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.
Last Words
Travis Lyrics
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When you are down
Who brings you cups of coffee
Who picks you up
When you're in town
Whatever makes you happy
And I'm glad you're better now
But I'm sad you're not around
Won't ever desert you
Or turn against
Friends
Won't love you and leave you
To mend the fence
Who wakes you up
When you're late for work
Who makes the bed so lovely
Who found your sock
Who pressed your shirt
Whatever makes you love me
And I'm glad I'm better now
But I'm just sad you're not around
Friends
Will never deceive you
Or turn against
Friends
Won't love you and leave you
To mend the fence...
The lyrics to Travis's song Last Words convey a sense of longing for a friend who is no longer around. The opening lines pose a series of questions that highlight the gravity of the absence of this friend in the singer's life. The lines, "Who cheers you up when you are down? Who brings you cups of coffee? Who picks you up when you're in town?" evoke a feeling of sadness, as if the singer is mourning the loss of this person who used to fulfill these roles in their life.
The chorus of the song, "Friends won't ever desert you or turn against / Friends won't love you and leave you to mend the fence", speaks to the reliability and loyalty of true friends. It's clear that the singer values the friendship they had with this person and is grieving the end of it. The lines, "Whatever makes you happy / And I'm glad you're better now / But I'm sad you're not around" convey a complex mix of emotions, including happiness for their friend's well-being and a sense of loneliness from their absence.
Overall, the lyrics of Last Words are poignant and heartfelt, expressing the universal experience of missing someone who used to be an important part of your life.
Line by Line Meaning
Who cheers you up
Who is the person that brings you joy and fights the sadness away?
When you are down
When you are feeling low and life seems impossible to bear
Who brings you cups of coffee
Who do you rely on to comfort you and offer you caffeine-powered moral support?
Who picks you up
Who is the person that is always there to lift you up, even when you feel like giving up?
When you're in town
When you're feeling lost in a strange place and need someone to show you the way?
Whatever makes you happy
Whatever it takes to put a smile on your face and make your heart sing
And I'm glad you're better now
I'm happy to hear that things are looking up for you and that you're feeling better
But I'm sad you're not around
Unfortunately, I'm feeling a sense of loss because we are not spending time together as we used to
Friends
The people that are always there for you, no matter what happens
Won't ever desert you
They will never abandon you or leave you behind when you need them the most
Or turn against
They will never betray your trust, stab you in the back, or damage your relationship
Friends
The people that will always have your back, no matter what the future holds
Won't love you and leave you
They won't shower you with love and then disappear without a trace, leaving you wondering what went wrong
To mend the fence
You won't have to repair the damage that they have caused because they will never hurt you
Who wakes you up
Who is the person that reminds you of your responsibilities and makes sure you are up in time to handle them?
When you're late for work
When you're running behind schedule and everything seems to be going wrong?
Who makes the bed so lovely
Who is the person that pays attention to the little details that make your life more beautiful and comfortable?
Who found your sock
Who is the person that is always there to help you search for the things that go missing in your life?
Who pressed your shirt
Who does the little things that make you feel special and loved, even when the world is chaotic and uncertain?
Whatever makes you love me
Whatever I need to do to win your heart and make you feel valued and appreciated
And I'm glad I'm better now
I'm happy that I have overcome my struggles and can be the person that you need me to be
But I'm just sad you're not around
I feel a sense of loss and emptiness because we are not able to spend time together like we used to
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: DOUGLAS PAYNE, FRANCIS HEALY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind