Craig Reid and Charlie Reid were born in Leith, Scotland in 1962, and grew up in Edinburgh, Cornwall and Auchtermuchty. After several punk rock bands at school they formed The Proclaimers in 1983.
The pair came to public attention when an Inverness based fan sent their demo to the British band The Housemartins, who were impressed enough to invite The Proclaimers on their 1986 UK tour. The exposure of the tour won them a January 1987 appearance on the British pop music television programme The Tube on Channel Four; "Letter from America" peaked at number 3 in the UK Singles Chart, whilst the album This is the Story went gold. The follow-up album Sunshine on Leith featured "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" and "I'm On My Way". They had a hit with their EP King of the Road, which reached number 9 in UK in 1990.
In March 2007 they recorded a new version of "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)" with television comedy characters Andy Pipkin (played by Matt Lucas) and Brian Potter (Peter Kay) for the Comic Relief charity. A long list of celebrities were featured in the music video for this new version, including David Bellamy, Rod, Jane and Freddy, Paul O'Grady, David Tennant, Frank Sidebottom and many more. This new version of the song reached number 1 in the UK Singles Chart.
The band was one of The B-52s' touring partners on their Funplex tour in Australia and New Zealand in November 2009, alongside Mental as Anything.
The brothers are fans of Hibernian Football Club, and "Sunshine on Leith" has become a theme song for the club, being played at home matches for important fixtures, such as the Edinburgh derby versus Heart of Midlothian FC, the club's city rivals. Charlie and Craig Reid appeared at their Easter Road stadium for the 'Hands Off Hibs' campaign in 1990 when Wallace Mercer, a wealthly Edinburgh businessman with direct connections to Hearts FC, attempted a takeover of the club but was defeated by fan pressure.
They are also well-known supporters of Scottish independence and have at various stages of their lives been activists for the Scottish National Party, expressing such views during their promotional tour of Britain in March 2007. However in April 2007 Charlie Reid announced that he had switched his allegiance to the Scottish Socialist Party in protest at the Scottish National Party's receipt of funding from big business. Many of their songs reflect their political views, such as "Letter from America" and "Cap in Hand".
On 16 May 2006 the twins announced their participation in a campaign to free a fellow Scot, Kenny Richey, from his death row sentence in Ohio, including an appearance at a charity concert. Also, in 2010 they participated with Billy Bragg in a show supporting Reprieve, charity that fights the death penalty. The Proclaimers also support other charities such as The Lighthouse Foundation (addiction victims), AICR (cancer research), Drake Music Scotland (help disabled people through music) or 500 miles (amputees or disabled people in Africa).
A Train Went Past The Window
The Proclaimers Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To interrupt the night
The waiting hours of morning
Seemed further from his sight
The wet wall by the playground
Glistened through the rain
And crying seemed as natural
Silence makes the memory loud
And silence makes me pray
Though empty hearts can beat as loud
As full ones during the day
Sorrow that a desperate man
Can chase away with light
Always finds his spirit weak
When evening turns to night
The Kings Cross train slows down at night
When the sky is dark
Right next to the infant school
Opposite the park
Rain falls down on Abbeyhill
Memories start to shout
As sky and locomotive
Let the tears run out
The Proclaimers’ song “A Train Went Past The Window” highlights the feeling of loneliness and desolation that is often experienced at night, when the only sound breaking the silence is that of a passing train. The first stanza talks about how the train disturbs the peace of a sleepless night, and how the morning never seems closer. The second stanza touches upon the beauty of the rain that makes the wet wall shine, along with the natural act of crying that parents claim to be. The third stanza reflects on how silence makes memories louder and how empty hearts can still beat loud like full ones. The fourth and final stanza describes how a man can chase away sorrow with light, but finds his spirit weak when the evening turns to night. The song concludes by describing how the memories start shouting as the rain falls down on Abbeyhill under the watchful presence of the sky and the passing train.
Line by Line Meaning
A train went past the window
The train passed by the window, breaking the silence of the night
To interrupt the night
The train's noise interrupted the otherwise quiet night
The waiting hours of morning
The morning seemed far away as time passed slowly
Seemed further from his sight
The morning felt distant and elusive
The wet wall by the playground
The wall near the playground was glistening with rain
Glistened through the rain
The wet wall shone through the rain
And crying seemed as natural
Crying felt like a natural response to the situation
As parents always claim
Just like parents say, crying can be a natural emotion
Silence makes the memory loud
In the silence, memories can feel louder and more overwhelming
And silence makes me pray
In the silence, one can find solace in prayer
Though empty hearts can beat as loud
An empty heart can still feel profound emotions
As full ones during the day
Even more so than when the heart is full during the day
Sorrow that a desperate man
A desperate man can feel immense sorrow
Can chase away with light
Sometimes light can help alleviate that sorrow
Always finds his spirit weak
But that sorrow can still affect him deeply
When evening turns to night
Especially as evening turns into night
The Kings Cross train slows down at night
The Kings Cross train moves slower at night
When the sky is dark
When the sky is dark, the train moves slower
Right next to the infant school
Next to the school for young children
Opposite the park
Across the park from the train
Rain falls down on Abbeyhill
It's raining in Abbeyhill
Memories start to shout
As the rain falls, memories become more prominent
As sky and locomotive
Just as the sky and train are weeping
Let the tears run out
The person experiencing these emotions can let their own tears fall too
Contributed by Mackenzie O. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
TV
on Role Model
"Lower set of lips" is not making reference to lips on the face, but those in the lower part of her body.