the singer won't get in our way
Don't you know you've got your Daddy's eyes
And your Daddy was an alcoholic
But your mother kept it all inside
Threw it all away
I was looking for another you
And I found another one
I was looking for another you
When I looked round you were gone
Stay by my side
And the pipe dream is yours now
Stay by my side
And the cynics won't get in our way
Don't you know you've got your Daddy's eyes
And your Daddy was an alcoholic
But your mother kept it all inside
Threw it all away
I was looking for another chance
To see your blue eyed problem
The opening lines of Starsailor's Alcoholic indicate that the song is about toxic generational patterns, specifically those caused by addiction. The singer addresses the person they are singing to by telling them they have their daddy's eyes, and then pointing out that their dad was an alcoholic. The line "But your mother kept it all inside / Threw it all away" speaks to the idea that the family lived with the father's addiction without confronting it. The next line is repeated twice, indicating that the singer was looking for someone else, and found them, but when they looked round, the person they originally addressed was gone.
The chorus expresses the hope that the person who left will come back, stay by the singer's side, and not let cynics or the "singer" get in the way. The "pipe dream" mentioned may refer to the idea that the singer's hope for a better future is unrealistic, or simply that they want to dream about something better without it becoming a reality. In the end, the singer is still searching for a chance to understand the person they addressed in the beginning, despite the challenges.
Overall, the song is about the struggle to escape the generational patterns that come from addiction and difficult family dynamics, and the hope that comes with finding someone who understands that struggle and is willing to stay by your side.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't you know you've got your Daddy's eyes
The singer is addressing someone and telling them that they resemble their father.
And your Daddy was an alcoholic
The singer reveals that the person they are addressing has an alcoholic father.
But your mother kept it all inside
The singer implies that the person's mother kept their father's alcoholism a secret.
Threw it all away
The singer laments the fact that the person's mother didn't seek help for their father's alcoholism and instead chose to ignore it.
I was looking for another you
The singer was searching for someone who reminded them of the person they are addressing.
And I found another one
The singer found someone who resembled the person they were looking for.
I was looking for another you
The singer was still searching for the person they were originally looking for.
When I looked round you were gone
The person the singer is addressing has left or disappeared.
Stay by my side
The singer is asking the person to stay with them and not leave.
And the pipe dream is yours now
The singer suggests that the person can have the unrealistic dreams they once shared together.
Stay by my side
The singer repeats the request for the person to not leave them.
And the singer won't get in our way
The singer assures the person that other external factors, such as their dreams, won't interfere with their relationship.
Don't you know you've got your Daddy's eyes
The singer repeats the observation that the person resembles their father.
And your Daddy was an alcoholic
The singer reminds the person that their father struggled with alcoholism.
But your mother kept it all inside
The singer repeats the implication that the person's mother kept their father's alcoholism a secret.
Threw it all away
The singer repeats the lament that the person's mother didn't seek help for their father's alcoholism.
I was looking for another chance
The singer is still searching for an opportunity to connect with the person they are addressing.
To see your blue eyed problem
The singer wants to understand the person's issues or struggles, represented by their 'blue eyes' as a metaphor.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: BARRY WESTHEAD, BENJAMIN BYRNE, JAMES STELFOX, JAMES WALSH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@michalislagoudakis4201
Don't you know you've got your Daddy's eyes
And your Daddy was an alcoholic
But your mother kept it all inside
Threw it all away
I was looking for another you
And I found another one
I was looking for another you
When I looked round you were gone
Stay by my side
And the pipe dream is yours now
Stay by my side
And the singer won't get in our way
Don't you know you've got your Daddy's eyes
And your Daddy was an alcoholic
But your mother kept it all inside
Threw it all away
I was looking for another you
And I found another one
I was looking for another you
When I looked round you were gone
Stay by my side
And the pipe dream is yours now
Stay by my side
And the cynics won't get in our way
Don't you know you've got your Daddy's eyes
And your Daddy was an alcoholic
But your mother kept it all inside
Threw it all away
I was looking for another chance
To see your blue eyed problem
@MrAnderson321
A hugely underrated band . Their first album is one of the greatest of the last 20 years but criminally never figures in any 'top' lists.
@rossfripp4503
Totally agree. They are one of my favourite bands. I don't think they have released a bad album. Their latest album "All This Life" is absolutely magnificent. For me, it certainly rivals their debut album.
@christopherjolly3556
@@rossfripp4503 im a mad old skool ravey hardcore head haha but ive seen starsailor twice in glasgow years ago and they were class
@soundsofthepeople
@@Dan-ug2wz λλλλλ
@dragonpulquero947
So true
@pompeymik
Saw them live, but the second tour, loved the first album, this is beautiful 👍
@JM-sv2vu
I'm an acholic and cocaine addict I've been clean and sober for over 6 years now but everyday is a battle with addiction but I keep fighting and music is my therapy.
@williamsommerville2199
good on you keep it up just lost my mate thru drink
@JM-sv2vu
@@williamsommerville2199 thank you mate and I'm sorry for your loss addiction of all kinds is terrible but I keep fighting
@rybak908
Congrats on your 6 years, keep on going :)