Buckley often regarded his tenor voice as an instrument, a talent most noticeable on his albums Happy Sad, Lorca, and Starsailor. His first marriage was to Mary Guibert, with whom he had a child, musician Jeff Buckley. They divorced in 1968 and after this Buckley would meet with his son only once more. Buckley married second wife Judy Brejot Sutcliffe in 1970 and adopted her son, Taylor.
Born in Washington DC, Buckley,an Irish-American, lived for 10 years in Amsterdam, New York, before moving to southern California, initially to Bell Gardens and later settling in Anaheim in 1965. His experiences with music were through his family, artists such as Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland being particular favorites in the household. During his childhood, Buckley was a fan of Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Nat King Cole and Miles Davis, although country music was his foremost passion. Reflecting this, at the age of 11 Buckley learned how to play the banjo, an instrument which his mother had bought to occupy him following a bout of mumps. He attended Loara High School in Anaheim, California, and, amongst others, made friends with Don Gordon, Larry Beckett, Jim Fielder (original member of Blood, Sweat & Tears) and future wife, Mary Guibert. He was an accomplished high school athlete, becoming a quarterback for the school team in addition to getting a place on the baseball team. During this period playing as quarterback, Buckley broke the first two fingers on his left hand but they never fully returned to normal and made guitar playing more difficult. At the age of 15, Buckley abandoned the banjo and moved on to the guitar, playing with Princess Ramona & The Cherokee Riders, a country and western band. However, the lead singer saw Buckley was uninterested and instead suggested he apply himself to the emerging 1960's folk scene.
Buckley's career began with his 1966 debut Tim Buckley, its mix of pop and folk rock drawing on popular influences of the time. His popularity peaked with second album Goodbye and Hello, a more mature record with avant-garde influences and political sentiments. In the three years that followed Buckley was at his most prolific and experimental, producing four albums of varying styles. Happy Sad and Blue Afternoon showed Buckley's folk roots while Lorca veered to more avant-garde styles. The final album of this period, Starsailor, is a mix of jazz, funk and avant-garde styles, representing his continual evolution in genre. This period, while garnering some critical success, proved disastrous for his record sales as the disparity of his styles caused his fan-base to all but disappear.
Following this Buckley changed genres again, with 1972 release Greetings from L.A., which incorporated the funk, rhythm and blues and soul sounds of the early 1970s in to his music. However, this release and the following album Sefronia did not match up to the success of his previous work. In 1974, having alienated much of his fan-base and squandered money made at his peak, Buckley released Look at the Fool, which was neither well received by the public nor the majority of critics. By this point Buckley had grown disillusioned with the music industry and his drug abuse of the past seven years had affected him.
In spite of this, in early 1975, desperate for musical recognition and an escape from poverty and obscurity, Buckley dropped his drug dependencies and engaged the musical press regarding a live album comeback. Buckley began performing material drawn from his whole career as a response to the desires of his audience, desires he had always spurned in the past. However, Buckley relapsed and on June 28, 1975, he overdosed on heroin. His wife Judy, having earlier put him in bed, was unable to rouse him and paramedics pronounced him dead on arrival. He was 28 years old and was survived by his wife and adopted son Taylor, and his biological son, Jeff (who also died at a young age).
Hallucinations
Tim Buckley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Only yesterday
When I ran to catch you
You disappeared
And the street was gray
The candle died
Now you are gone
Now you are gone
I heard you laughing
With your laugh of gold
When I called out to you
Silence returned
And the air was cold
The castle fell
Now you are gone
No more rings the bell
Now you are gone
I found a letter
On the day it rained
When I tore it open
There in my hands
Only ash remained
The castle fell
Now you are gone
No more rings the bell
Now you are gone
I felt you breathing
As I fell asleep
When I reached out to touch you
No one was there
And the night was deep
The candle died
Now you are gone
For the flame was too bright
Now you are gone
I saw you walking
Only yesterday
When I ran to catch you
You disappeared
And the street was gray
The castle fell
Now you are gone
No more rings the bell
Now you are gone
The lyrics of Tim Buckley's song Hallucinations depict a haunting tale of losing someone very dear. The first verse describes the singer seeing someone they know walking, but when they try to catch up, the person disappears. The street becomes gray, indicating that the singer feels lost and alone. In the second verse, the singer remembers the person's laughter, but when they called out to them, there was silence, and the air was cold. The castle fell, and the person is gone.
The third verse brings up the idea of a letter being found. However, when the singer opens it, all that remains is ash. This imagery gives the impression that whatever the singer has lost is gone forever. In the fourth verse, the singer reaches out to embrace the person they are missing, but no one is there, and the night is deep. The candle died, and the flame was too bright, possibly representing the idea that the feelings between the two burned too brightly, and it is now extinguished. Finally, the singer laments that they saw the person yesterday, but now they are gone, and the bell no longer rings. This final verse brings a sense of closure, indicating that the singer has come to terms with their loss.
Overall, Hallucinations is a heartbreaking yet beautiful song that deals with themes of loss and loneliness. Buckley's poetic lyrics and haunting voice leave a lasting impression on the listener, and the melody is simple but effective.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw you walking
The singer notices the person he loves walking, indicating their recent presence in his life.
Only yesterday
The person he loves was present in his life just one day prior.
When I ran to catch you
The singer is eagerly trying to reach out to the person he loves before they leave.
You disappeared
The person he loves is gone from his life, despite his efforts to catch up to them.
And the street was gray
The absence of the person he loves creates a sense of dullness and emptiness in the singer's environment.
The candle died
The light of hope or happiness has burned out due to the loss of the person he loves.
Now you are gone
The person he loves is no longer present in his life.
For the flame was too bright
The love between the singer and the person he loves was too intense or passionate to last.
I heard you laughing
The singer remembers the joyful times they shared with the person he loves.
With your laugh of gold
The person he loves had a laughter that was warm and full of life.
When I called out to you
The singer reaches out to the person he loves, hoping for a response.
Silence returned
The person he loves does not respond, adding to the singer's sense of isolation and loss.
And the air was cold
The absence of the person he loves creates a feeling of emptiness and desolation in the singer's surroundings.
No more rings the bell
The phone or doorbell no longer signals the presence of the person he loves.
I found a letter
The singer discovers a message from the person he loves.
On the day it rained
The message comes at a time when the singer is already feeling emotional or downhearted.
When I tore it open
The singer eagerly reads the message, desperate for a connection to the person he loves.
There in my hands
The contents of the message are physical and real.
Only ash remained
The message from the person he loves brings no comfort or solace, only further desolation.
I felt you breathing
The singer remembers the person he loves as they slept together or shared intimate moments.
As I fell asleep
The person he loves is still a part of the singer's dreams and memories.
When I reached out to touch you
The singer tries to connect with the person he loves, even if only in his mind.
No one was there
The person he loves is truly gone, leaving the singer alone with his thoughts and memories.
And the night was deep
The singer experiences a sense of darkness or depth as he confronts his own emotions.
The castle fell
The imagined or hoped-for future with the person he loves has collapsed or vanished.
No more rings the bell
The singer is left without the tangible presence or connection of the person he loves.
Now you are gone
The person he loves is no longer a part of his life, leaving a deep and lasting sense of loss.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BECKETT BUCKLEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind