Finn started a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Auckland in 1971. There he jammed in music practice room 129 (later the name of a Split Enz song) with friends and future Split Enz bandmembers Mike Chunn, Robert Gillies, Philip Judd and Noel Crombie. Music soon became more important to him than his studies; in mid-1972 he quit university. A few months later, Judd and Finn (the band's members used their middle names as stage names) formed group Split Ends (renamed Split Enz, shortly before their first move to Melbourne in 1975). The bands' music style is best described as eclectic, incorporating influences from art rock, vaudeville, swing, punk, glam rock, rock and pop. Between 1972 and 1977, Finn and Judd alternated as frontman for the band. Once Judd permanently left the band, Tim Finn's younger brother Neil Finn took his place.
In 1983 Finn recorded his debut solo album, Escapade, while still a member of Split Enz. This met with major commercial success both in Australia and New Zealand, and yielded hit song Fraction Too Much Friction. After contributing four songs to the Split Enz album Conflicting Emotions, Finn left the band permanently in June 1984, to focus on a solo career. The following year he moved to London. 1986 saw the release of his second solo album Big Canoe.
In late 1989, Finn was back living in Melbourne, recording his eponymous third album, Tim Finn, for Capitol Records. In early 1990, he began playing music with younger brother Neil, for an intended Finn brothers record. After working together on some songs, Neil Finn proposed incorporating the tracks onto the latest album of Crowded House, the group he had formed after Split Enz dissolved. Tim Finn performed with the band to promote the band's album Woodface, and co-wrote eight songs, including the hit Weather with You. Yet some time during the tour which followed the album's American release, all concerned realised that the combination was not a good fit. Tim Finn returned to pursue his solo career.
In 2004, the Finn brothers released their second album together, Everyone Is Here. Since then Finn has continued to release solo albums.
Snowbound
Tim Finn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Snowbound
Everybody got snowbound
Suddenly the whole town
Is quiet as a tomb.
A hotel
A feeling I know so well
Is heightened by the gloom.
See the lines and circles made as we come and go
Like the tyre marks in a car park in the snow
They won't be there tomorrow.
Fight for
There's everything to fight for
Then you might have to die for
What you thought was true.
The cold ground
Lying in the cold ground
A man who wore a gold crown
There's nothing we can do.
See the lines and circles made as we come and go
Like the tyre marks in a car park in the snow
They won't be there tomorrow, oh no.
Where's the sun beating on my door ?
Shining on the kitchen floor ?
Where's the sun warming up the place ?
And you, by your presence I am graced.
See the lines and circles made as we come and go
Like the tyre marks in a car park in the snow
They won't be there tomorrow
No, they won't be there tomorrow.
Tim Finn's Snowbound is a melancholic song about being stuck somewhere, physically or emotionally. The opening lines, 'Everybody got snowbound / Suddenly the whole town / Is quiet as a tomb' create an atmosphere of stillness and isolation. The singer is stuck inside a hotel, and while he might know the feeling of being trapped, the snow makes this feeling more palpable. The repetition of 'See the lines and circles made as we come and go / Like the tyre marks in a car park in the snow / They won't be there tomorrow' suggests a sense of impermanence and futility. Everything we do, every effort we make to get out of the situation we're in, can be erased in a moment.
The second stanza introduces a note of defiance, with the lyrics 'There's everything to fight for / Then you might have to die for / What you thought was true.' The bitter irony lies in the fact that while we might believe in something enough to die for it, in the end, we might not succeed in making it real. The final stanza is more personal, with the singer asking 'Where's the sun warming up the place? / And you, by your presence I am graced.' The snow, the isolation, the struggle, all make him yearn for the warmth of the sun and the comfort of a loved one.
Line by Line Meaning
Snowbound
The state of being trapped by snow, unable to leave or move on.
Everybody got snowbound
Everyone in the area is experiencing being stuck due to the snow.
Suddenly the whole town
Is quiet as a tomb.
The snow has caused the bustling town to become eerily silent and devoid of activity.
A hotel
I'm stuck inside a hotel
A feeling I know so well
Is heightened by the gloom.
The singer is particularly familiar with being snowbound in a hotel, and the sadness and loneliness that comes with it is amplified by the dreary atmosphere.
See the lines and circles made as we come and go
Like the tyre marks in a car park in the snow
They won't be there tomorrow.
Tracks made in the snow from people and cars won't last and will disappear by tomorrow.
Fight for
There's everything to fight for
Then you might have to die for
What you thought was true.
When there is something worth standing up for, you may need to fight and even make the ultimate sacrifice, based on what you truly believe.
The cold ground
Lying in the cold ground
A man who wore a gold crown
There's nothing we can do.
A powerful man, depicted as a king, has passed away and is now buried in the cold ground, showing how inevitable death is, and how we can't control it.
Where's the sun beating on my door?
Shining on the kitchen floor?
Where's the sun warming up the place?
And you, by your presence I am graced.
The singer yearns for the warmth and light of the sun, as well as the companionship of a loved one to make things feel more pleasant and tolerable.
No, they won't be there tomorrow.
A final reminder that things that seem lasting, like tracks in the snow, are fleeting and won't be there forever.
Contributed by Nathan N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.