Their sound has been described as an amalgamation of psychedelic rock, industrial, synth-pop and avant-garde. They have released over 40 records and continuously tour the world.
Members of the band have also collaborated with Nurse With Wound, The Dresden Dolls, Jarboe, HNAS, Jim O'Rourke, Skinny Puppy's cEvin Key, forming The Tear Garden. Ka Spel accompanied Skinny Puppy for a small part of their 1988 European 'Head Trauma' tour in Sweden. Key also appears on the 1994 album 9 Lives to Wonder.
Voices
The Legendary Pink Dots Lyrics
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The lyrics to The Legendary Pink Dots's song Voices paint a haunting and unsettling picture. The singer describes being tormented by a chorus of disembodied voices that seem to be following him wherever he goes. The voices accuse him of heresy and whisper hateful things in his ear, cutting him with their razor lies. He feels like he's surrounded by them, in the wind, in the sea, and even in the sky. The singer is clearly deeply disturbed by the experience, and it becomes clear that these voices are driving him to the brink of madness.
There are also several references to other elements of the singer's life that seem to be contributing to his overall sense of despair. He mentions a person named Christine who haunts him like a specter, and seems to be responsible for driving nails into his head. He also speaks of a sense of shared guilt or blame with others, as they all seem to have "sold their souls for a handful of ashes" and gambled together on something that has left them all feeling empty and hollow inside.
Overall, the song seems to be a powerful meditation on the ways in which external forces can drive us to insanity and despair, and the struggle to maintain our sanity and sense of self in the face of them.
Line by Line Meaning
In the wind, in the sea, whispering hate, heresy; quietly accusing me.
The voices of hate and heresy are carried by the wind and sea, accusing me without making a sound.
Those voices, all I hear are voices.
The only thing I can hear are these accusing voices.
In the marsh, in the sky, firing curses in my eyes, cutting me with razor lies. Voices.
The voices are everywhere, even in the swamp and the sky, spitting curses that cut me with sharp lies.
The sun steps down to dance on the armour, now rusted and brittle like September leaves.
The sun sets on my once-strong armor, now rusted and fragile like the dying leaves of autumn.
Through the odor of decaying man-piles, I know someone's listening, waiting for me.
Even amongst the stench of death, I sense that someone is listening, waiting to catch me.
Christine, you haunt me - you cling like a limpet.
The memory of Christine clings stubbornly to me, like a limpet sticking to a rock.
The ghost of your pulse hammers nails in my head.
The memory of Christine's heartbeat feels like a constant pounding in my head.
We all sold our souls for a handful of ashes.
All of us involved have given up our souls for something ultimately worthless.
We gambled together, the blame should be shared.
We took the risk together, so we all share in the responsibility.
In the wind, in the sea, whispering hate, heresy; quietly accusing me. Voices. Voices.
The voices continue to accuse me silently, carried by the wind and sea, persistently tormenting me.
Contributed by Lucas Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
lije b.
The Dots are simply incredible. They've been at it for more than 30 years now and still continue to put out fantastic stuff without even thinking about quitting. The early days, the minimalist classics from the beginning of the 90s, the more conventional mid-90s albums, the recent outings, it's all great. The same goes for Ka-Spel's solo work.
akbantling
This is my 3 year old son, Dante's favorite song. He makes me play his "Friend Tree Sap" over and over. Whatever happened to liking Sesame Street?
spookybuk
@Zorniod i even prefer the vibe of the old songs, this home-made like texture in the sound really hits my veins. i think Brighter Now is my favorite LPD album. I know this stuff can't be the more popular work of the band, but it's these lo-fi sounds from them that pleases me the most:)
Zorniod
First song Edward wrote with LPD I believe. Love the early era. All the ideas were there, even if comparatively the fidelity wasn't. :)
GHOST PARASITES
I love this song. One of my favorites.
John David Kountouris
such a good song, love them!!
Quantized Inertia
Beautiful song!
Francis Robert
Le Soleil descend pour danser sur l'armure...
Maintenant rouillée et fragile comme les feuilles de Septembre
Et à travers l'odeur de l'Humanité pourrissante
Je sais que quelqu'un, quelque part, m'attend et entend ma voix.
Christine, tu me hantes, tu, t'accroches comme un crampon
Le spectre de ton impulsion pénétrante persécute mon esprit
Nous vendons tous notre âme pour une poignée de cendre.
tom23rd
I so need a copy of premonition
spookybuk
I have it on Only Dreaming and in The Legendary Pink Box