The Undertones are a Northern Irish punk band formed in Derry, Northern Ire… Read Full Bio ↴The Undertones are a Northern Irish punk band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1975. The original band consisted of:

* Feargal Sharkey (lead vocals),
* John O'Neill (guitar),
* Damian O'Neill (guitar, keyboards and vocals),
* Michael Bradley (bass and vocals), and
* Billy Doherty (drums).

John O'Neill was the original main song writer, with his brother Damian and Mickey Bradley writing in various solo & combined variations for most of the remainder.

Sharkey's power pop tenor was distinctive, and the band regarded a tight ensemble. By 1977 they were performing their own three-chord pop punk material influenced by Nuggets-type material and Ramones, and in 1978 released their debut four-song EP Teenage Kicks on Good Vibrations. It became a hit with support from DJ John Peel, who considered that EP's title song (Teenage Kicks) his all-time favourite. The song has been covered by many including boyband Busted (at the 2003 Brit Awards), American group The Raconteurs, Swedish band [aritst]Sahara Hotnights and French band Nouvelle Vague.

The original band released four studio albums:

* The Undertones (1979)
* Hypnotised (1980)
* Positive Touch (1981)
* The Sin Of Pride (1983).

Falling sales linked to their changing musical direction and tensions within the band, leading to their split in 1983. A compilation album titled All Wrapped Up featured a woman dressed in lunch meats wrapped in clear plastic on the (non band approved) cover. Several other compilations including the superb BBC sessions CD Listening In (named after a song on their first album) (2004) exist.

The O'Neill brothers went on to form That Petrol Emotion. The Undertones reconvened in 1999, initially to play a few shows in their hometown of Londonderry, replacing singer Feargal Sharkey with a similarly warbling new recruit, Paul McLoone. Since this time, the band has continued to play a small number of gigs each year in various places around the world.

The band have also released two further studio albums:

* Get What You Need (2003)
* Dig Yourself Deep (2007)

NOTE: There is another band with this name - The Undertones, a subset of the University of Notre Dame Glee Club who sing a capella arrangements of popular songs. For more information on these guys, check out www.nd.edu/~utones.

Listening In
The Undertones Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I was sitting on my own
No one rang so I picked up the phone
Then I heard your voice
I was listening in

You were talking in the hall
I wasn't there but I heard it all
Nothing I could do

Just listening in

On the carpet you're so small
Who had you covered wall to wall
Nothing I could do
Just listening in

Now you're gone any your line's dead
Nothing I can do instead

No more - no more
No more listening in

Overall Meaning

The Undertones' song "Listening In" is about the act of eavesdropping on someone's conversation, as the singer describes how he picks up the phone to hear the voice of the person he wants to listen in on. He admits to listening to someone talking in the hall and being unable to resist the urge to eavesdrop on the conversation, even though he was not present in the room. The singer is frustrated that he is unable to do anything to intervene, even though he hears something he may not like, he's left on the sidelines.

The second verse appears to describe a scene where someone is being treated unfairly or dominated in some way. The singer watches helplessly while "you're so small on the carpet" and "who had you covered wall to wall" indicating that the person in the situation is literally and figuratively being boxed in. The singer laments that there is "nothing I could do, just listening in."

In the final verse, the singer realizes that the person he's been eavesdropping on is gone, and he's left alone with a dead phone line, essentially shutting him out of their life. He laments the loss of the opportunity to listen in, but also seems to understand that he was never really a part of the person's life, to begin with. The song leaves the impression that listening in offers a certain pleasure and power, but at the same time, leaves the listener in a helpless and lonely position.

Line by Line Meaning

I was sitting on my own
I was all by myself

No one rang so I picked up the phone
No one called me, so I decided to call someone

Then I heard your voice
Then I heard you talking

I was listening in
I was eavesdropping on your conversation

You were talking in the hall
You were having a conversation in the hallway

I wasn't there but I heard it all
I wasn't physically present, but I overheard everything you said

Nothing I could do
I couldn't do anything about it

Just listening in
I was just listening and observing

On the carpet you're so small
You appear small when you're lying on the carpet

Who had you covered wall to wall
Someone had completely covered your body

Nothing I could do
I couldn't do anything to help

Just listening in
I was just observing and paying attention

Now you're gone and your line's dead
Now you're gone and your phone line is no longer active

Nothing I can do instead
I can't do anything about it now

No more - no more
It's over now

No more listening in
No more eavesdropping

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAMIAN STEPHEN O'NEILL, JOHN JOSEPH O'NEILL, MICHAEL BRADLEY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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