The Television Personalities are an English post-punk group with a varying … Read Full Bio ↴The Television Personalities are an English post-punk group with a varying line up. The only constant member is singer/songwriter Dan Treacy.

Their first release (January 1978) was the single "14th Floor / Oxford Street W1". Their second release, the EP Where's Bill Grundy Now? features one of their best-known songs, "Part Time Punks".

The Television Personalities' first album And Don't the Kids Just Love It was released in 1981. It set the template for their subsequent career: neo-psychedelia, an obsession with youth culture of the 1960s, a fey, slightly camp lyrical attitude, and the occasional classic pop song. Their second album Mummy Your Not Watching Me [sic] demonstrated increased psychedelic influences. Their third album, ironically entitled They Could Have Been Bigger Than The Beatles showed Treacy's sense of irony: the TVPs (as they are affectionately known) were never to have any major commercial success. The first three albums featured Treacy and schoolmate Ed Ball; Ball left the band to found The Times, but rejoined in 2004.

The 1985 album The Painted Word was unexpectedly dark in content, reflecting Treacy's despair at Thatcherite Britain and his personal circumstances.

Various line up changes prevented their next album (Privilege) from appearing until 1990. Their next album Closer to God was a combination of fey sixties style pop and darker material, similar in tone to The Painted Word.

The album Don't Cry Baby, It's Only a Movie was released in 1998. Since then Treacy has battled mental health problems, and his addictions to heroin, amphetamine and alcohol. He has been homeless on various occasions and was briefly arrested and imprisoned in 2003/2004. However, since his release, Treacy has attempted to get his life back together and in February 2006 a new TVPs album My Dark Places was released. Despite their small sales the TVPs were very influential on British music in the 1980s, especially the so-called C86 generation and many of the bands on Creation Records.

In an article in The Guardian on April 24 2006, it was implied that Dan Treacy is in some way behind the Arctic Monkeys, although this is based on little more than a perceived similarity between their lyrical style and that of Treacy, and the fact that the lead singer of Arctic Monkeys is mysteriously not credited with their songwriting.[1]

In a Perfumed Garden
Television Personalities Lyrics

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I could happily spend
The rest of my life
In a perfumed garden
With you, with you

I'd invite all my friends
To stay a weekend
In a perfumed garden

With you, with you

That's too easy
Please let me stay

In the Summer I'd stay
In your garden all day
In a perfumed garden
With you, with you

It's so peaceful and warm
And I'd come to no harm
In a perfumed garden
With you, with you

That's too easy

Please let me stay

In the Summer I'd stay
In your garden all day
In a perfumed garden
With you, with you

But I don't envy you
Or the things that you do
In a perfumed garden
With you, with you

I could happily spend
The rest of my life

In a perfumed garden
With you, with you

Overall Meaning

The song "In a Perfumed Garden" by Television Personalities is a romantic and dreamy tune about finding a perfect and peaceful place to spend the rest of one's life with someone they love. The lyrics express a desire to stay in a fragrant garden forever, with the one they hold dear. The singer's description of the garden as peaceful and warm, coupled with the desire to invite friends to stay for a long weekend, create a sense of comfort and belonging.

The repeating statement, "That's too easy, please let me stay", seems to express a fear of losing this paradise. It may also suggest a sense of unworthiness or disbelief that such a perfect situation could exist. While the singer desires the garden, they do not envy the person who lives there or the life they lead. This further emphasizes the contentment of the singer with their partner, and the fact that the garden is just a backdrop for their love.

Overall, the lyrics to "In a Perfumed Garden" are straightforward and express a strong desire to stay in a place of beauty and peace with a loved one. The words paint an idyllic picture of a perfect life spent in the company of someone special.

Line by Line Meaning

I could happily spend
I would be content to live

The rest of my life
For my entire lifetime

In a perfumed garden
Within a fragrant, floral paradise

With you, with you
By your side

I'd invite all my friends
I would extend an invitation to all my acquaintances

To stay a weekend
To visit and reside for a brief duration

That's too easy
It is an effortless undertaking

Please let me stay
Permit me to remain

In the Summer I'd stay
During the summer season I would linger

In your garden all day
For the entire day within your garden

It's so peaceful and warm
The atmosphere is tranquil and pleasant