The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. Afte… Read Full Bio ↴The Sisters of Mercy is an English rock band, formed in 1980 in Leeds. After achieving early underground fame there, the band had their commercial breakthrough in the mid-1980s and sustained it until the early 1990s, when they stopped releasing new recorded output in protest against their record company WEA. Currently, the band are a touring outfit only.

The group has released three original studio albums: First and Last and Always (1985), Floodland (1987), and Vision Thing (1990). Each album was recorded by a different line-up; singer-songwriter Andrew Eldritch and the drum machine called Doktor Avalanche are the only points of continuity throughout. Eldritch and Avalanche were also involved in The Sisterhood, a side-project connected with Eldritch's dispute with former members.

The Sisters of Mercy ceased recording activity in the early 1990s, when they went on strike against East West Records, whom they accused of incompetence and withholding royalties, and had pressured the group to release at least two more studio albums; instead, the label released the album Go Figure under the moniker SSV in 1997. Although the Sisters of Mercy were eventually released from their contract with East West, they have never been signed to another label nor released any new material, despite showcasing numerous new songs in their live sets.

Former members of the group established the bands Ghost Dance and The Mission.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sisters_of_Mercy

Discography
First and Last and Always (1985)
Floodland (1987)
Vision Thing (1990)
Some Girls Wander by Mistake (compilation, 1992)
A Slight Case of Overbombing (compilation, 1993)

Watch
The Sisters of Mercy Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Here's the story
No time to lose (like the present)
Now I've lost my friends
Now I've lost friends
It's not my party,
Never will be
Feeling out-of-place,
I'm not happy

A touch of the storm cloud...
Roughage in a comradeship and conversations
Conversations, everything's so run-of-the-mill
We stand still...

And time slips back,
And time slips back...
Back to the garden,
Time slips back
Back in the dark rooms
Time slips back
Back in the dark room
Back to the dark age
Put me on the rack
We stand still
Time slips back
Recount movements
Recount movements
Watch us grow
Watch us fall from grace
Watch us fall flat on our face
But you always fall on your feet
Tell me how you always
Fall on your feet
Tell me how
Tell me how

Tell me how
Oh tell me how

Overall Meaning

The Sisters of Mercy's song "Watch" is a reflection of a person who feels like they don't belong at a gathering or party with their friends. The song talks about how they have lost their friends and feel out of place despite being in their company. They feel unhappy and perceive the conversations and camaraderie as being excessively run-of-the-mill. Amidst this feeling of not fitting in, the person is reminded of better past times, which are represented by the references to "back to the garden," "dark rooms," and "the dark age." The song finishes on a note of pondering over how individuals, like the singer's friends, always seem to bounce back regardless of the circumstances.

"Watch" portrays a yearning for the past, and how the memories of it can be a return to safety and comfort when feeling excluded. The song's repetitive nature of "time slips back" emphasizes the idea of reverting to a familiar past. The lyrics "put me on the rack" could be taken in reference to torturous contraptions, symbolizing how the singer is tormented by their feeling of being out of place.

Line by Line Meaning

Here's the story
This is the beginning of a tale

No time to lose (like the present)
It's important to act immediately

Now I've lost my friends
I have lost my companionship

Now I've lost friends
I have lost my confidants

It's not my party,
I don't have any control

Never will be
It will never be my party

Feeling out-of-place,
I don't belong here

I'm not happy
I am discontent

A touch of the storm cloud...
There's a hint of trouble

Roughage in a comradeship and conversations
The relationships and chats are insincere and superficial

Conversations, everything's so run-of-the-mill
The talks are unexciting, commonplace