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.
Going Downhill Fast
The Divine Comedy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A glint in his eye
The birds sing
As he cycles by
Oh, why should he feel sad
This world ain't so bad
And besides
Woe betide he who would frown
And now, with wheels spinning free
He's picking up speed
Two butterflies
Tie knots in his stomach
They love it when he goes too fast
The wind whistles past
Vast
Oceans of air
That will mess up his hair
Though he no longer cares
Anymore for
Over-indulgence in vanities
Vacuous vice
Just once or twice
Thrice
Four times in five
We forget we're alive
And neglect to remind ourselves
Wait,wait for me
Oh great Mercury!
As late as you may be,
Will you wait for me?
Three butterflies realize
When it's time to depart
They have tickled his ribs
They have fluttered his heart
But the starting is easy
Compared to the stop
And the bottom is hard
When compared to the top
The song "Going downhill" by The Divine Comedy is a beautiful reflection on life presented through a metaphor of riding a bicycle downhill. The song starts with a beautiful melody, with the singer noticing a glint in his eye, and birds singing as he cycles by, feeling content and happy in his surroundings. He questions why one should feel sad when there is so much natural beauty around us. "Woe betide he who would frown when natural beauty abounds" implies that life is too short and we should embrace the beauty around us, rather than focusing on negatives.
The second half of the song is focused on the butterflies, with two of them tying knots in his stomach, while he's picking up speed. The singer tries to let go of the vanity and over-indulgence that we often get caught up in, and just enjoy the present moment. He asks the great Mercury (the messenger of the Gods in Roman mythology) to wait for him, even if he's late. However, the third verse presents a sense of realization, with three butterflies realizing that it's time to go, and that the start may have been easy, but the stop requires some effort. "And the bottom is hard when compared to the top," implies that it's easy to get caught up in life and enjoy the highs, but it's harder to deal with the lows.
Overall, this song is a beautiful reflection on life, that encourages people to appreciate the beauty and embrace the positivity around them.
Line by Line Meaning
One butterfly spies
A single butterfly notices
A glint in his eye
A sparkle in his eye catches its attention
The birds sing
Birds sing cheerfully
As he cycles by
As he rides his bike
Oh, why should he feel sad
He wonders why he should feel unhappy
This world ain't so bad
The world isn't as bad as it may seem
And besides
Furthermore
Woe betide he who would frown
Pity the person who chooses to be unhappy
When natural beauty abounds
Considering the natural beauty all around us
And now, with wheels spinning free
As he rides with ease
He's picking up speed
He starts to go faster
Two butterflies
Two more butterflies
Tie knots in his stomach
They cause him to feel uneasy
They love it when he goes too fast
The butterflies enjoy his speed
The wind whistles past
Wind makes a whistling sound as it moves by
Vast
The wind is vast and expansive
Oceans of air
The wind is so large, it's like an ocean
That will mess up his hair
The wind will blow his hair around
Though he no longer cares
He is now indifferent towards his hair getting messy
Anymore for
No more
Over-indulgence in vanities
Excessive focus on superficial things
Vacuous vice
Empty, meaningless behavior
Just once or twice
At times we forget the important things in life
Thrice
Three times
Four times in five
Most of the time
We forget we're alive
We forget to appreciate life
And neglect to remind ourselves
We fail to remind ourselves
Wait,wait for me
Hold on
Oh great Mercury!
He calls upon the Roman messenger god
As late as you may be,
Even though it may be late
Will you wait for me?
Can you wait for me?
Three butterflies realize
Three other butterflies understand this
When it's time to depart
When it's time to go
They have tickled his ribs
They have made him laugh
They have fluttered his heart
They have touched his emotions
But the starting is easy
Starting something new is simple
Compared to the stop
Stopping is more difficult
And the bottom is hard
Reaching the lowest point is a challenge
When compared to the top
In comparison to when things were better
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: NEIL HANNON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind