After playing countless hometown shows, the Futureheads took the show on the road with a massive helping hand from Slampt Records' Milky Wimpshake. A tour of Squats and Youth Centres in Central Europe came in summer 2001, due to which the band switched out drummers. In place of Peter Brewis ambled a young pretender, Mr David Hyde (Drums, Vocals).
Several singles followed - the first, Nul Book Standard, can now be seen casually hanging out on eBay from time to time. A relationship with the lovely people at Fantastic Plastic briefly followed. 'The Futureheads' was released in summer 2004, on 679 Recordings, and then the band hit the road. Some highlights of 2005 include playing Glastonbury Festival on Baz's birthday, Hounds Of Love going Top Ten, meeting Dennis Hopper on Jimmy Kimmel's US TV Show, and getting that most infamous of Albatrosses, The Second Album under their belts.
‘News and Tributes’ was released in May 2006. It reached 11 in the album chart, and saw the band touring the world and continuing to win fans and supporters with their exhilarating live shows.
Fast forward to 2008, and The Futureheads are back, bolder and better than ever, exploding back onto the scene with their new album ‘This Is Not The World’. Embracing the punk-rock ethic like never before, Barry, Ross, Jaff and Dave are releasing their third album independently and taking control of their own destiny. It’s going to feel like the first time, all over again…
Annoyed and frustrated too many times by the bureaucratic nightmare that music had become, the band split with former label 679 in late 2006. A silently busy year followed which saw the band writing and recording, and launching their own label Nul Records, solely to release music by The Futureheads. Free of major label shackles, the band are taking back control and relishing being their own bosses.
‘This Is Not The World’ was recorded in 3 weeks in the summer with super-producer Youth at his studio ‘Space Mountain’ in the Sierra Nevada mountain range in Andalusia. About as far away atmospherically as you can get from the bleak Scarborough farm in which they recorded ‘News And Tributes’, the band couldn’t help but be influenced by Youth’s enthusiasm, and describe the album as one of ‘defiance, optimism and joy.’
Keen to share the joy with fans, the band released 2 tracks as free downloads and played intimate shows in London and Sunderland at the end of 2007. They begin 2008 with a tour of uni venues and kick off the year with storming new single ‘The Beginning Of The Twist’, released March 10th.
Danger of the Water
The Futureheads Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The speed of your reaction was to slow to make a difference
Far to slow to make it stop
You got everything together, you sailed it down the river
You said it was relaxing then you disappeared forever
I can not remember, the times we were together
Perhaps it's just the water, pulling both of us under
Now there's nothing by the river, but your washed up umbrella
Not enough to make a difference, not enough to make it stop
It cut thought the water as we watched it getting closer
And you said that it would soon fall down the drain
You said it didn't matter but then that is you all over
And the danger of the water meant it wasn't worth the bother
Danger danger water water
Danger danger water water
Danger danger water water
Danger danger water
The lyrics of The Futureheads’ “Danger of the Water” may seem simple at first glance, but they portray a hauntingly tragic story of a disaster that went unnoticed until it was too late to stop it. The opening lines suggest that the beginning of the disaster was difficult to spot, and the speed of the reaction was too slow to make a difference. It is a metaphor for how small problems can easily snowball into bigger ones when ignored.
The second verse describes how the singer's friend sailed everything down the river in a relaxing manner, but then disappeared forever. The next lines reveal the singer’s inability to recall the good times they shared together, which may suggest that the disaster may have claimed both of their lives. The song ends with an umbrella washed up on the shore, representing that the disaster has left nothing behind, and it was too little too late to make any difference.
In conclusion, “Danger of the Water” has a subtle, almost poetic quality to the way it builds up an imagery of a disastrous situation that is hard to spot at first but becomes more visible as it unfolds. The use of water as a metaphor for danger is an excellent way to convey the message of the song, and the ominous tone of the music perfectly matches the mood of the lyrics.
Line by Line Meaning
The beginning of the disaster was difficult to spot
At the start of the problem, it was not easy to recognize it
The speed of your reaction was to slow to make a difference
You acted too slowly, which did not change the outcome
Far to slow to make it stop
Your reaction was too slow to stop it
You got everything together, you sailed it down the river
You prepared everything and sent it off down the river
You said it was relaxing then you disappeared forever
You claimed it was peaceful, but then you vanished permanently
I can not remember, the times we were together
I cannot recall the moments we spent with each other
Perhaps it's just the water, pulling both of us under
Maybe it's just the water that is causing us both to sink
Now there's nothing by the river, but your washed up umbrella
Only your stranded umbrella remains by the river
Not enough to make a difference, not enough to make it stop
It's not significant enough to change the situation, nor is it enough to halt it
It cut thought the water as we watched it getting closer
As we observed it approaching, it sliced through the water
And you said that it would soon fall down the drain
You predicted it would eventually go down the drain
You said it didn't matter but then that is you all over
You claimed it was unimportant, which is typical of you
And the danger of the water meant it wasn't worth the bother
Due to the water's threat, it wasn't worth the trouble
Danger danger water water
There's a hazardous situation with the water
Danger danger water water
The danger with the water persists
Danger danger water water
Beware of the hazardous water
Danger danger water
There's a threat involving the water
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: BARRY HYDE, DAVID CRAIG, DAVID HYDE, ROSS MILLARD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind