She grew up in Hatfield, Hertfordshire and studied English at the University of Hull, where she graduated in 1984 with First Class Honours. She lives with her EBTG partner Ben Watt in North London. The couple have twin daughters born in 1998, and a son born in 2001.
Thorn began her musical career in the group Marine Girls. The band released two albums (Beach Party in 1981 and Lazy Ways in 1982) and several singles. The group disbanded when Thorn decided to concentrate on Everything But The Girl.
Thorn's first solo work was a solo mini-album in 1982 entitled A Distant Shore. A re-recorded version of the track Plain Sailing was released as a single, and was included on the 'Pillows & Prayers' Cherry Red records compilation album.
Thorn and Ben Watt met at University when they were both signed separately, as solo artists, to Cherry Red Records. Their first album together was Eden, released in 1984. As a band, Everything But The Girl released a body of work that spanned two decades. Their biggest chart success came in 1995, when DJ Todd Terry remixed a song from their Amplified Heart album. Missing became a huge hit all over the world, especially in the U.S., where it reached number 2 in the Billboard Hot 100.
The duo has been on extended hiatus since 2002 while Watt has concentrated on his DJ work, and Thorn has been raising their children and writing and recording a solo album.
She collaborated with Massive Attack on several projects, including the soundtrack for the motion picture Batman Forever where she contributed with The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game. Their first project together was the song Protection from the album by Massive Attack of the same name. She also sings on the track Better Things.
Thorn has also contributed guest vocals and backing vocals for The Style Council, The Go-Betweens, Working Week, and Lloyd Cole and the Commotions.
Her first collaboration, after a lengthy singing hiatus, was on the song Damage by the band Tiefschwarz.
In March 2007, Tracey Thorn released her second solo album Out of the Woods on Virgin Records (Worldwide) and on Astralwerks (USA). It includes contributions from Cagedbaby, Ewan Pearson, Charles Webster, Sasse and Martin Wheeler.
In 2010, she released Love and Its Opposite on her husband's own label, Strange Feeling. Swedish singer Jens Lekman appears on Come On Home to Me.
Official website: www.traceythorn.com
By Piccadilly Station I Sat Down And Wept
Tracey Thorn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where love goes?
Up there in the ether I suppose
Sometimes it burns enough to leave a trace in the air
The ghost of me and you in a parallel world somewhere
Do you ever think about that walk to the station
And how it all ended then there
Into a parallel world somewhere
I know you've wondered and I wonder as well
I'm not a secret that you've kept
My heart broke just there once
I know the place it fell
By Piccadilly Station I sat down and wept
Does anyone witness such a disappearance?
One man is just standing in the rain
The air just seems to shiver and you're never seen again
Never seen again
The song "By Piccadilly Station I Sat Down And Wept" by Tracey Thorn is a melancholic reflection of love and loss. The opening lines of the song convey a sense of wonder as the singer asks where love goes once it's gone. The idea of love leaving a trace in the air suggests that even though love may be intangible, it still has a physical presence that lingers in our memory.
The next lines of the song depict a scene where two people part ways at a train station and vanish into different worlds. The parallel world is a metaphor for an alternative reality where the two people could have stayed together. The singer expresses her regret about the past and how the memory of the heartbreak still haunts her. The image of her weeping by Piccadilly Station is a poignant symbol of her emotional pain.
The last lines of the song suggest that love and heartbreak can be isolating. The sudden disappearance of love can leave one feeling alone, as if they are never seen again. The use of the third-person perspective creates a sense of distance and detachment from the situation, as if the singer is observing the event from a distance.
Line by Line Meaning
Do you ever wonder
Do you ever contemplate
Where love goes?
Where the emotion of affection goes?
Up there in the ether I suppose
Perhaps it resides in the upper regions of the atmosphere.
Sometimes it burns enough to leave a trace in the air
Occasionally, it ignites enough to imprint itself in the atmosphere.
The ghost of me and you in a parallel world somewhere
The apparition of us in an alternative dimension.
Do you ever think about that walk to the station
Do you ever reminisce about that stroll towards the stop
And how it all ended then there
And how it all culminated there
As every door has opened then we vanished in the air
As each entrance had disclosed, we dissipated into the air.
Into a parallel world somewhere
Into a parallel universe of some sort.
I know you've wondered and I wonder as well
I am aware that you have pondered and I do likewise.
I'm not a secret that you've kept
I am not a piece of information you have concealed.
My heart broke just there once
My heart shattered in that very spot once
I know the place it fell
I am familiar with where it landed
By Piccadilly Station I sat down and wept
By Piccadilly Station, I descended and wept.
Does anyone witness such a disappearance?
Does anybody observe such a vanishing?
One man is just standing in the rain
A single person is present in the precipitation
The air just seems to shiver and you're never seen again
The atmosphere only appears to quiver and you are never beheld again.
Never seen again
Never to be observed again.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: TRACEY THORN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind