After playing a few birthday parties, The Peacocks sort of broke up because Michi quit the band, but The Peacocks restarted one year later when Simon, Hasu's brother, who learned the double bass, joined the band. This line-up lasted some five years and did some seven inches, the first album "Come With Us" and also played more than 100 shows. Right before the first US/Canada tour, Adi decided to leave and that tour only happened because third brother, David, knew all the songs and stood in as a drummer. The tour was quite successful and a new drummer called Toni joined soon after.
Around 1997, The Peacocks started to tour almost everywhere including Japan, the US, Canada and every European country, and recorded two more albums “In Without Knocking” and “Angel”. Both records did allright and with "Angel", the band signed to Asian Man Records.
Early 2002 Toni had to leave the band because he couldn't tour anymore. With now three kids he decided it's better to have a proper job. It took quite a long time to find a new drummer, but in the end 2002, Jürg joined The Peacocks and the band started rockin’ on.
In 2004, The Peacocks released “It’s Time For…” on five different records labels in five countries and three continents. The band toured again almost every country in Europe, did a Canada and a Japan tour. Hairball 8 Records made a "best of" release for the US market in 2006 followed by a tour through 14 states. The band stayed in the US after the tour to record “Touch And Go”, their latest album, at Sonic Iguana in Lafayette, Indiana.
What You Want
The Peacocks Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues
Until you've loved a love you've had to lose,
You don't know what love is.
You don't know how lips hurt
Until you've kissed and had to pay the cost,
Until you've flipped your heart and you have lost,
Do you know how a lost heart fears
At the thought of reminiscing,
And how lips that taste of tears
Lose their taste for kissing?
You don't know how hearts burn
For love that can, not live yet never dies.
Until you've faced each dawn with sleepless eyes,
You don't know what love is.
The Peacocks's song "What You Want" is a heartbreaking ballad that communicates the idea that one cannot fully understand love or the pain that comes with it until they have experienced it firsthand. The opening verse states, "You don't know what love is / 'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues," indicating that love and loss go hand in hand, and experiencing the latter is crucial for truly understanding the former. The next verse continues to explore this idea, asserting that one cannot fully comprehend the pain of heartbreak until they have loved someone they had to let go.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the point that love and heartbreak are inseparable, and that one cannot experience the joys of love without accepting the inherent risk of pain. The second verse delves deeper into the pain of heartbreak, describing how lips that have tasted tears lose their taste for kissing, and how a lost heart fears the memories that come with reminiscing. The final verse ties everything together, stating that true love can never die, even when circumstances prevent it from thriving, and that the sleepless nights and endless yearning that come with lost love are part of what makes it so intense and profound.
In summary, "What You Want" by The Peacocks is a powerful meditation on the nature of love and loss, expressing the idea that one cannot truly understand the former without embracing the latter.
Line by Line Meaning
You don't know what love is
You cannot comprehend the depth of true love until you experience the pain of losing it.
'Til you've learned the meaning of the blues
The melancholic blues music portrays the pain and suffering experienced when someone lose true love. You must go through it to understand it.
Until you've loved a love you've had to lose,
The pain of losing a beloved is necessary to comprehend the true meaning of love. Loving someone and losing them is an integral part of the experience.
You don't know how lips hurt
Painful kisses are something you can not fathom unless you have personally felt them. The pain isn't limited to physical harm but emotional scars as well.
Until you've kissed and had to pay the cost,
Heartbreak comes at a steep price; it can be draining emotionally and even physically. You only truly understand when you experience it yourself.
Until you've flipped your heart and you have lost,
Loving deeply can be a double-edged sword. When you are vulnerable enough to let it happen, you run the risk of the pain that heartbreak brings. It's only then that you understand what love means.
Do you know how a lost heart fears
After losing a beloved, the thought of living through the pain again can bring a sense of dread; it's the uncertainty that comes with it.
At the thought of reminiscing,
The mere act of remembering can bring forth waves of pain and heartache, making even the fondest memories a source of pain.
And how lips that taste of tears
When you have cried your heart out, the taste is still there in your mouth; it's a reminder of the pain that love can bring.
Lose their taste for kissing?
The act of kissing someone doesn't bring the same joy it once did. The pain that came with it has dulled the pleasure.
You don't know how hearts burn
When love is out of reach, it can be painful, knowing that it's far from your grasp, but still feeling the heat of the passion and longing that comes with it.
For love that can not live yet never dies.
Love is eternal; even when it falters or ends, it still remains in your heart, shimmering like a flame, keeping the pain and passion alive.
Until you've faced each dawn with sleepless eyes,
When you've lost the one you love, the world seems like a darker place. Every dawn brings reminders of the pain, and it becomes difficult to sleep or find comfort in anything.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DON RAYE, GENE DE PAUL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind