Friendly Fire recording act, the Whitsundays are the brainchild of Paul Arn… Read Full Bio ↴Friendly Fire recording act, the Whitsundays are the brainchild of Paul Arnusch who assumes the Brian Wilson-esque role of the band's lead singer & songwriter. The group hail from Edmonton, Alberta in Canada where they craft reverb drenched pop with a 60's feel. They utilize older keyboards & vintage guitars to augment stylized vocal harmonies that have tonal & texture commonalities with other groups like XTC, The Zombies, Apples in Stereo, The Shins, and others.

Arnush also has played in the Faunts & The Floor

http://www.myspace.com/thewhitsundays

http://www.friendlyfirerecordings.com/Bands/Whitsundays/whitsundays.html

Sorry James
The Whitsundays Lyrics

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What's gotten into you, James?
Now you're eating white meat
You're wearing clean clothes
What in your head has gone wrong?
Has the Earth got you down?
You're wearing a frown, sorry James

For you'll forever be

The only one who's free
But only in your dreams

All through the day, James
He'd stop and he'd say
"What a beautiful day to be slipping away"
Sorry James

Now that you're walking in stride
May your past be your pride
You're crass, but it's only
The side of you that no one knows
But don't worry, it shows
You're mad and you're closed
Sorry James

For you'll forever be
The only one who's free
But only in your dreams

All through the day, James
He'd stop and he'd say
"What a beautiful day to be slipping away"
Sorry James, but it's over
You're sad that you're old
Now the thought's taking over you
Over and over again

Through the day, James
He'd stop and he'd say
"What a beautiful day to be slipping away"
Sorry James, but it's over
You're sad that you're old

Now the thought's taking over you
Over and over again

Overall Meaning

The Whitsundays’s song “Sorry James” is a poignant track that appears to be a conversation between the singer, who remains unnamed, and James. The song seems to be about James’ transformation and how the singer believes that James has lost his way. The lyrics seem to suggest that James has started to conform and that isn't like him. The singer is worried about him but James seems to be either unaware of the singer's concerns or unwilling to address them.

The first verse is a rhetorical question that is aimed at James. The singer is curious as to why James has changed since he has started to do things that are not characteristic of him, like eating white meat and wearing clean clothes. The singer questions what has gone wrong in James’ head and if the Earth has got him down. James doesn't respond to any of the questions and the singer ends the verse by apologizing to James.

The second verse is an introspective one, where the singer muses about James’ situation. They say that James is free in his dreams, but not in reality. They recognize that James is “crass” but that’s only because people don’t understand him completely. The singer then apologizes again to James because they believe that James has lost his way. Overall, the song speaks about the importance of individuality and how it’s okay not to conform.

Line by Line Meaning

What's gotten into you, James?
Why have you changed so much, James?

Now you're eating white meat
You've stopped eating red meat and switched to white meat.

You're wearing clean clothes
You're dressing better than before and keeping your clothes clean.

What in your head has gone wrong?
What's bothering you in your mind?

Has the Earth got you down?
Has something happened in the world that's making you upset?

You're wearing a frown, sorry James
You look sad and sorry for yourself, James.

For you'll forever be
You'll always remain

The only one who's free
The only one who truly feels free

But only in your dreams
But this freedom is only in your dreams and not reality.

He'd stop and he'd say
He would stop and speak

"What a beautiful day to be slipping away"
"It's a beautiful day to die."