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.
Whenever She Comes Around
Travis Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He turns his p0rkinson
She's in his bath robe
He's in her dressing gown
And he feels down
Like a big coloured clown
He's looking dead good
She looks him up and frowns
And he feels down
Oh he feels down
These lyrics are from the song “Whenever She Comes Around” by Travis. The lines describe the character's feeling of helplessness and vulnerability when he is near the person he loves. The first line, “He turns his light out,” portrays the character trying to avoid the attention of the woman he loves. The second line, “He turns his Parkinson,” provides an interesting contrast between the character's attempt to hide and his Parkinson's Disease, which is a neurological disorder characterized by tremors and shaky movements. This suggests that the character is jittery and anxious in the presence of his love interest.
The next lines, “She's in his bathrobe / He's in her dressing gown,” show how the characters are in each other's space and have a certain intimacy between them. However, despite this intimacy, the character feels down and insignificant when he is with her. The lines “Like the big movies / Like a big coloured clown / He's looking dead good / She looks him up and frowns” point to an attempt to impress the woman, but the effort falls short. Finally, the line “And he feels down” reiterates the character's sense of insecurity and disappointment after trying to impress the woman he loves.
Line by Line Meaning
He turns his light out
He switches off the light to get ready for bed.
He turns his p0rkinson
He takes his Parkinson's medication before going to sleep.
She's in his bath robe
She's wearing his bathrobe, possibly implying intimacy or closeness.
He's in her dressing gown
He's wearing her dressing gown, another sign of intimacy or closeness.
And he feels down
He's feeling low, possibly due to the intimate connection not being reciprocated.
Like the big movies
He's trying to live up to the romantic ideals of Hollywood movies.
Like a big coloured clown
He may feel like he's putting on a show or being ridiculous in trying to impress her.
He's looking dead good
He's dressing up and making an effort to look his best.
She looks him up and frowns
Her reaction is disappointing and unsupportive, hence causing further frustration.
And he feels down
The lack of positive validation is further impacting his emotions.
Oh he feels down
He's really feeling down emotionally, despite his best efforts.
Contributed by Charlie T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.