Essentially the j… Read Full Bio ↴The Indelicates is a UK band founded in late-2005.
Essentially the joint project of Simon Indelicate (formerly a performance poet and author of ‘The Book Of Job: The Musical’ – revived in 2011) and Julia Indelicate (an acclaimed documentary photographer) The Indelicates are a piano and guitar-led pop/rock act from Sussex, UK. Taking their musical cues from folk and classical sources – as well as the broad spectrum of British indie rock – they write melodic, edgy and intellectually coherent songs that have been consistently well-received in the UK and abroad.
They have played and been released all over the world, headlining the second stage at Austria’s Frequency Festival, supporting Art Brut (UK) in Germany, Amanda Palmer (USA) in Scotland and The Vaselines (Scotland, UK) in New York; as well as touring extensively in Europe and the UK. In 2008 they attended the Texas SXSW festival, to great acclaim, and in 2009 recorded the follow up to début album American Demo, in Berlin.
In July 2009 The Indelicates published their first collection of lyrics and poems Words by Simon & Julia Indelicate, and in April 2010 their sophomore album Songs For Swinging Lovers was released on Corporate Records in the UK, USA, and all other major territories, and on Snowhite Records in Germany. The album received praise from US/UK author Neil Gaiman and was reviewed by, among others, actor Jack Black in Germany’s Intro Magazine.
From mid-2010 onwards The Indelicates began recording a concept album based on David Koresh and the Waco Siege in Texas in 1993. David Koresh Superstar tells the story of 1993′s Waco Siege with a full complement of pedal steel guitars, musical saws and percussive guns, in a bitter cocktail of rebel country, luau, disco and rock opera. The UK cast includes performances from Carter USM’s Jim Bob, David Devant and his Spirit Wife’s Vessel and Radio favourite Philip Jeays. David Koresh Superstar was co-recorded by renowned producer, engineer and member of acclaimed Austin band Monahans, Britton Beisenherz and Screamadelica (Primal scream) producer Brian O’Shaugnessey. The album was released in the UK on May 16th 2011, and re-released in the US, with additional material, in October 2011, to coincide with The Indelicates first US tour.
Represented by Kip Kouri at Tell All Your Friends PR, they have been written about positively in the NME, the New Statesman, Artrocker, the Guardian, the Times, The Fly and other magazines. Internationally, they have been praised in Vanity Fair, Musik Express, and Der Spiegel (Germany), Rolling Stone and Pitchfork(US), and widely on internet blogs and music sites.
Roses
The Indelicates Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And everything looked as it should have done
Candle flame flickers, and books unread
Round the crystal kept keep of an unmade bed
Flowers cut to shrivel and die
Like romance does and we both know why
With an artful flutter, as if on cue
A gentle breeze brings the scent of you
You should raise up what you can’t put down
Those books that you pose with are more than antiques
When you search in the dark you should fear what you seek
Pallid in moonlight, your shimmering skin
Is mine to caress, you invited me in
The delicate architecture of your throat
Arks weakly away as my hands approach
Do you bleed diamonds
Do you bleed rubies
Do you bleed roses
A broken kiss, and an aching sigh
Like the half-heard end of a lullaby
A whispering chorus and a stifled moan
The jarring vibration of knife on bone
The stark composition of essence and parts
I gathered your limbs for a final dance
A silent waltz to your songs unsung
As the life-blood seeps from your punctured lung
Do you bleed diamonds
Do you bleed rubies
Do you bleed roses
You bleed diamonds
You bleed rubies
You bleed roses.
The lyrics to the song "Roses" by The Indelicates tell the story of a gruesome murder, but with a poetic and metaphorical approach. The opening lines describe the scene of a home invasion, where the singer enters and sees everything as it should be. The candle flame flickers, and there are unread books and flowers that will soon shrivel and die. The lyric "like romance does, and we both know why" suggests that the relationship between the singer and the victim has come to an end.
The next few lines introduce a new character - someone who is "older than god" and lives in the same town as the victim. This character warns the victim to "raise up what [they] can't put down," perhaps referring to the dangerous situation they are in. The lyric "those books that you pose with are more than antiques" hints that the victim may have knowledge or secrets that are valuable.
The last section of the song describes the murder itself, with references to bleeding diamonds, rubies, and roses. The imagery of bleeding precious stones suggests the high value of the victim's life, while the metaphor of bleeding roses may represent the loss of beauty and romance that the singer and the victim once shared. The final line repeats the three types of bleeding, as if acknowledging the weight of the crime that has been committed.
Overall, the lyrics of "Roses" are haunting and full of symbolism, portraying the violence of the murder in a way that is both shocking and poetic.
Line by Line Meaning
I breached the border of your home
I entered your property without permission
And everything looked as it should have done
The inside of your home appeared normal and expected
Candle flame flickers, and books unread
There were candles burning and books that appeared untouched
Round the crystal kept keep of an unmade bed
There was a crystal on an unmade bed
Flowers cut to shrivel and die
The flowers were cut and left to wither like our dying romance
Like romance does and we both know why
Our romance has died like flowers do, and we both know why
With an artful flutter, as if on cue
The breeze came in at just the right time, as if it was intentional
A gentle breeze brings the scent of you
The breeze carried your scent
I’m older than god and i live in your town
I am an old and familiar presence in your town
You should raise up what you can’t put down
You should face your fears head-on
Those books that you pose with are more than antiques
The books you flaunt are more than just old items
When you search in the dark you should fear what you seek
Be careful what you look for when you're in the dark
Pallid in moonlight, your shimmering skin
Your skin is almost ghostly in the moonlight
Is mine to caress, you invited me in
You gave me permission to touch you intimately
The delicate architecture of your throat
The structure of your neck is delicate and beautiful
Arks weakly away as my hands approach
Your neck moves away as I reach for it
Do you bleed diamonds
Are you so precious that you bleed diamonds?
Do you bleed rubies
Is your blood so rich that it appears like rubies?
Do you bleed roses
Do you bleed out the roses that once symbolized love?
A broken kiss, and an aching sigh
Our kiss was strained and left us both longing
Like the half-heard end of a lullaby
Our love has come to a premature end
A whispering chorus and a stifled moan
Our actions were quiet and secretive
The jarring vibration of knife on bone
The sound of a knife cutting into flesh and bone
The stark composition of essence and parts
The brutal reality of the human body
I gathered your limbs for a final dance
I picked up your lifeless body as a final goodbye
A silent waltz to your songs unsung
We never got to have a final dance together while you were alive
As the life-blood seeps from your punctured lung
Your life was taken from you and your blood spilled out of you
You bleed diamonds
Your life was so precious that it feels like you bled diamonds
You bleed rubies
Your blood was so rich and thick that it looked like rubies
You bleed roses.
You bled out the roses that once symbolized love.
Contributed by Grayson R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
I edited my username !!!
Very Beautiful Video!! Good song!! I will try to listen more to this band!!
Clematisian
……. Exquisitely conceived on every level. I think the cars in the background, rather than striking a level of anachronism, make it kind of phunnie, despite its crushing truth. Thanks, Diane, for the heads-up, & thank you, turtlecanyon, for your impeccable taste in paradox ~ (•8-o
jrbgeog
Nice song from a great album by an interesting band.
matthias18gr
my god .. that's called talent
K-leb
The more obvious the accent, the more I love it.
I don't know much why, but British singers not singing in British accents usually doesn't bode well with me. The middle-class southern-English accent is just so good as a singing voice. I really like Damon Albarn's singing, and his accent while singing is most of the reason why.
1exy1ake
I think I am a bit in love with the Indelicates.
Tamara K
For me, this is a song about the sacred interactions between our physical and spiritual selves. In the beginning, there is a warning not to toy with the Divine Entities. The Divine Inhabitants will leave us to our dull, superficial lives seeking oh too human objectives: reptilian, limbic states of consciousness and remajning unawakened to the shimmering beauty of the world around us.in this song, the Divine answered the call of the young inexperienced girl who was playing at magic (maybe love spell or maybe a wealth spell). Once the Spiritual dimension was awakened in the girl, she could not stop the transformative processes which would transform her.
Joie Mikitson
really an excellent video for beautiful song
Michael DeTorrice
brilliant.
La Force
Je peux me comporter comme le pire des mufles, Les gens de mon entourage me trouvent de plus en plus génial et créatif.
Amène