He is noted for an asthmatic whispering lyrical style that is half-rapped, half-sung. As a producer and a musician he is known for having an aversion to perfection preferring to build up a dark, rich and layered sound. Culturally, Tricky bridges white and black Britain particularly in his fusion of rock and hip-hop, high art and pop culture. He drew his influences from rap (Public Enemy) to post-punk (he covered a Siouxsie and the Banshees's song Tattoo).
Throughout his work, Tricky blurs the normally clear sexual definitions found within hip hop. Despite the heavy influence he drew from American hip hop in his debut album, Maxinquaye, he fights against typical sexual representations by, for example, dressing as a woman on the side sleeve of his album cover. Within many of his tracks he blends elements of varying types of music, and use his lyrics to create a much more ambiguous and blurry reality of sexuality.
Maxinquaye remains his most commercially and critically successful album to date. About it, Tricky originally said in an interview with Raygun in October 1996 that he wanted to make an 'out-an-out punk record' and that "I thought it was going be heavier. I thought it was just going to be an out-an-out punk record. But you end up straying. What I wanted to do was a total fast album. Some of the tracks are fast and hard, but they didn't come out like that." He also said that he hated being stuck with the trip-hop tag so "That's why I did Nearly God, and that's why I did Pre-Millennium Tension. You can't see them as trip-hop albums. So I just keep running away from it. But the farther you run, it's still there. They'll find you." Ever since, Tricky' style has evolved away from obscure, sample-based textures to a more contemporary, electronic sound.
Tricky was in Massive Attack and appeared in the movie The Fifth Element as well as the music video for Parabola by Tool. He has collaborated extensively with other artists on tracks on his various releases, including Bjork, Alanis Morissette, Cyndi Lauper, Anthony Kiedis , John Frusciante and Flea (of the Red Hot Chili Peppers), Martina Topley-Bird, and Alison Goldfrapp of Goldfrapp also many others.
After his initial success in the latter 1990's, he started his own label called Durban Poison. Currently he is heading a new imprint called Brown Punk.
Ponderosa
Tricky Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The place where, the place where
The place where, the place where (where I stand)
The place where I stand gives way to liquid lino
Underneath the weeping willow lies a weeping whino
The place where I stand gives way to liquid lino
Underneath the weeping willow lies a weeping whino
The mind's a crowd
Search for the spaces
Turn around, time's gone
I take ten paces
Been up ahead
Can't make head or tail of it
I drink 'til I'm drunk
And I smoke 'til I'm senseless
I see in black and white
Feel in slow motion
I drown myself in sorrow
Until I wake up tomorrow
The illusion of confusion
It's not from where I am sat
Recircle, recycle, resemble me
Different levels of the devil's company
They lead us outside
Take us out quietly
To the cage through the bars
You see scars, results of my rage
The place where I stand gives way to liquid lino
Underneath the weeping willow lies a weeping whino
The place where I stand gives way to liquid lino
Underneath the weeping willow lies a weeping whino
The mind's a crowd (the illusion of confusion)
Search for the spaces (search for the)
Turn around time's gone (turn around, gone)
I take ten paces (I take ten paces)
Been up ahead
Can't make head or tail of it (can't make head or tail of it)
I drink 'til I'm drunk (I smoke)
And I smoke 'til I'm senseless (I smoke, I smoke)
See in black and white
Feel in slow motion (feel in slow motion, and drown, drown myself in sorrow)
Drown myself in sorrow (till I wake up tomorrow)
Until I wake up tomorrow (the illusion of)
I drown myself in sorrow (the illusion of)
Until I wake up tomorrow (the illusion of, the illusion of)
I drown myself in (the illusion of))
I drown myself in (until I, until I wake up tomorrow)
The illusion of confusion
Is not from where I am sat (is not from where I'm circle)
Tricky's song Ponderosa is a dark and ominous portrayal of the singer's alcohol-fueled existence in a world of confusion and despair. The first verse paints a picture of a place that is unstable and constantly shifting, represented by the "liquid lino" that gives way beneath the singer's feet. The weeping willow and the weeping wino underneath it suggest a sense of sorrow and hopelessness that permeates the world around them. The singer seems lost and disoriented, unable to make sense of his surroundings and struggling to find his place within them.
Throughout the song, there is a sense of being trapped, whether it's in the mind or in physical confinement. The "crowds" and "bars" suggest a lack of freedom, while the scars and rage hint at the violence that can result from that confinement. The singer copes with this sense of entrapment through drinking and smoking, a self-destructive cycle that only adds to his confusion and disorientation. The repetition of the line "I drown myself in sorrow, until I wake up tomorrow" underscores the cyclical nature of this existence, and the futility of trying to escape from it.
In sum, Ponderosa is a haunting meditation on the struggle to find meaning and purpose in a world that seems determined to thwart those efforts. The singer's sense of disorientation and despair is palpable, and the vivid imagery used throughout the song only adds to the eerie atmosphere.
Line by Line Meaning
The place where I stand gives way to liquid lino
Where I am standing, the ground is giving away, turning into liquid lino.
Underneath the weeping willow lies a weeping wino
Beneath the willow tree is a homeless alcoholic who is crying.
Don't mind the crowds
Ignore the noisy group of people around you.
Search for the spaces
Look for the places where you can find peace and quiet.
Turn around time goes on (Turn around time's gone)
Time keeps moving forward no matter how much you wish to go back in time.
A day to day basis (Take ten paces)
Taking life day by day and moving forward slowly but steadily.
Been up ahead
I have gone ahead in life.
Can't made head or tail of it
I am unable to make sense of my life and my experiences.
I drink till I'm drunk
I drink alcohol until I am no longer in control of myself.
And I smoke till I'm senseless
I smoke cigarettes until I can no longer think clearly.
See you black and white
I see things in a very simplified, black and white manner.
Feel in slow motion
I feel like everything around me is moving slowly, even though time is passing quickly.
I drown myself in sorrow
I immerse myself in sadness and despair.
Until I wake up tomorrow
I will continue to be lost in my sadness until the next day begins.
The illusion of confusion is not from where I am sat
I am not confused because of my external surroundings, but because of my own internal struggles.
Different recycles resemble me
I see similarities between myself and people who are stuck in cycles of addiction and despair.
Different levels of the devils company.
There are varying degrees of evil influences in my life.
They lead us outside, take us out quietly
Someone is leading us outside, and doing so without attracting attention.
To the cage through the bars
We are being taken to a cage, which we can see through the bars.
You see scars: results of my rage
When you look at me, you can see the scars from my past fits of anger.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Adrian Nicholas Matthew Thaws, Howard Simon Bernstein, Martina Topley-Bird
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MrGhertman
This is probably the music video I have watched the most in my life. Martina's voice and beauty is one of a kind. God bless her 🙏
@blackpoolacer
stunning
@Apursansaar1007
Copied from bollywood music whole tabla tune
@hootsaidtheowl
@@Apursansaar1007 music is sampled all the time. This post is about Martina voice and beauty..... that's not copied
@tdiddle8950
@@Apursansaar1007 Like Missy Misdemeanor?
@kristallin
Life-changing music, seriously. This album changed everything.
@catdeluxeatday
kristallin true.
@OrhallaZander
same for me...... it's the most emotional music.... I love it, but I only play it on special occasion because it has too much emotion!
It's not like playing a jolly beattles song
@iraplikeyoubreathe
Truth
@gregkosinski2303
i used to be a white man