The Reindeer Section was a Scottish indie rock supergroup formed in Glasg… Read Full Bio ↴The Reindeer Section was a Scottish indie rock supergroup formed in Glasgow in 2001 by Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol, which released albums and gigged in 2001 and 2002. The Reindeer Section grouping was somewhat ad hoc, and so it is uncertain if more will be heard from them. While currently considered defunct, in a 2006 interview with "Times Online" Gary Lightbody did not rule out making a future album

The Reindeer Section arose - according to Lightbody - out of a chance get-together of musicians at a Lou Barlow gig in Glasgow in 2001, at which Lightbody drunkenly laid down the challenge to others to "make an album together", to which everyone said "yeah yeah". Lightbody "went home and next day wrote the album" and later convinced Johnny Davies of Bright Star Recordings to fund a recording session and release the proposed album. The group met over three days of rehearsal and ten days of recording to produce the first album. The album, Y'All Get Scared Now, Ya Hear! was released with a mini tour, the first venue of which was Belfast's The Limelight venue.

A second album, Son of evil reindeer was released ten months after the critical acclaim of the first, with a slightly different line-up. The single, You Are My Joy appeared on US show, Grey's Anatomy, and on fourth season of US TV series Queer as Folk. The song Cartwheels appeared on "The Second Chance", an episode of The O.C.. The band's most recent gig was on 14 December 2002 at the Queen Margaret Union in Glasgow. The project has never officially split up, but from that time it has been considered in a hiatus.

Artists who contributed to the project so far are:
From Alfie: Ben Dumville, Lee Gorton and Sam Morris
From Arab Strap: Colin Macpherson, Malcolm Middleton and Aidan Moffat
From Astrid: William Campbell, Charlie Clarke, Neil Payne and Gareth Russell
From Belle & Sebastian: Richard Colburn, Mick Cooke and Bob Kildea
From Cadet: Iain Archer
From Eva: Jenny Reeve and Sarah Roberts
From Idlewild: Roddy Woomble
From Mogwai: John Cummings
From Mull Historical Society: Colin MacIntyre
From Snow Patrol: Gary Lightbody, Mark McClelland and Jonny Quinn
From Teenage Fanclub: Norman Blake
From The Vaselines: Eugene Kelly
and Michael Bannister, Roy Kerr, Paul Fox, Marcus Mackay, Gill Mills and Stacie Sievewright.

Your Sweet Voice
The Reindeer Section Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Your sweet voice
Lets me know there is a choice
Plays me slow
Oh, Much more slowly than that

And when we danced
We danced warm cheek to cold cheek
A sideways glance

I knew you were looking at him

I can't call you a friend
Cause when you left me here
You left me here to die
Don't worry I wont call you again
Cause when I take a hint
I take it pretty hard
And when you broke my heart
you broke it into shards of glass

The telephone yells out
At me to wake
I won't be blamed
For someone else's mistakes
It's your sweet voice
Sounding cheery and warm
It breaks my heart
But I summon up all my charm

Can I call you my friend?
Cause it's been so long
Since we've talked
and I miss you
Don't worry I'm over you right now
So my feelings wont get in the way of it

Oh, I miss the way we talked
about the little things

Overall Meaning

The Reindeer Section's song "Your Sweet Voice" is a mournful and anguished track that explores the aftermath of a failed relationship. The first verse acknowledges the power dynamics of the relationship, where the sweet voice of the former lover is still able to affect and sway the singer's emotions, despite the pain they have caused. The second verse describes a moment that was intimate and tender, but tainted by jealousy and infidelity. The chorus reinforces the singer's pain and anger, as they deny any possibility of friendship or reconciliation. The final verse builds on this conflict, as the singer wrestles with their own feelings of nostalgia and longing, and the fear of repeating the same mistakes.

The song draws upon a few key themes that are common in indie and alternative rock music of the early 2000s. One is the idea of emotional vulnerability and fragility, where feelings and relationships are treated as delicate and ephemeral things that can easily be shattered. Another is the use of poetic and symbolic language to convey complex emotions and relationships, where the lyrics are less about telling a story than creating a mood or atmosphere. Finally, the song taps into a broader tradition of romantic and sexual longing, where desire and loss are intertwined in a cycle of pleasure and pain.

Line by Line Meaning

Your sweet voice
I recognize your sweet voice and it means that I have the option to choose either to be with or without you.

Lets me know there is a choice
Hearing your sweet voice informs me that there is an option, which is deciding whether to be with or without you.

Please me slow
Take your time to do things that will satisfy me.

Oh, Much more slowly than that
Even slower than what you're doing right now.

And when we danced
Back when we were dancing.

We danced warm cheek to cold cheek
We were close, yet some distance or chill existed between us.

A sideways glance
You looked at someone else without directly meeting their gaze.

I knew you were looking at him
I know that you were looking at him, not me.

I can't call you a friend
You do not fulfill the duties of being my friend.

Cause when you left me here
For the reason that you abandoned me here.

You left me here to die
You left me here with the expectation that I would not survive.

Don't worry I won't call you again
You should not be concerned about me trying to reach you again.

Cause when I take a hint
Because I take a subtle suggestion as a clear indication.

I take it pretty hard
I take it deeply and personally.

And when you broke my heart
The moment you shattered my heart.

you broke it into shards of glass
It felt like you broke it into tiny, painful fragments.

The telephone yells out
The phone rings aggressively and loudly.

At me to wake
Asking me to wake up and realize something.

I won't be blamed
I refuse to take fault or responsibility.

For someone else's mistakes
For something that another person has done wrong.

It's your sweet voice
Your sweet voice is the source of my current feelings.

Sounding cheery and warm
It sounds happy and welcoming.

It breaks my heart
It hurts my emotions deeply.

But I summon up all my charm
I pretend to be appealing and charismatic despite being heartbroken.

Can I call you my friend?
Can I count on you as my friend?

It's been so long
It has been a considerable amount of time.

Since we have talked
Since we have last spoken to each other.

and I miss you
I feel the absence of your presence in my life.

Don't worry I'm over you right now
You do not have to worry about me having any romantic feelings for you at this moment.

So my feelings won't get in the way of it
I will not allow my emotions to obstruct our friendship.

Oh, I miss the way we talked about the little things
I miss our conversations about insignificant, yet meaningful topics.

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: GARY LIGHTBODY, JONATHAN GRAHAM QUINN, IAIN DENIS ARCHER, WILLIAM ANGUS CAMPBELL, CHARLES CLARK, COLIN MCPHERSON, MALCOLM BRUCE MIDDLETON, JENNIFER REEVE, GARETH MARTIN RUSSELL, STACEY JENIFER SIEVWRIGHT

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