Their debut single, I'm an Adult Now, quickly became a hit across Canada in 1986, sparked by a low-budget video which made it onto the Canadian music video channel MuchMusic. However, the band did not immediately sign to a record label, and released another independent single, Killed by Love, in 1988. The Amabile twins left the band that year, and were replaced by Kris Abbott and Leslie Stanwyck.
Also in 1988, they signed to Chrysalis Records. Their debut album, Love Junk, was produced by Todd Rundgren and released that year. "I'm an Adult Now" was re-recorded and released as a single again, making it to the charts a second time. The album sold over 100,000 copies in Canada, and was certified platinum, and is considered one of the classics of Canadian rock.
Stanwyck and Sinclair left, going on to form Universal Honey, after completing the band's follow-up with Rundgren, 1990's One-Sided Story.
Starting with the tour for the album, Brad Barker and Susan Murumets joined the lineup. Rachel Oldfield replaced Murumets in 1992. The band then went through difficulties with their record label, but signed to Mercury Records for 1993's The Downward Road.
Label troubles continued, and the band recorded their next two albums for the now-defunct Canadian label Iron Music. Oldfield left the band in 1995, and was replaced by Jennifer Foster, who in turn left the following year and was replaced by Renee Suchy.
Although the group never officially disbanded, after 1996 they did not record as a unit until 2005, when they recorded two new tracks for a greatest hits compilation.
Killed By Love
The Pursuit Of Happiness Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a fool, I'm a fool, I think
I'm starting to drool
The more I drink, the worse I feel
I'm talking to the floor and
I'm soaking in my pee
I don't want to dance, I don't want to sing
I don't think that I can move
'Cause I can't feel a thing
Stench in the air, vultures flying up above
Another useless dead thing
I've been killed by love
I've walked those fields of juniper and mist
And my lips are still burning from
The touch of your last kiss
I though you were an angel
And I trusted your embrace
But you turned into a monster
And you spit right in my face
That crafty old jackal ripped my guts out before
The boy with nine lives
I keep coming round for more
My passion was your weapon
It put a blindfold on my eyes
The last sound I heard was laughter
As you buried me alive
The Pursuit of Happiness's song "Killed By Love" starts with the singer/protagonist labelling himself as a romantic fool. The singer seems to have been in a relationship that has gone awry, leading him to drown his sorrows in alcohol. His inebriation is apparent from the second line itself as he says he is starting to drool. He feels worse with every sip, and his conversation has reached a level where he is talking to the floor. He has reached an all-time low where he is soaking in his pee, which only highlights the magnitude of his downfall.
The chorus highlights how he has no desire to do anything, with no feeling of anything. The air around him is filled with a stench, with vultures flying over him, and he feels like another useless dead thing. The singer feels that he has been killed by love, and possibly the imagery of being a dead thing is to highlight how love has left him feeling lifeless. The second part of the song speaks of his journey as a lover. He has been to fields of juniper and mist, with his lips still burning from his lover's touch. He thought his lover was an angel, and he trusted her embrace, but over time she turned into a monster and spat in his face.
In conclusion, the song speaks of a man's heartbreak that led him to a state of desolation as he realized that his passion was both his armour and his downfall. Love led him down the path of betrayal, and all he could hear was laughter as he was buried alive in his emotions.
Line by Line Meaning
Romantic fool -- yeah, that's the word, fool
I am foolish to have believed in romantic love
I'm a fool, I'm a fool, I think
I was blinded by my own love and foolishness
I'm starting to drool
I am getting lost in the sadness and despair of love
The more I drink, the worse I feel
Alcohol only amplifies the pain and sadness of lost love
I'm talking to the floor and
I have given up trying to find love and am resigned to my misery
I'm soaking in my pee
I am so lost in my despair that I have lost control of my basic functions
I don't want to dance, I don't want to sing
I have lost all joy in life and do not feel like celebrating anything
I don't think that I can move
I am so emotionally shattered that I cannot even move or function normally
'Cause I can't feel a thing
The pain of lost love has numbed me to all other feelings
Stench in the air, vultures flying up above
The air is filled with the putrid smell of death and decay, with vultures circling overhead
Another useless dead thing
My love is now just a useless and dead thing
I've walked those fields of juniper and mist
I had romantic hopes and dreams, but they are now lost and gone
And my lips are still burning from
The painful memory of love still lingers on my lips
The touch of your last kiss
The final kiss from my lost love was a painful reminder of what has been lost
I thought you were an angel
I had high hopes and ideals for my lover, but they were not met
And I trusted your embrace
I opened myself up to love, but it ended up hurting me
But you turned into a monster
My lover turned out to be something I never imagined
And you spit right in my face
My lover's betrayal was like a personal attack that fueled my pain
That crafty old jackal ripped my guts out before
This is not the first time I have been hurt by love and it hurts just as much this time
The boy with nine lives
Despite all the pain of love lost, I still cling to the hope of finding love again
I keep coming round for more
I keep trying, even though I have been hurt so many times before
My passion was your weapon
My love for my ex-lover was used against me and used to hurt me
It put a blindfold on my eyes
Love blinded me to the faults and flaws of my ex-lover, making it harder to move on
The last sound I heard was laughter
The final memory of my love life is of the sound of mocking laughter
As you buried me alive
My lover's betrayal was like a death sentence - burying me alive in my own pain
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MOE BERG
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind