The Church is an alternative rock band which formed in Sydney, Australia in… Read Full Bio ↴The Church is an alternative rock band which formed in Sydney, Australia in 1980. Initially linked in with neo-psychedelia acts of the period, their music later became largely defined by the interplay of guitarists Marty Willson-Piper and Peter Koppes coupled with the abstract lyrics of bassist/singer Steve Kilbey. Their debut album, Of Skins and Heart (1981), earned them their first radio hit "The Unguarded Moment". They were originally signed to EMI's Parlophone label, but record company dissatisfaction led to them being dropped overseas, which limited their exposure early on.

After signing to Arista in 1988, they saw their largest international success with the album Starfish and the American Top 40 hit "Under The Milky Way" which resurfaced on the soundtrack of the cult movie "Donnie Darko". Whilst the band remain feted by their peers, subsequent commercial success proved elusive: 1990s follow-up album "Gold Afternoon Fix" failed to capitalise on their success, and the band weathered several line-up changes after its release, first losing long-term drummer Richard Ploog, then Peter Koppes following 1992s "Priest = Aura". That album baffled and confused many fans upon its release as to what band The Church was considered to be, but is now considered a seminal album and one of the most revered by Church connoisseurs. The vacant drum-stool on Priest=Aura being occupied by Jay Dee Daugherty of Arista labelmate Patti Smiths group, and it was produced by Gavin MacKillop of Moose.

Reduced to a two-piece, Kilbey & Willson-Piper re-grouped with the assistance of drummer/producer Tim Powles to record 1994's "Sometime Anywhere", concluding their obligations to the Arista and Mushroom labels. The commercial decline, combined with the Church being ignored again by a music press more focused on the Nineties' music trends, could have brought about the demise of the band, had it not coincided with the breakthrough of the internet, thus enabling direct communication from the band to its passionate cult fanbase.

This brought about a new beginning for The Church, with Peter Koppes rejoining the band for recording 1996s "Magician Among The Spirits". The band (with Koppes back into the fold, and Powles now as the permanent drummer ), hit a re-newed creative surge and with regained selfconfidence, released "Hologram Of Baal" 2 years later, and toured Australia, the USA and Europe.

The first decade of the 21st century found the band releasing severeal highly critically acclaimed albums, like 2002's aptly named "After Everything Now this" and 2003's "Forget Yourself", the latter breaking new ground with bandmembers swapping instruments in the recording process. Live performances stray from high profile events like the 03 concerts at Sydney Opera House and the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, to low-profile gigs for smaller audiences, often confusing old 80s fans, surprised to find the band still playing, wrongly assuming the band just being one in the never-ending string of reunion acts.

2009's album "Untitled#23" marked yet another highlight.. its essence represented in just 10 songs, and with a strong less-is-more approach, the albums core identity being on par with Starfish, it also finds Steve Kilbey breaking new ground as a vocalist.

2010 saw their 30th anniversary, with extensive touring in the US and Australia. Their unique position and importance in the australian music scene was recognized with an ARIA award.

Their album, "Further Deeper", was released in 2014, and "man woman life death infinity" in 2017.

In A Heartbeat
The Church Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Your room is damp, your love's turning cold
Where is the meaning I thought we could hold
I can't believe what's happened to you
I stand back and watch, there's nothing I can do
Poetry, a delicious joke
All your flame going up in smoke
Just once more, just once again
If I ever get caught here, you'll know who to blame

In a heartbeat and a heartbeat's all that it takes
In a heartbeat see your heartbreak
I play some records but the words are too strange
I call you sometimes but your number's been changed

I will remember every smile and tear
But when I listen to you I don't want to hear

Overall Meaning

The Church's enigmatic lyrics in "In a Heartbeat" speak of the disappointment and heartbreak that come from a relationship's disintegration. The song's opening lines set a tone of despair; the room described as damp symbolizes the cooling emotions in the relationship, the lack of a current goal for their relationship, and the prevailing sense of loss. The lyrics echo the sense of abandonment that comes with a partner's withdrawal of emotion, leaving the other partner drowning in feelings of confusion and distress.

The singer's inability to make sense of what is happening leaves him feeling powerless to help the one he loves who is clearly pulling away. The singer attempts to reconcile the relationship, yet his partner seems to reject his efforts, resulting in the desire he expresses to be anywhere but there. The illusion that poetry is a "delicious joke" points to their inability to achieve intimacy in their relationship, as they cannot appreciate the same things that once bound them together. Through the lines, "Just once more, just once again/If I ever get caught here, you'll know who to blame," the singer appears to be expressing a last-ditch effort to save the relationship, while at the same time distancing himself emotionally from his partner. The last lines of the song reveal a sense of sadness or nostalgia about their relationship's happier times, as the singer reflects upon the memories they shared.

Line by Line Meaning

Your room is damp, your love's turning cold
Your physical and emotional surroundings are dark and bleak; your love for me is dwindling.

Where is the meaning I thought we could hold
I am wondering why the love and relationship we shared seems to have lost its significance.

I can't believe what's happened to you
I am having trouble accepting the changes I see in you and how they have affected your feelings toward me.

I stand back and watch, there's nothing I can do
I feel powerless to change the situation and can only observe your emotional distance from me.

Poetry, a delicious joke
Our romantic words and gestures now seem hollow and meaningless to you, like a twisted humor.

All your flame going up in smoke
The passion and love you once had for me is now dissipating and disappearing like smoke in the air.

Just once more, just once again
I yearn for another chance to reignite the lost emotions and romance we once had.

If I ever get caught here, you'll know who to blame
If I can't move on from the heartbreak and continue to dwell in my emotions for you, it is my fault.

In a heartbeat and a heartbeat's all that it takes
Sometimes changes in emotions and love happen in an instant, without warning.

In a heartbeat see your heartbreak
The pain of heartbreak can happen suddenly or as quickly as a heartbeat.

I play some records but the words are too strange
The songs and music that once held meaning for our relationship now sound unfamiliar and different to me.

I call you sometimes but your number's been changed
My attempts to connect with you are becoming increasingly futile and your disconnect from me is evident.

I will remember every smile and tear
I will cherish the memories both happy and sad that we shared, no matter the outcome of our relationship.

But when I listen to you I don't want to hear
Despite my love for you, I cannot bear to hear anymore of your emotional distance and rejection.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: KILBEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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