Neil Hannon, Originally from Derry, has been the only ever-present member of the band, being its founder in 1989 when he was joined by John McCullagh and Kevin Traynor. Their first album, the heavily R.E.M.-influenced and now-deleted Fanfare for the Comic Muse, enjoyed little success though. A couple of equally unsuccessful EPs - Timewatch (1991); Europop (1992) - were to follow, with newly-recruited member John Allen handling lead vocals on some tracks. After the commercial failure of the latter EP, this line-up soon fell apart.
Hannon, however, was not deterred in his efforts and re-appeared in 1993 with Liberation. Featuring a fairly diverse musical outlook that goes from the tongue-in-cheek synth pop of Europop(nearly unrecognisable from the previously-released version) to the classical stylings of Timewatching.
Indeed, it was only some minor success in France that really enabled Hannon to proceed to his second effort Promenade. Released in 1994, this was heavily driven by classical influences, with Michael Nyman's stylings clearly an influence. Hannon himself acknowledged this when he apparently sent a copy of his new album to the composer, jokingly asking him not to sue. Essentially a concept album about a day spent by two lovers, it also received similar critical acclaim to that which Liberation was afforded. Commercial success, though, was not forthcoming.
At around the same time, Hannon also wrote and performed the theme music for the TV sitcom Father Ted (which would subsequently be incorporated into the song Songs of Love on the album Casanova), and later wrote the music for the deliberately bad mock-Eurovision song My Lovely Horse for one episode. Hannon resisted widespread requests from fans to release the track as a single for the Christmas market, but it was eventually released in 1999 as the third track on the CD-single Gin Soaked Boy. This would not be the only time they would be responsible for a TV theme, as In Pursuit Of Happiness was also used by the BBC science and technology show, Tomorrow's World. Hannon also recently composed the music for the comedy series "The IT Crowd".
The album Casanova (1996), and in particular the single Something for the Weekend led to the band's first major successes, with Neil Hannon becoming a distinctive, albeit unlikely, popstar in an immaculate suit, and always appearing the elegant dandy. At the height of their commercial success, the band put out A Short Album About Love (a reference to the Krzysztof Kieślowski movie A Short Film About Love), recorded live at soundcheck with the Brunel Ensemble in preparation for a concert at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, from which several songs were released as b-sides. It was aptly released on Valentine's Day in 1997. Subsequently, the band contributed a reworking of Noel Coward's I've Been to a Marvellous Party to a compilation of covers of the writer's songs, with Hannon affecting a Cowardesque lilt (albeit interspersed with an aggressive electronic musical backing).
The foppish image, but not the suit, was ditched for the more sombre album Fin De Siècle in 1998, although its biggest hit, the jaunty National Express, a song about the national coach operators, belied its more intimate, soul-searching tone. Maintaining the balance between these poles, 1999's Secret History - the Best of The Divine Comedy included a re-recording of Liberation track The Pop Singer's Fear of the Pollen Count and two new songs (Gin-Soaked Boy and Too Young to Die) alongside the band's main hits. In the same year, the band also collaborated with Tom Jones on a cover version of Portishead's All Mine, featured on his album Reload.
A serious side to the band was also in evidence in 2000's collaboration with Ute Lemper on her album Punishing Kiss, most of which featured The Divine Comedy as Lemper's backing band.
The 2001 album Regeneration attempted to remove the band still further from its association with comedy. Hannon hired famous producer Nigel Godrich to "remake" the band. Neil ditched the suit and donned the Britrock band image. However, the album was a greater critical than commercial success, and soon after its release it was announced that The Divine Comedy were splitting up. However within a year Hannon was touring again with a revised band line-up, playing a series of joint-headline gigs in the USA, UK and Ireland featuring both The Divine Comedy and Ben Folds, who would cover The Divine Comedy's Songs of Love on his Sunny 16 EP.
Eventually a new album surfaced in the form of 2004's Absent Friends. Striking a balance between the occasionally earnest sound of the band's later material and the lighter tone of the more popular releases, it encapsulated the essence of The Divine Comedy. 2004 saw two dates of particularly acclaimed performances, one at the London Palladium (which was later released as a live DVD) and one at the Royal Albert Hall.
In January 2005, Hannon announced that he had acquired the worldwide copyrights to all of his recorded output with his former record label, Setanta Records. He declared on the band's official website that he would be launching his own record label Divine Comedy Records in order to re-release his 1990s output.
Hannon's ninth album under the Divine Comedy moniker, Victory for the Comic Muse (a reference to his debut), was released in June 2006. It is suggested by fans to be less personal and more free-approach in tone than his most recent albums. The bulk of the record was recorded in just two weeks, hence the more spontaneous sound, and features appearances from Travis bass player Dougie Payne.
Hannon collaborated with Thomas Walsh of Pugwash to create an album themed around the sport of cricket. Released under the alias The Duckworth Lewis Method, the self-titled album was released in 2009 to critical acclaim.
The following year saw the tenth Divine Comedy album and first on his own label, Bang Goes the Knighthood.
Geronimo
The Divine Comedy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The rain has started falling,
Gradually gathering in strength;
What began a drizzle
Has now become torrential,
And doesn't look like coming to an end.
The two bedraggled figures
With nothing vaguely waterproof to wear,
Are now secretly wishing
They'd listened to their mothers
When being told to always be prepared.
Screaming
'Geronimo!',
They run for it down the road;
With an arm around her waist
He leads her to a place
He knows.
Soaked through, but happy,
They squelch up to the landing;
The room before them
Makes a welcome sight.
The coal fire is throwing
Strange shapes upon the hearthrug,
And crying out to be knelt down beside.
She pulls off her jumper
And flings it in the corner;
He picks it up and hangs it on a chair.
She puts on a record
And sings into her coffee;
He puts a blanket round her,
Sits her down
And dries her beautiful hair.
The lyrics of the song "Geronimo" by The Divine Comedy tell a story of two individuals who are caught in a sudden downpour without adequate protection. As the rain keeps falling harder and harder, they take shelter in a door-way and wish that they had listened to their mothers' advice to always be prepared. The chorus, where they scream "Geronimo!" and run down the road, indicates that they are not giving up despite facing difficulties.
Once they reach a protected place, they make the best of the situation by enjoying each other's company. They salvage some comfort from the surroundings, such as the coal fire and a record that she puts on, and they eventually settle down in a cozy embrace. The lyrics suggest that despite the unpredictable nature of life, with its ups and downs, finding joy and comfort amid difficult circumstances is possible.
The song, with its combination of playful lyrics and a catchy melody, creates a vivid image of getting caught in the rain and finding solace in simple pleasures. It highlights the importance of resilience, appreciation of small pleasures, and the significance of taking care of oneself.
Line by Line Meaning
While they have been eating
As they were occupied with their meal, the rain began to pour heavily.
The rain has started falling,
The rain began drizzling and gradually gained momentum.
Gradually gathering in strength;
The rain kept getting heavier and stronger.
What began a drizzle
The rain started lightly, just a drizzle.
Has now become torrential,
The drizzle transformed into heavy rainfall.
And doesn't look like coming to an end.
It appears that the rain will continue to pour for some time.
The two bedraggled figures
The couple is now drenched from the rain and seeking shelter.
That huddle in the doorway,
They take refuge in a doorway, seeking cover from the rain.
With nothing vaguely waterproof to wear,
They have no suitable clothing to protect them from the rain.
Are now secretly wishing
They regret not heeding their mothers' advice to be prepared for such situations.
They'd listened to their mothers
They realized that their mothers were right about being prepared for rainy days.
When being told to always be prepared.
Their mothers had taught them the value of being prepared for unexpected situations.
Screaming
The couple yells out of excitement and joy.
'Geronimo!',
They shout this word, which represents a spirit of adventure and taking risks.
They run for it down the road;
They quickly run down the street towards their destination.
With an arm around her waist
Her partner is holding onto her waist while they run, keeping her steady.
He leads her to a place
He takes her to a special location.
He knows.
The location is familiar to him.
Soaked through, but happy,
The couple is drenched from the rain, but still happy and content.
They squelch up to the landing;
They squish their way up the stairs to their destination.
The room before them
The room they enter is now clearly visible to them.
Makes a welcome sight.
The room provides them relief and allows them to relax.
The coal fire is throwing
The fire in the room is creating shadows and shapes upon the rug.
Strange shapes upon the hearthrug,
The items placed on the rug around the hearth cast eerie shadows on the wall.
And crying out to be knelt down beside.
The fire is inviting and begging them to kneel down next to it.
She pulls off her jumper
She removes her sweater, which is wet from the rain.
And flings it in the corner;
She throws her sweater across the room to dry.
He picks it up and hangs it on a chair.
He retrieves the sweater and hangs it on a chair to dry.
She puts on a record
She plays some music on a record player.
And sings into her coffee;
She enjoys her coffee while singing along to the music.
He puts a blanket round her,
He wraps a blanket around her shoulders to keep her warm.
Sits her down
He helps her sit down comfortably.
And dries her beautiful hair.
He dries her hair, making sure she doesn't remain wet and uncomfortable.
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: NEIL HANNON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind