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It Could Have Been a Brilliant Career Lyrics
He had a stroke at the age of 24
It could have been a brilliant career
Painting lines in a school that was too well known
Painting lines with a friend that had gone before
She challenged everyone to a fight
But the people all backed down
And they ran her out of town
Because she drank and swore and spoke
Out of turn, she was the village joke
She had a stroke at the age of 24
It could have been a brilliant career
Getting clients to finance her strategies
She's filling time in on Safeways on Saturday
She wears the clothes of an emperor
But her paintings are a sham
And they're going for a grand
When the dealers come to view
Do they ever see the real you?
He had a stroke at the age of 24
It could have been a brilliant career
Selling lies to the boys with the old Dansettes
Pulling the wool, playing the fool, it's no wonder that
He is dribbling spit tonight
And the one he sent away
Was the only one who stayed
With a spoon and a decent book
And you can tell by the way she looks
He is sorry and resigned
As he wets himself for the final time
It could have been a brilliant career
Painting lines in a school that was too well known
Painting lines with a friend that had gone before
She challenged everyone to a fight
And they ran her out of town
Because she drank and swore and spoke
Out of turn, she was the village joke
It could have been a brilliant career
Getting clients to finance her strategies
She's filling time in on Safeways on Saturday
But her paintings are a sham
And they're going for a grand
When the dealers come to view
Do they ever see the real you?
It could have been a brilliant career
Selling lies to the boys with the old Dansettes
Pulling the wool, playing the fool, it's no wonder that
And the one he sent away
Was the only one who stayed
With a spoon and a decent book
And you can tell by the way she looks
He is sorry and resigned
As he wets himself for the final time
Song Info
Submitted by
reactor On Oct 10, 2004
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"her paintings are a sham / and they're goin for a grand / when the dealers come to view / do they ever see the real you?"
that's one of the many thoughts in this song that beg people to not fall into conformist traps... or else you'd be close to your strokes.
I love the singer´s voice.
I'd never thought about the stroke/stroke thing. I always assumed it was the medical variety as well. Now I see that for most of the song he's actually talking about a stroke of genius. The artist has a stroke of genius at 24, and it's all downhill after that. By the last verse he's old and weak, apparently having had an actual stroke.
How clever.
Apparently a dansette is a kind of old multi-disk record player: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dansette
Safeway is actually an American supermarket chain, with stores in the U.K. and Ireland.
I think that the spoon is for when people get really old and weak and can't feed themselves, and that's why that one person has it, and the book is because they're bored being with a dying person that doesn't even want them there (one he sent away). I think that he is "sorry and resigned" because his realizes his life was a waste and he could have had "a brilliant career"
This song is my namesake! Love it. For me, Stevie's backup vocals on the chorus just take the song to higher level of pop perfection. An excellent, although kind of quiet, start to an album.
P.S. -- I've wondered this for some time: What are 'Dansettes'?
Dansettes are record players.
I wonder if there is a connection to the character in "Lazy Line Painter Jane?" Maybe the second verse of this song is some kind of sequel...
"Painting lines in a school that was too well known" possibly a reference to conforming to a popular artistic style (or school).
At first, I thought they meant "stroke" as in: he had a stroke at 24 and died.
What are Safeways?
Seems to me this song is about artists having edge and talent when they're young, and selling out. Why is it that pretty much every artist (musician at least) is willing to embrace commercial success and thereby lose their edge? I mean, it's a virtual certainty that when you get rich and famous you're music is going to suffer... why don't more artists reject it, give all their money away, live in slummy apartments and continue to challenge themselves?
Ironically, Belle and Sebastian may have done a bit of selling out themselves. Their albums have been on a slow decline since Storytelling.
Safeway is an English supermarket. And I thought it meant stroke (the brain type) to begin with as well.