The Soup Dragons were a Scottish alternative rock band of the late 1980s an… Read Full Bio ↴The Soup Dragons were a Scottish alternative rock band of the late 1980s and early 1990s, named after a character in the 1970s children's TV show The Clangers. The band is best known in the UK for their cover of the Rolling Stones' "I'm Free" and in America for their Top 40 hit "Divine Thing".

The Soup Dragons formed in Bellshill, Scotland a town very near to Glasgow (which would later spawn another popular band, Teenage Fanclub) in 1985. The line up was Sean Dickson (vocals, lead guitar), Jim McCulloch (guitar, second voice) and Sushil K. Dade (bass). The original drummer, Ross A. Sinclair, left the group after the first proper album, This Is Our Art, to pursue a career in art, and was replaced by Paul Quinn. Most of their songs were written by Dickson, while some were co-written Dickson/McCulloch.

Originally lumped in with the C86 movement, along with fellow members of the Bellshill Sound, such as the BMX Bandits and Teenage Fanclub, they went through a number of stylistic changes in their career.

Their debut was Buzzcocks-inspired pop-punk, and over the course of six singles (collected in 1987 on a US-only compilation, Hang Ten), they gradually developed a more complex rock guitar which culminated in their first album proper This Is Our Art.

In the year following This Is Our Art their sound got heavier and heavier. Suddenly they underwent a major change from an indie rock sound, to the rock-dance crossover baggy sound, popular at the time with the release of the album Lovegod. This change mirrored that of fellow Scottish band Primal Scream, and can be attributed to the rise of the ecstasy-fueled acid house rave scene in the UK. This led to accusations that they were jumping on the "baggy" bandwagon. However, in 1990, it produced their most notable hit single in the UK, "I'm Free", a cover of a Rolling Stones song.

Subsequent albums continued the rock-dance crossover sound, as they concentrated on trying to break America, succeeding in 1992, when "Divine Thing" hit #35 on the American pop chart.

But the band split in 1995. Paul Quinn joined fellow Bellshill band Teenage Fanclub. Sushil K. Dade formed the experimental post rock band Future Pilot AKA, and singer Sean Dickson formed The High Fidelity.

Softly
The Soup Dragons Lyrics

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All I wanted to
Was to be with you
To live inside your head
And to kill you dead

Everytime I see your face
You know I softly die
And everytime I'm outer space

You know I soflty die

When I cut my hand
And I break your heart
And I make your love
Just fall apart

Everytime I see your face
You know I softly die
And everytime I'm outer space
You know I soflty die

And everytime I see your face
You know I softly die
And everytime I'm outer space
You know I soflty die

And everytime I see your face
You know I softly die
And everytime I'm outer space
You know I soflty die...

(background speaches)

Overall Meaning

The Soup Dragons' song "Softly" is a haunting track that delves into the depths of obsession and the destructive lengths that one will go to be with someone they desire. The song's opening lines, "All I wanted to was to be with you, to live inside your head and to kill you dead," are particularly disturbing and set the tone for the rest of the lyrics.

The singer of the song is clearly consumed by their desire for someone, to the point that they are willing to hurt them and themselves to be together. The lines "When I cut my hand, and I break your heart, and I make your love just fall apart" add to the sense of darkness and desperation. Despite the destructive nature of their feelings, the singer cannot help but feel drawn to the person they desire. Every time they see their face, they "softly die," unable to resist the pull of their attraction.

What is particularly interesting about this song is the ambiguity of the lyrics. It is not clear whether the singer's obsession with the other person is romantic or not. The line "to live inside your head and to kill you dead" can be taken in a few different ways, depending on how you interpret it. Is the singer talking about murder, or do they just want to be so close to the object of their desire that they feel like they are inside their head?

Line by Line Meaning

All I wanted to
All I ever wanted was

Was to be with you
To be by your side

To live inside your head
To know your thoughts and feelings intimately

And to kill you dead
To feel so strongly for you that it's a bit overwhelming

Everytime I see your face
Whenever I see your lovely face

You know I softly die
I feel like my heart stops beating or my life ends

And everytime I'm outer space
And whenever I'm off in my own world

You know I soflty die
I still feel like I'm dying from your absence

When I cut my hand
Whenever I make a mistake

And I break your heart
And I cause emotional pain to you

And I make your love
And my actions cause your love to