Hailing from Manchester, indie rock quartet Courteeners received regular co… Read Full Bio ↴Hailing from Manchester, indie rock quartet Courteeners received regular comparisons in the U.K. press to the leading lights of three previous waves of Mancunian Brit-pop: the Smiths, the Stone Roses, and Oasis. The band's alternately jangly and bombastic brand of indie guitar rock bears the influence of all three acts, as well as comparisons to contemporaries like Kasabian, Editors, and Kaiser Chiefs. They debuted in the late 2000s with the hit album St. Jude, evolving over the years by incorporating synth pop and dance grooves on albums such as 2013's Anna and 2020's More. Again. Forever.

Featuring vocalist Liam Fray, lead guitarist Daniel "Conan" Moores, and drummer Michael Campbell, Courteeners formed in Manchester in 2006, when the 22-year-old Fray -- already known around town for his acoustic singer/songwriter gigs -- brought three of his childhood friends (including ex-bassist Mark Cupello) together to form a proper band. After signing to Loog Records, a pseudo-indie label owned by Polydor, the Courteeners released their limited-edition debut single, "Cavorting," in August 2007. Three more singles, "Acrylic," "What Took You So Long?," and "Not Nineteen Forever," dotted the charts between October 2007 and March 2008, prior to the release of the group's debut album. Produced by Stephen Street (celebrated for his work with the Smiths, Blur, and the Cranberries) and featuring Fray's painting of Audrey Hepburn on the cover, St. Jude was released in April 2008. The album reached number four in the U.K., where it also achieved gold status.

While touring in support of the record, the Courteeners began playing new material at select shows, much of which found its way onto 2010's Falcon, a slower, more ambitious set of songs. The band's third album, Anna, reflected an '80s synth pop influence and arrived in early 2013. In 2014, the Courteeners returned with their fourth studio album, Concrete Love, which found them building upon Anna's anthemic '80s-influenced sound. The album fared well, reaching number three on the U.K. albums chart. A year after Concrete Love, the group parted ways with bassist Cupello, replacing him with longtime collaborator and producer Joe Cross. In 2016, they released their fifth studio album, Mapping the Rendezvous. Featuring singles "The 17th" and "No One Will Ever Replace Us," the set peaked at number four in the U.K.

Celebrating the tenth anniversary of their debut in 2018, the Courteeners issued St. Jude Re:Wired, a reimagined vision of their 2008 breakthrough. They embarked on a celebratory concert run in England before returning to the studio for a proper follow-up to Rendezvous. Their sixth set, More. Again. Forever., arrived in early 2020 and came as a result of a dark period of uncertainty for Fray and the band. Featuring a distinctly dance-friendly sound influenced by LCD Soundsystem, the set focused on bass grooves and insightful lyrics that marked a late-era maturation for the crew.

Biography by Stewart Mason

Cavorting
The Courteeners Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Your club is full of over rated, dehydrated, goggled eyed girls,
And their trying to stare at me, but their eyes are rattling and they're struggling to see

And she can't stand still because of sixteen pills that
She's taken in the mini bus,
Her conscience followed her into the night, gave her mum a fright,
I said 'Fuck that it is her own fault for letting her out of her sight

And now you're too tired to eat, and you're too hungry to sleep,
You're hooligan on E and we're too tired to bother with any of you

Cavorting, and snorting your way through the band,
Get your hand out of my trouser leg,
We're turning up tonight but only to knock you down a peg or two

And now you're too tired to eat, and you're too hungry to sleep,
You're hooligan on E and we're too tired to bother with any of you

Your club is full of over rated, dehydrated, goggled eyed girls,
And their trying to stare at me, but their eyes are rattling and they're struggling to see

And now you're too tired to eat, and you're too hungry to sleep,
We're Gentlemen aren't we' and we're articulate to bother with any of you

Overall Meaning

The Courteeners' song "Cavorting" is a commentary on the nightclub culture and those who participate in it. The song highlights the superficiality and recklessness of those individuals who are "overrated, dehydrated, goggled-eyed" girls and "hooligans on E." The singer is critical of their behavior and their inability to control themselves, as exemplified by the girl who "can't stand still" because she took "sixteen pills."

The line "cavorting and snorting your way through the band" further emphasizes the reckless behavior of those in the nightclub scene. The singer seems to feel superior to them, using the phrase "we're gentlemen, aren't we?" to contrast their perceived maturity and level-headedness with the "hooligans on E." The phrase "get your hand out of my trouser leg" is a clear indication of the singer's discomfort with their behavior.

The overall tone of the song is critical and condescending, as the singer seems to view those in the nightclub culture as immature and lacking in self-control. The use of language such as "overrated," "struggling to see," and "hooligans" serves to further accentuate this attitude.

Line by Line Meaning

Your club is full of over rated, dehydrated, goggled eyed girls,
The club is full of girls who are overrated, dehydrated, and have bloodshot eyes due to excessive drinking

And their trying to stare at me, but their eyes are rattling and they're struggling to see
Despite trying to stare, their drunken state is making them shake, and they are unable to see properly

And she can't stand still because of sixteen pills that She's taken in the mini bus,
One of the girls cannot stand still due to the sixteen pills she has taken in the minibus

Her conscience followed her into the night, gave her mum a fright, I said 'Fuck that it is her own fault for letting her out of her sight
Her conscience warned her to not go out, which frightened her mother. However, the singer thinks that it's the girl's fault for going out

And now you're too tired to eat, and you're too hungry to sleep, You're hooligan on E and we're too tired to bother with any of you
The people at the club are too exhausted to eat, but too hungry to sleep. They are on ecstasy, and the singer doesn't think it's worth bothering with them

Cavorting, and snorting your way through the band, Get your hand out of my trouser leg, We're turning up tonight but only to knock you down a peg or two
People are behaving wildly and carelessly at the concert, and the singer wants them to stop touching him. They are only there to bring them back down to earth

We're Gentlemen aren't we' and we're articulate to bother with any of you
The singer is a gentleman and is too articulate to bother with the rowdy people at the club

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LIAM JAMES FRAY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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