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.
Idlewild
Travis Lyrics
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Tight skirts and baggy trousers
Grey men in cheap disguises
High hopes and higher rises
Here lived a girl who was on a mission
Here lived a boy who was under suspicion
Tried hard to stay beside her
Until the devil put his seed inside her
How?
You know how
Sleep too long and the sand runs out
So close to midnight
Time to fly
Do or die
Stung in the headlights
Here we lie
High and dry
The world will never see you 'till you open your eyes
Say goodnight
Kill the light
The world will never hear you tonight
Idlewild
For two years he tried to reach her
Worshiped the ground beneath her
She, she was always running
He, he saw the end was coming
But now the story takes a turn
She wakes up and her sheets are burning
Head down against the fire
Now, now, now the table turns
She won't learn
Sleep too long and your bed starts burning
So close to midnight
Idlewild, you don't know
You never need to
Here we lie
High and dry
The world will never see you 'till you open your eyes
Say goodnight
Kill the light
The world will never hear you tonight
Idlewild
Idlewild
I thought that we were good together
I thought that we could weather the weather
Whether or not that wise is the word for us
That high hopes are only there because, because
Because I thought the only thing between us
Was something shallow, not a river so deep, we see it's
Dredge up the wreckage our parents left us
Lay it on the banks to rot and fester
Now a skeleton hanging like a death star
And grim and green in dark Manchester
I don't want to hear it now
Here we lie
High and dry
The world will never see you 'till you open your eyes
Say goodnight, kill the light
The world will never hear you tonight
Idlewild
Idlewild
Kill the light
Idlewild
Kill the light
The song Idlewild by Travis Feat Josephine Oniyama paints a picture of a story of two people living in a row of houses. The house is a microcosm of the outside world, full of high hopes and higher rises, but also cheap disguises and suspicion. The two people are a girl on a mission and a boy under suspicion. They stand by each other, but tragedy strikes when the devil puts his seed inside her, changing the course of their relationship forever. The song then shifts to a scene of restlessness and desperation, as the sand runs out, giving the sense of time running out for these two people. It's so close to midnight, and it's time to fly, to do or die. The chorus "Here we lie, High and dry, The world will never see you 'till you open your eyes, Say goodnight, Kill the light, The world will never hear you tonight, Idlewild" is a call to action, urging them to wake up and seize the moment.
The second verse reveals that the boy has been trying to reach the girl for two years, but she's always running away. Now the story takes a turn as she wakes up to find her sheets burning. The song takes a darker turn as the imagery seems to suggest that the girl has set her bed on fire, making it harder for her to sleep with the weight of her guilt. The song ends with a haunting line: "Idlewild, you don't know, You never need to." This line suggests that while the world is full of turmoil and chaos, there is also a refuge, an idle wildness that offers a chance to escape from the world if only for a moment.
Line by Line Meaning
Once upon a row of houses
This is the beginning of a story about a group of people who lived in a row of houses
Tight skirts and baggy trousers
This line paints a picture of the fashion of the people in the row of houses.
Grey men in cheap disguises
The people in the row of houses have resorted to cheap disguises to mask their identities.
High hopes and higher rises
The people in the row of houses have aspirations for better lives, despite living in towering buildings.
Here lived a girl who was on a mission
A determined young girl lived in one of the houses with a mission in mind.
Here lived a boy who was under suspicion
A young boy lived in one of the houses under scrutiny.
Tried hard to stay beside her
The boy attempted to stay by the side of the girl despite the odds.
Until the devil put his seed inside her
The girl became pregnant by the devil, ultimately leading to their downfall.
How?
This line is likely a question, but its true meaning is unclear.
You know how
The answer to the previous question could be known or inferred.
Sleep too long and the sand runs out
When time is taken for granted, the inevitable end will come quickly.
So close to midnight
The end is near, with little time left.
Time to fly
It is time to leave or flee.
Do or die
There is no other option at this point besides success or failure.
Stung in the headlights
Caught off guard with sudden and intense exposure.
Here we lie
The characters in the story are not in a favorable position.
High and dry
They are abandoned and left to fend for themselves.
The world will never see you 'till you open your eyes
Without an awakened perspective, one's true potential will remain hidden from the world.
Say goodnight
Signaling the end of a chapter or relationship.
Kill the light
Ending things by turning off the lights.
The world will never hear you tonight
Your voice, ideas, or existence will not be acknowledged tonight.
Idlewild
A place where things are stagnant, unchanging, or uneventful.
For two years he tried to reach her
The boy made efforts to connect with the girl for two years.
Worshiped the ground beneath her
He held her in high esteem and admired her deeply.
She, she was always running
The girl was elusive and constantly moving or changing.
He, he saw the end was coming
The boy could sense that the relationship would come to an end.
But now the story takes a turn
The narrative of the story shifts direction.
She wakes up and her sheets are burning
The girl realizes something is wrong with a sudden sense of urgency.
Head down against the fire
She is trapped and unable to escape the flames, with her head lowered in defeat or submission.
Now, now, now the table turns
The dynamic of the relationship or story takes a sudden change in direction again.
She won't learn
The girl will not listen to advice or change her ways.
Sleep too long and your bed starts burning
Taking too long to address a problem can lead to a point of no return.
Idlewild, you don't know
Someone in Idlewild is oblivious or unaware of something.
You never need to
Whatever is happening doesn't require action or response.
I thought that we were good together
The singer believed that they were compatible with someone else.
I thought that we could weather the weather
The artist thought they could handle the difficulties of life with the other person.
Whether or not that wise is the word for us
There may be doubt as to whether it was a smart decision to pursue the relationship.
That high hopes are only there because, because
Optimism may have been misguided and unfounded.
Because I thought the only thing between us
The singer assumed that the only thing separating them from the other person was a surface-level issue.
Was something shallow, not a river so deep, we see it's
As the relationship progresses further, a much more serious issue arises.
Dredge up the wreckage our parents left us
Past traumas or issues caused by the artist's parents have resurfaced and affected their current relationship.
Lay it on the banks to rot and fester
These issues have been ignored and left to worsen over time.
Now a skeleton hanging like a death star
A metaphor for a past issue looming over the present like a threat or phantom.
And grim and green in dark Manchester
A description of the setting of the story, with negative connotations.
I don't want to hear it now
The artist does not want to deal with the consequences of their actions or past anymore.
Kill the light
Sometimes the only solution is to end something completely.
Idlewild
The place where the characters or narrator find themselves stuck or unable to move forward.
Kill the light
Repeating this line drives home the idea that ending things is a necessary step for moving on.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: FRANCIS HEALY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind