The release of their second album "Replicas" in 1979 finally gave Numan the success he had been trying to achieve from the start with the single "Are Friends Electric?", the song topping the British charts for four weeks. The band's cold electronic take on minimalistic pop took a little while to catch on with the music audience at large, but proved to be of lasting influence. Combining the artistic and poetic tendencies of David Bowie (especially the Berlin years) with sequenced synthesizers along the lines of Kraftwerk presaged the whole genre of techno-pop in the 1980s.
In late 1979, after the success of "Replicas", Numan dropped Tubeway Army and went on to record as a solo artist.
It's also worthy of note that during 1979, while his band "Ultravox" were on hiatus, Billy Currie collaborated with Gary on material for both "Replicas" and Gary's first solo album "The Pleasure Principle".
The official website can be found here: www.garynuman.co.uk
Stories
Tubeway Army Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where it's reasonably quiet
Drinking coffee with cream
Thinking stories of young love
She calls to the waiter
'Won't you lend me some time?
You can sit by my side
And I'll let you be friends with mine.'
The cafe is old
But the candlelight's new
She orders Beaujolais wine
And says 'I've thought of you too'
She whispers 'Isn't it odd
You remind me of songs
That I'd rather forget
Like feelings I longed for
You haunt me inside
Sometimes I recall
Question mistakes
Who grew to nothing at all'
I hear voices that cry
And one of them's mine
All the things I could say
Are the reasons I can't
She says 'I've seen you before
In thoughts I call 'son'
Like an old film with sound
When the link comes undone'
The waiter is me
And the woman is you
And we are the story
Just like others I knew
The lyrics of the song "Stories" by Tubeway Army narrate the encounter between two people in a quiet coffee shop. The woman sits alone, enjoying her coffee with cream as she thinks of stories of young love. She then calls the waiter and invites him to sit by her side, offering to let him be friends with her. The ambiance of the cafe is old, but the candlelight is new, as the woman orders Beaujolais wine and reveals her thoughts of the waiter. She remarks how the waiter reminds her of the songs she would rather forget, like feelings that she longed for, and how he haunts her inside.
As the song continues, the woman talks about questioning her mistakes and how they grew to nothing at all. She hears voices that cry, and one of them is hers. Despite this, she cannot find the words to express her feelings, saying that all the things she could say are the reasons she can't. She sees the waiter before in her thoughts, calling him 'son,' like an old film with sound when the link comes undone. The final lines reveal that the waiter is the singer of the song and that the woman is the story, just like others he knew.
Line by Line Meaning
She sits in the corner
There's a woman sitting in the corner
Where it's reasonably quiet
She chose the spot because it's not too noisy
Drinking coffee with cream
She's sipping coffee with cream in it
Thinking stories of young love
She's lost in thought, imagining stories about young love
She calls to the waiter
She gets the waiter's attention
'Won't you lend me some time?
She asks if he can spare some time for her
You can sit by my side
She invites him to sit with her
And I'll let you be friends with mine.'
She promises to introduce him to her friends
The cafe is old
The setting is an old cafe
But the candlelight's new
The ambiance is new, set by candlelight
She orders Beaujolais wine
She orders a type of red wine called Beaujolais
And says 'I've thought of you too'
She admits to thinking of him
She whispers 'Isn't it odd
She murmurs that it's strange
You remind me of songs
He reminds her of certain songs
That I'd rather forget
Songs that evoke memories she doesn't want to recall
Like feelings I longed for
Feelings she desired
You haunt me inside
He affects her deeply
Sometimes I recall
She remembers
Question mistakes
She revisits past mistakes
Who grew to nothing at all'
Things that didn't resolve to anything
I hear voices that cry
She hears crying voices
And one of them's mine
One of those voices is hers
All the things I could say
She has so much to say
Are the reasons I can't
But she can't say it all
She says 'I've seen you before
She tells him she's seen him before
In thoughts I call 'son'
He was in her thoughts, which she called 'son'
Like an old film with sound
He's like a memory, a reminiscence with sound
When the link comes undone'
But that memory sometimes seems broken
The waiter is me
The person who greets her when she walked in is the waiter
And the woman is you
And the person she was imagining in her thoughts was the woman sitting there
And we are the story
They themselves are the story
Just like others I knew
Just like other stories that he knows
Contributed by Riley M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
leokimvideo
Great example of taking calculated risks and not being afraid of being different
Kidraver
Bowie thought numan was a plagiarist, he wrote these lyrics 'same old thing in brand new drag' especially for him.
MobiusBandwidth
@Kidraver he later, fairly recently, said something very nice about Gary, possibly whilst being elbowed by mutual friend Trent Reznor.
David Spion
@Kidraver
Would that be the Bowie who took influences from just about everywhere? Facts are Bowie was really threatened by Numan and acted like a spoilt child. Numerous artists ripped off Bowie for years and he never said anything. Yet when the 21 year old Numan arrived and produced some astonishing stuff, Bowie embarrassed himself with his childish reaction, especially on the Kenny Everett show.
Timekeeper
It still sounds like it's from the future. Absolutely incredible sound
david smith
that's so true, it was always the striking thing about this at song. 40 years later still has that feel I agree, not sure how they did that!
MoosesValley
4+ decades later, and the song is still brilliant and relevant and far better than most of the rubbish out there today. Gary is so down to earth. Great interview !
Nigel Pearson
What a delightful bloke! Honest and self deprecating, nice to see an icon with his feet on the ground!
kev catnip
and wiggy played guitar,,, erm no he didnt
kevin the truck driver
Believe it or not. Gary Numan is a pilot. Sometimes his two feet is not on the ground but he's sitting in the cockpit.