The band has issued 10 studio albums: "Ping Pong over the Abyss" (1982), "All Fall Down" (1984), "The Seventy Sevens" (1987), "Sticks and Stones" (1990), "Pray Naked" (1992), "Drowning with Land in Sight" (1994), "Tom Tom Blues" (1995), "Late" (2000), "A Golden Field of Radioactive Crows" (2001), and "Holy Ghost Building" (2008).
Frames Without Photographs
The 77's Lyrics
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Staring out a window pane
Sitting on an unmade bed
Thinking with an un-madeup mind
About the things I can't forget
You've gone but you never left
And now I'm only a frame
If only once someone
Someone would fill me up
How can I bear
This nightmare that I cannot tear
From the everyday I wear
Over and over
Like a B-movie
The kind you wouldn't want to see
And now I'm only a frame
A frame without a photograph
If only once someone
Someone would fill me up
I am only a frame
A frame without a photograph
Fill me up
Fill me up
Fill me up
Fill me up
I've got a need to be met
By someone that I've not met yet
I've got shadows, I've got silhouettes
But haven't the frame nor the framework
I am only a frame
A frame without a photograph
If only once someone
Someone would fill me up
The lyrics to The 77's's song "Frames Without Photographs" convey a sense of loneliness and emptiness. The singer is in a state of reflection, staring out of a window and thinking about the things they can't forget. Despite the fact that the person they were with has left, they feel as if they've never really left and their absence has left a void. They describe themselves as only a frame without a photograph, signifying that they feel incomplete without someone to fill their life with meaning. The repetition of "fill me up" at the end of the song emphasizes their need for someone to come into their life and complete them.
The lyrics create a vivid picture of someone struggling to come to terms with their loneliness and longing for someone to fill the void in their life. Through their words, we experience their sense of detachment and emptiness, and sense their desperate need for someone to come along and make them whole again. The imagery of an unmade bed and an un-made up mind further emphasizes the singer's sense of disarray and confusion.
Line by Line Meaning
Lonely mess
Feeling lonely and lost
Staring out a window pane
Looking out into the world with no clear direction
Sitting on an unmade bed
In a state of disarray and confusion
Thinking with an un-madeup mind
Not sure of what to think or feel
About the things I can't forget
Haunted by memories of the past
You've gone but you never left
Still feeling the presence of someone who is gone
And now I'm only a frame
Feeling incomplete and empty
A frame without a photograph
Missing an essential part of oneself
If only once someone
Wishing for a connection with someone else
Someone would fill me up
Longing for someone to complete and fulfill them
How can I bear
Unable to cope with the pain
This nightmare that I cannot tear
Unable to escape from the negative feelings
From the everyday I wear
Constantly burdened by these emotions
Over and over
Continuously experiencing these feelings
Like a B-movie
Feeling like an insignificant, unimportant character in their own story
The kind you wouldn't want to see
Feeling unimportant and unwanted
Fill me up
Asking for someone to make them feel complete
I've got a need to be met
Feeling a strong desire for something
By someone that I've not met yet
Believing that someone they have not yet met can fulfill their needs
I've got shadows, I've got silhouettes
Living with the memory of what they have lost
But haven't the frame nor the framework
Feeling like they are missing an essential part of themselves
Contributed by Carson P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.