The Stone Roses released their second album, Second Coming, in 1994, which received mixed reviews. The group soon disbanded after several line-up changes throughout the supporting tour, which began with Reni departing in early 1995, followed by Squire in April 1996. Brown and Mani dissolved the remains of the group in October 1996 following their appearance at Reading Festival.
Following much intensified media speculation, the Stone Roses called a press conference on 18 October 2011 to announce that the band had reunited and would perform a reunion world tour in 2012, including three homecoming shows in Heaton Park, Manchester. Plans to record a third album in the future were also floated but only two singles were released. In June 2012, Chris Coghill, the writer of a new film which is set during the Stone Roses 1990 Spike Island show, revealed that the band "have at least three or four new tracks recorded". In June 2013, a documentary about the band's reformation directed by Shane Meadows and titled The Stone Roses: Made of Stone was released.
In 2016, the Stone Roses released their first new material in two decades. The band members continued to tour until June 2017, at which point cryptic remarks by Brown indicated the band had split again, which was later confirmed in a 2019 interview with Squire.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stone_Roses
Studio albums
The Stone Roses (1989)
Second Coming (1994)
All Across the Sands
The Stone Roses Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Scattered all across the sand
A secret safe with all the world
Too vain to seem so capable
Can you hear it calling?
Do you feel warmer
As the hired hand's exposed?
How can a pretty painted shell
Send them all packing off to Hell?
A freight train laughs and rattles by
You kissed the girls and made them die
Can you hear it calling?
Do you feel warmer
As the hired hand's exposed?
And I'll never come here again
And we will never come here again
And we will never play here again, again
Can you hear it calling?
Do you feel warmer
As the hired hand's exposed?
After her call
After her call
After her call
Didn't call
Can you hear it calling?
Do you feel warmer
As the hired hand's exposed?
After her call
After her call
After her call
Has she called?
The lyrics to The Stone Roses's song All Across The Sand paint a picture of a failed romance, with the bones of it scattered all across the sand. Despite the secrets and depth of the relationship, it was too vain to seem capable of lasting. The chorus asks if the listener can hear something calling and if they feel warmer as the "hired hand" or someone who was brought in to work on something is exposed. It's unclear who or what the hired hand represents, but it could be possible that it's referring to the relationship itself and how it was brought down by external forces.
The second verse brings forth images of death and destruction, with a "pretty painted shell" sending people to Hell and someone kissing girls and making them die. The freight train laughing and rattling by could indicate the passage of time and how the relationship is now a thing of the past. The final stanza is melancholic, with the singer stating that they will never come here again and play here again. The repetition of "After her call" also adds to the mournful tone of the song, suggesting that someone has left and they are left wondering if they will ever return.
Line by Line Meaning
Bones of an impressive romance
There are remnants of a once great love scattered here.
Scattered all across the sand
These remnants are spread out over this sandy landscape.
A secret safe with all the world
Even though there is evidence of this lost love, the story behind it remains hidden to everyone else.
Too vain to seem so capable
Despite being capable of love, the pride of those involved makes it seem like they're not.
Can you hear it calling?
Can you sense the longing and desire still present in this place?
Do you feel warmer
Is the nostalgia and passion making you feel more alive?
As the hired hand's exposed?
As the truth about someone's motives become known?
How can a pretty painted shell
How can something so attractive on the surface be so destructive?
Send them all packing off to Hell?
How can it cause so much pain and destruction for those involved?
A freight train laughs and rattles by
The world moves on as if nothing has happened, unaware of the history in this place.
You kissed the girls and made them die
The singer is accusing someone of being a heartbreaker, causing pain for those they've loved.
And I'll never come here again
The artist is declaring their intent to move on from this place and the memories it holds.
And we will never come here again
The memory of this lost love is too painful for both parties to return.
And we will never play here again, again
Not only will they never come here again, they won't make music together either.
After her call
Referring to a woman who has presumably moved on and called the singer.
Didn't call
The artist did not answer the woman's call, possibly indicating that they have also moved on.
Has she called?
The artist wonders if this woman has reached out to them again, showing that they are not entirely over the lost love yet.
Lyrics Β© Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Ian George Brown, John Squire
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
νΈλΌλ¦°
Bones of an impressive romance
Scattered all across the sands
A secret safe with all the world
Too vain to seem so capable
Can you hear it calling
Do you feel warmer
As the hired hand's exposed
How can a pretty painted shell
Send them all packing off to Hell
A freight train laughs and rattles by
You kissed the girls and made them die
Can you hear it calling
Do you feel warmer
As the hired hand's exposed
And I'll never come here again
And we will never come here again
And we will never play here again
Again
Can you hear it calling
Do you feel warmer
As the hired hand's exposed
After her call
After her call
After her call
And she calls
kyna matthewson
They can capture a mood like no one else.
James Walsh
I'm a massive Roses fan but only discovered this song relatively recently we I bought Sally Cinnamon on CD. Just brilliant, beautiful. A real hidden gem.
ricolush
Probably my favourite The Stone Roses song.
Black Orchid
Shout out to anyone appreciating good tunes, be you 15 or 50!!
Susan Humphreys
Black Orchid I am 61 and they are the best xx
John Smith
Black Orchid exactly 15ππ
Joe Fagan
14
Ryan Whannel
Yes my man!!!!
Harry Beverley
17 my dude
Bones182x
More people need to hear this song!!