Former members include co-founder Sam Genders (vocals, guitar), who left the band before the release of "...And Then We Saw Land" (Mar 2010, Full Time Hobby).
Tunng started after Genders and Lindsay met, in the latter's Soho basement studio (below a clothes shop). Genders was a singer-songwriter and Lindsay had the studio (making electronica and living through advertising music production). They found that Lindsay's distinctive way with twinkling sounds, and tight production, significantly enhanced the folky songs they were writing - A signature sound developed.
Tunng's first album was "Mother's Daughter And Other Songs" (Jan 2005, Static Caravan) - However, since Genders made at first the choice not to play live, Lindsay found Jacobs and Bates. to help with live shows. Over time, Winter and Smith became part of the band and have all contributed more to recordings, first on "Comments Of The Inner Chorus" (May 2006, Full Time Hobby), then more so on "Good Arrows" (Aug 2007, Full Time Hobby).
The 2010 album, "...And Then We Saw Land", has been the most successful to date and was recorded in the semi-legendary Play Industries Studio, Shoreditch, with access to its vast collection of vintage synthesizers helping develop a more delicate and inter-woven production style. Glenister added live drums to the gigs, from 2009, for a heavier sound, a long way from the seated studio project Tunng once was.
On "Turbines": "...often beloved for its bucolic oddness and modernist gleam, Tunng's polyphonic future folk blossoms with enchanting melodies, simmering grooves, and found sound that has propelled the band into a paradise of exceeded expectations" (Absolute Punk).
Sweet William
Tunng Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a forest of red leaves
The rain ran cold against my neck
The wind lay down to sleep
I walked all night in stillness
And I walked all day as well
I walked across the desert plains
I slept inside the north wind
In a coracle at sea
And in the deepest darkest woods
My dreams sang songs to me
I dreamed I killed sweet William
And I kissed his cold white brow
I washed his body in the lake
And I sewed his eyelids down
Sing a song of sixpence
Battles in the past tense
Picked out by the snow
If I should find sweet William
Lying pale beneath the snow
I'll row out to the deepest depths
And let sweet William go
I'll watch him sink beneath the flood
And back to where he came
And pray to God and death and blood
I might forget his name
The lyrics to "Sweet William" by Tunng paint a vivid picture of a heartbroken observer who has just witnessed their beloved, Sweet William, kissing someone else in a forest of red leaves. The imagery of the rain running cold against the observer's neck and the wind laying down to sleep add to the somber, melancholic tone of the song. The lyrics go on to describe the observer's journey through various environments, including a desert plain and jagged hills, as they grapple with their emotions.
The second verse is particularly haunting, describing the observer's dreams of killing Sweet William and then washing his body in a lake and sewing his eyelids closed. It's unclear whether these dreams are a manifestation of the observer's anger or a coping mechanism for their pain. The lyrics then shift to a nursery rhyme-like refrain ("Sing a song of sixpence/Battles in the past tense/Picked out by the snow") before returning to the theme of Sweet William lying pale beneath the snow. The observer resolves to let Sweet William go, rowing out to the deepest depths and watching him sink beneath the flood.
Overall, "Sweet William" is a haunting and melancholic song that explores themes of heartbreak, loss, and acceptance. The use of vivid imagery and the shifting perspectives between observer and dreamer add depth and complexity to the song.
Line by Line Meaning
I saw you kiss sweet William
I saw you kiss sweet William in a forest of red leaves
The rain ran cold against my neck
The rain that poured upon me was so chilly that it made me shudder
The wind lay down to sleep
The wind stopped howling and went to peaceful sleep
I walked all night in stillness
I walked silently through the night
And I walked all day as well
I continued walking all day long
I walked across the desert plains
I went through the barren land with no trees or water
And through the jagged hills
I climbed up and down the hilly terrain with sharp and rough edges
I slept inside the north wind
I found shelter inside a coracle, while bravely facing the fierce north wind at sea
In a coracle at sea
I had just enough respite from the wind inside a small boat at sea
And in the deepest darkest woods
I traveled through the densest woods, where the sun couldn't touch the soil
My dreams sang songs to me
I fell asleep to the music of enchanting dreams
I dreamed I killed sweet William
I dreamt of mercilessly murdering sweet William
And I kissed his cold white brow
I kissed his white forehead after he was already dead
I washed his body in the lake
I bathed his lifeless body in the peaceful waters of a lake
And I sewed his eyelids down
I used needle and thread to stitch his eyelids closed, never to see the light again
Sing a song of sixpence
Sing a melody to boast of victory over someone/thing.
Battles in the past tense
Warfare that has already happened in the past
Picked out by the snow
The white snow highlights the battlefield that has already been fought.
If I should find sweet William
If I ever come across the body of sweet William
Lying pale beneath the snow
If I find his lifeless and pale body under the blanket of snow
I'll row out to the deepest depths
I will paddle to the furthest corner of the sea
And let sweet William go
And I'll set him free from the clutches of everything that's alive.
I'll watch him sink beneath the flood
I'll witness his submerged, burial where his corpse is entangled with underwater life.
And back to where he came
And back into oblivion where he belongs.
And pray to God and death and blood
And pray to the gods, death, and blood that I might forget his name forever
I might forget his name
I might erase every memory of my dear sweet William completely.
Writer(s): SAMUEL JONAH GENDERS
Contributed by Grayson M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ashley Bates
Wow! Sounds every bit as good as it did 12 years ago! I'm gonna listen to it again!
_literallysame
Favorite song by Tunng. Leaves me in chills
axelxlea1
Wow I love this song ~
PePeGreenPie
Ahh, perfection.
Ashley Bates
Ii like the daemon face in the trees on the right....Sweet William?
Angelos Iakovatos
No deamons here dear .!!. Only music...;)