Travis is a Scottish indie band formed in Glasgow in 1990, composed of Fran… Read Full Bio ↴Travis is a Scottish indie band formed in Glasgow in 1990, composed of Fran Healy (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Dougie Payne (bass guitar, backing vocals), Andy Dunlop (lead guitar, banjo, backing vocals) and Neil Primrose (drums, percussion). The band's name comes from the character Travis Henderson (played by Harry Dean Stanton) from the film Paris, Texas (1984).

The band released their debut album, Good Feeling (1997), to moderate success where it debuted at number nine on the UK Albums Chart and was later awarded a silver certification from the BPI in January 2000. The band gained greater success with their second album, The Man Who (1999), which spent nine weeks at number one on the UK Albums Chart, totalling 134 weeks in the top 100 of the chart. In 2003, The Man Who was certified 9× platinum by the BPI, representing sales of over 2.68 million in the UK alone. Following this success, the band released their third effort, The Invisible Band (2001) album. The Invisible Band went on to match the success found with their previous album, where it debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and spent a total of four weeks at the top spot, fifteen weeks in the top ten, and a total of fifty-five weeks in the top 100 chart, as well as peaking at thirty-nine on the US Billboard 200 album chart, spending a duration of seven weeks in the Billboard 200 chart. A year following the release of The Invisible Band, the BPI awarded Travis with a 4× platinum certification for the album.

In recent years, the band's discography has included studio albums 12 Memories (2003), The Boy with No Name (2007), Ode to J. Smith (2008), Where You Stand (2013), Everything at Once (2016) and 10 Songs (2020). In 2004, the band released their first greatest hits album, Singles, which spent nineteen weeks in the top 100 of the UK albums chart. Travis have twice been awarded best band at the BRIT Awards and were awarded the NME Artist of the Year award at their 2000 ceremony, and in 2016 were honoured at the Scottish Music Awards for their outstanding contribution to music. The band are widely said by the media to have paved the way for other bands such as Keane and Coldplay to go on to achieve worldwide success throughout the 2000s, particularly with the success of The Man Who.

Craft Recordings celebrated the 20th anniversary of Travis' breakthrough year with two simultaneous releases: Live at Glastonbury '99, plus expanded editions of The Man Who – both of which were released on 21 June 2019.

Chinese Blues
Travis Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The snow was falling on his shoulders by the side of the road
And he watched as the sun went down
Falling on the building
Swallowing the children
It's the gun in your back
It's the heart attack
It's the way you look back before you step out

In time to see the number of the bus that's running you down
A million lonely people with their bead in the sand
Trying to make some sense of what they don't understand
Waiting on somebody just to give them a hand
You're designed to fall apart on the day the warranty ends
And you try but you just can't stop
Running round in circles
Knocking over hurdles
It's the knife in your back
It's the heart attack
It's the way you look back before you step out
In time to see the shadow of the one that's cutting you down

The snow was falling on his shoulders by the side of the road
And he watched as the lights came on below
And the children were sleeping

And the women were weeping
There was nobody keeping him here

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Travis's song Chinese Blues are full of metaphors and vivid imagery. The first verse describes a man standing by the side of the road with snow falling on his shoulders. He watches as the sun sets and the shadows swallow up children playing in a nearby building. The second verse speaks to the universal struggles many people face, as "a million lonely people with their heads in the sand" try to make sense of a world they don't understand. They wait for someone to help them, but finding that help seems impossible.

The chorus highlights the feeling of helplessness that often accompanies these struggles, as it speaks to the various obstacles that can hinder a person's progress. It's the gun in your back, the knife in your back, the heart attack, and the way you look back before you step out. In other words, there are forces beyond a person's control that can hold them back or even cause them harm.

The last verse brings the song full circle, as the man from the beginning is still standing in the snow by the side of the road. He watches the lights come on below, and notes that the children are sleeping and the women are weeping. There is nobody keeping him there, however, suggesting that he may choose to walk away from this difficult world and find his own way forward.

All in all, Chinese Blues is a powerful song that speaks to feelings of hopelessness, desperation, and the overwhelming desire to find a way out. It's about the struggles many people face in life, and the difficult choices they must make as they try to navigate a complex and often unforgiving world.

Line by Line Meaning

The snow was falling on his shoulders by the side of the road
He was out in the snow, freezing, and the snow was falling on his shoulders while he stood by the side of the road.

And he watched as the sun went down
He was looking at the sky and saw the sun going down.

Falling on the building
The sun was going down and its light was falling on the building.

Swallowing the children
The sun was setting and its light was enveloping the children, making them look like silhouettes.

It's the gun in your back
He was scared and felt like somebody had a gun pointed on his back.

It's the heart attack
He was feeling so scared that it felt like he was having a heart attack.

It's the way you look back before you step out
When you are scared, you tend to look back before taking a step forward.

In time to see the number of the bus that's running you down
When you are scared and running away, you might end up getting hit by something unexpected like a bus.

A million lonely people with their bead in the sand
There are so many people in this world who are lonely and choose to ignore their problems by distracting themselves.

Trying to make some sense of what they don't understand
People try to rationalize things that they don't understand, in order to make sense of it.

Waiting on somebody just to give them a hand
People often wait for someone to come and help them through tough times.

You're designed to fall apart on the day the warranty ends
Things have a limited duration that they can work after which they start to break down.

And you try but you just can't stop
You attempt to stop things from breaking down, but sometimes it's beyond your control.

Running round in circles
When you are anxious, you keep on running around in circles trying to find a solution.

Knocking over hurdles
You face obstacles when trying to solve your problems, and sometimes they fall down on you when you are not expecting it.

It's the knife in your back
It feels like somebody is stabbing you in the back when you are being betrayed or threatened.

In time to see the shadow of the one that's cutting you down
Before you are betrayed or threatened, you have a moment where you sense that something's not right and realize the betrayal is coming.

And he watched as the lights came on below
It started getting dark, and the streetlights below came on.

And the children were sleeping
As the night gets darker, the children are asleep.

And the women were weeping
In darkness, people have moments where they experience sorrow and start weeping.

There was nobody keeping him here
In that moment, he felt like he was alone, and nobody was stopping him from leaving.

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: FRANCIS HEALY

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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