1. The Call were a San… Read Full Bio ↴There are three bands with the name The Call.
1. The Call were a San Francisco Bay Area-based rock band originally formed in Santa Cruz in 1980 by vocalist/guitarist Michael Been, Scott Musick, and Tom Ferrier. Despite support from such luminaries as Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, and Jim Kerr, the band never achieved the success they deserved.
The eponymous premiere album was recorded in England, and Michael Been later recalled that the band was in an exploratory phase at this point. Been noted in a 1988 interview, "The Call was a compassionate album, but it probably came out as anger." Peter Gabriel liked the band so much that he asked them to open for him during his 1982 "Shock the Monkey" tour.
The next album, Modern Romans, was notable for its political content. Been later stated, "There was a great deal happening politically - Grenada, Lebanon, or the government saying the Russians are evil and the Russian government probably saying the same about us. That kind of thinking inspired me to write the last lines of 'Walls Came Down'."
This was followed by Scene Beyond Dreams. Been has referred to it as The Call's "metaphysical" album. With a strong poetic sense to the lyrics and a change in instrumentation, the change in sound is notable. Garth Hudson of The Band played keyboards on these first three records.
Reconciled was recorded during the summer of 1985. At this point, the band had not had a recording contract for two years, due to what Been describes as "legal bickering" between The Call's former record label and their management company. However, once the deal was signed with Elektra Records, the band resumed playing and produced their most commercially successful album to date. Peter Gabriel, Simple Minds's Jim Kerr, and Hudson and former Band mate Robbie Robertson all guested the album which was released in 1986. Several tracks from the album became hits on the Mainstream Rock Chart, and one of these tracks, "I Still Believe" was re-recorded by Tim Capello and appears on the soundtracks of the 1986 Movie The Whoopee Boys and the 1987 movie The Lost Boys.
Next came the band's 1987 release Into The Woods, which Been has referred to as his favorite album.
In 1989 they released Let the Day Begin, whose title track reached #1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart. Red Moon, which included background vocals by U2's Bono, was released in 1990.
During the next few years, Been branched out creatively. He participated in composing and performing the music to Paul Schrader's 1992 film Light Sleeper. The film also features two of his songs, To Feel This Way and World On Fire. In 1994, he recorded a solo album, On the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough
In 1996, Warner Bros. Records. released The Best of The Call, which featured a selection of old favorites and few new songs. Two of the songs, Us and To Feel This Way, were different versions of tracks later to be seen on Been’s solo album, and in the case of "To Feel This Way", the "Light Sleeper" soundtrack as well.
In 1997 To Heaven and Back, was released by Fingerprint Records. This was followed by a live album, Live Under the Red Moon, in 2000.
The band is not currently touring. The band had a fan club called "Notified" and the information contained in their newsletters is in the file section of the Yahoo! groups list.
Al Gore used "Let The Day Begin" as his campaign song in the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election and Tom Vilsack used it as his song during his brief 2008 U.S. Presidential Election campaign.
Michael Been has appeared as a sideman in bands fronted by actor Harry Dean Stanton; Stanton having played harmonica on "Let The Day Begin" track "For Love". He played the apostle John in Martin Scorsese's 1988 feature film The Last Temptation of Christ and has some film credits.
Been's son, Robert Levon Been, is the frontman for Black Rebel Motorcycle Club. Michael Been is heavily involved in BRMC, as their sound engineer, and can be found on tour with them.
Michael Been died on August 19th 2010 on a Belgian festival (Pukkelpop) during his work for BRMC.
2. The Call are a black metal band from France.
3. The Call are band from Ripon, North Yorkshire, UK
4. The Call was a Lo-fi project from Czech Republic, visit http://bandzone.cz/thecall
Family
The Call Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I was so in awe
The stories you told me the way you would hold me
I felt so small
You were the best of all
Then we watched you fall
Hard to believe we could all be deceived
Choices you made, we all felt betrayed
And time stood still
But the past is done
We were very young
Father, oh you've got to be strong
Mother don't cry
I know that you tried
Please be strong
Lord I was shaken, Heartsick and vacant
And filled with doubt
Trapped in a cage, I became so enraged
I would fight to get out
Were we all to blame
I felt such shame
Father, you've got to be strong
Mother don't cry
You know that we've tried
Please be strong
Now that I'm grown with a child of my own
I reflect on the years
The love that was lost, we all paid a cost
With a life filled with tears
Oh but I loved you dear
Let us move from here
Oh father, you've got to be strong
Mother don't cry
You know that we've tried
Please be strong
Oh sister don't cry
You know that we've tried and tried
The Call's song "Family" tells a story of family betrayal and the aftermath of it. The song begins with the singer reminiscing about the good times spent with the family, sitting at the feet of the father, listening to the stories he told. But as time passes, the family falls apart due to some choices that the father made, which left everyone feeling betrayed. The singer speaks of how he felt lost and disconnected, trapped in a cage and filled with rage. Despite feeling ashamed, he still loved his family and wanted everyone to move past the hurt and start anew.
"Family" is a powerful song that speaks of the pain and hurt that come with betrayal from a family member. The lyrics highlight how something like this can affect a person's life and leave them feeling broken and empty. The song also emphasizes the importance of forgiveness and family unity, urging the father and mother to be strong and not give up on their family.
Line by Line Meaning
As a young child I would walk at your feet
As a young child, I used to admire you deeply, and I would follow wherever you went.
I was so in awe
I was so impressed and fascinated by you.
The stories you told me, the way you would hold me
I loved listening to your stories, and I felt so loved and cared for when you held me.
I felt so small
Being around you made me feel small, but in a good way, as if you were so much greater than I could ever be.
You were the best of all
To me, you were the most wonderful person in the world, and nothing could change that impression.
Then we watched you fall
But as time went on, we witnessed you make mistakes and experience trouble, and it broke our hearts.
Hard to believe we could all be deceived
It was difficult to accept that even you, whom we had regarded as infallible, were capable of being misled and making poor choices.
They were tender years
At that time, we were all young and vulnerable, and it made it especially hard when things didn't go as we'd hoped.
Choices you made, we all felt betrayed
The decisions you took left us feeling disappointed and hurt, as if you had broken our trust.
And time stood still
It felt as if there was no escape from the pain we were experiencing, and that it would last forever.
But the past is done
Nevertheless, we know that what's happened in the past will never change, and that all we can do is move on.
We were very young
We recognize now that, at the time, we didn't understand everything that was happening, and that we were perhaps too young to really appreciate it all.
Father, oh you've got to be strong
Even though it may be difficult, we need you to be a source of strength and stability for us.
Mother don't cry
Please don't let your emotions show too much, as we need reassurance and positivity from you as well.
I know that you tried
We know that you both have done everything you could to take care of us and make us happy.
Please be strong
All we ask is that you continue to be the pillars of support and guidance that we need from you.
Lord I was shaken, Heartsick and vacant
When we faced these difficult times, we felt deeply upset and confused, as if the world had turned upside down.
And filled with doubt
It seemed as if we couldn't trust anything, as everything we'd known and held dear had been shaken by these events.
Trapped in a cage, I became so enraged
We felt as if we were stuck in a difficult situation that we couldn't escape from, and it made us incredibly angry and upset.
I would fight to get out
We wished we could free ourselves from the pain and confusion, and find some sort of peace and happiness.
Were we all to blame
Even though we know that there were external factors that caused these events, we couldn't help but wonder if we had somehow contributed or been responsible for it.
I felt such shame
All the negative feelings that we had about ourselves and the situation, made us feel ashamed and guilty.
Now that I'm grown with a child of my own
As I've grown up and have started my own family, I've taken the lessons I learned and the example you set, and applied it to my own life.
I reflect on the years
Looking back on the past, I have mixed emotions and memories, some of them difficult, but others bringing me joy and nostalgia.
The love that was lost, we all paid a cost
The difficulties we faced robbed us of the love and joy that we should have experienced, and all of us had to pay the price for that loss.
With a life filled with tears
Those difficult moments caused deep wounds, the scars of which still remain and bring tears to our eyes, even today.
Oh but I loved you dear
Regardless of any challenges we may have faced or the mistakes we made, I still hold a deep and abiding love for you both.
Let us move from here
Instead of dwelling on the pain of the past, let's turn our eyes toward the future and work together to create a better future for ourselves.
Oh father, you've got to be strong
Even though we're grown now, we still need you to be our rock and stay strong for us.
Oh sister don't cry
We all need to support one another and stand together, so that we can get through anything that comes our way.
You know that we've tried and tried
We recognize that we've all put in effort and done our best to overcome the difficulties of the past, and we're proud of ourselves and each other for doing so.
Contributed by Victoria B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.