In regards to the meaning of this song:
Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.”
That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
I'm the singer, I'm the singer in the band
You're the loser, I won't dismiss you out of hand
Cos you've got a beautiful face
It will take you places
You kept running
You've got money, you've got fame
Every morning I see your picture from the train
Now you're an actress!
So says your resume
You're made of card
You couldn't act your way out of a paper bag
You got lucky, you ain't talking to me now
Little Miss Plucky
Pluck your eyebrows for the crowd
Get on the airplane
You give me stomach pain
I wish that you were here
We would have had a lot to talk about
We had a deal there
We nearly signed it with our blood?
An understanding
I thought that you would keep your word
I'm disappointed
I'm aggravated
It's a fault I have, I know
When things don't go my way I have to
Blow up in the face of my rivals
I swear and I rant, I make quite an arrival
The men are surprised by the language
They act so discreet, they are hypocrites so fuck them too!
I always loved you
You always had a lot of style
I'd hate to see you on the pile
Of ?nearly-made-it' s
You've got the essence, dear
If I could have a second skin
I'd probably dress up in you
You're a star now, I am fixing people's nails
I'm knitting jumpers, I'm working after hours
I've got a boyfriend, I've got a feeling that he's seeing someone else
He always had thing for you as well
Blow in the face of my rivals
I swear and I rant, I make quite an arrival
The men are surprised by the language
They act so discreet, they are hypocrites forget them
So fuck them too!
You're the loser, I won't dismiss you out of hand
Cos you've got a beautiful face
It will take you places
You kept running
You've got money, you've got fame
Every morning I see your picture from the train
Now you're an actress!
So says your resume
You're made of card
You couldn't act your way out of a paper bag
You got lucky, you ain't talking to me now
Little Miss Plucky
Pluck your eyebrows for the crowd
Get on the airplane
You give me stomach pain
I wish that you were here
We would have had a lot to talk about
We had a deal there
We nearly signed it with our blood?
An understanding
I thought that you would keep your word
I'm disappointed
I'm aggravated
It's a fault I have, I know
When things don't go my way I have to
Blow up in the face of my rivals
I swear and I rant, I make quite an arrival
The men are surprised by the language
They act so discreet, they are hypocrites so fuck them too!
I always loved you
You always had a lot of style
I'd hate to see you on the pile
Of ?nearly-made-it' s
You've got the essence, dear
If I could have a second skin
I'd probably dress up in you
You're a star now, I am fixing people's nails
I'm knitting jumpers, I'm working after hours
I've got a boyfriend, I've got a feeling that he's seeing someone else
He always had thing for you as well
Blow in the face of my rivals
I swear and I rant, I make quite an arrival
The men are surprised by the language
They act so discreet, they are hypocrites forget them
So fuck them too!
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this song is sung from the perspective of a girl to another girl, an old friend.
the old friend "hit it big" (you're a star now) (you've got money, you've got fame)
as a model (i see your picture from the train)
like all celebrities, she's trying to translate that sucess into something else. (now you're an actress... you couldn't act your way out of a paper bag)
the singer wasn't as sucessful, seems to be crashing personally (you give me stomach pains) (blow up in the face of my rivals i swear and i rant, i mkae quite an arrival.)
her boyfriends probably cheating on her (I’ve got a boyfriend, I’ve got a feeling that he’s seeing someone else He always had thing for you as well)
Seriously, Stuart did NOT write this song about Isobel. He's a grown man, for God's sake, and he's over her. They broke up - what, five years ago? I can't even remember, but long enough so that they've both moved on. He has a new girlfriend now. He's happy with his life, and he's not writing bitter songs about Isobel.
Not to mention, if you really listen to it, there's definitely some vitriol directed towards the girl in question, but there's mostly love. The singer has clearly never got over her love for this girl. That is NOT the case for Stuart and Isobel.
I don't think it's platonic, either. Apart from the general feeling that I get, the singer says of her boyfriend, "He always had a thing for you AS WELL" which indicates that she, too, had a thing for this girl. Plus all the other comments ("you give me stomach pain" - this is usually only for people who feel a romantic love for someone, etc.). Also, I always got the impression it was from one perspective only. Never thought it had two and I still don't.
Love this song to bits. Everything about it.
retoocs absolutely got it right. This is about a girl fascinating on her old friend, who success makes her jealous, and just makes her love her friend that much more. She's wishing she could live her friend's life, and yet wishing that the friend could have insight into hers as well.
Get over the "singer in the band" bit. It isn't about Isobell.
I think this song is most definitely inspired on Isobel... And it's one of the best in The Life Pursuit.
AHHH! I can never get that little trumpet part out of my head!
That's right. It can't be about Isobel. Isobel isn't exactly basking in fame right now. I'd say Belle & Sebastian have been much more 'successful' than Isobel has.
come on people
every single frikkin belle & sebastian song is not about frikkin isobel
This song is not about Isobel. The song is about two girls that were friends and goes back and forth about their thoughts on their current life situations and the friendship they let end. The famous friend is talking about how she was the leader (the singer in the band) and the other friend was just a loser and the lackey. The famous friend is also discussing that she always felt that her friend would go places because the friend actually had talent and potential, but has not and maybe will not achieve success. The famous friend discusses the double standard of female female behavior, she is expected to be polite and soft, but that's obvious, right? The second friend (the loser) is talking about how jealous she is that her friend got famous even though she has absolutely no talent, but she is very aesthetically appealing to men and thats why she has been successful. They regret not being friends anymore because they made wach other better. The famous one wishes that she could be as elegant as the "could have been" and talks about how she was angry that the lackey friend didn't want to follow her around anymore and tried to strike out on her own. The lackey friend's life is now that of the everyday mundane of disappointment. A reconcilation occure because of the famous friend wanting a true friend again, but it doesn't seem like the lackey friend wants to.
I agree with everyone who has said it's not about Isobel. At a concert earlier this year, Stuart introduced this song as "a girly one", indicating it was from the perspective of a girl (since it was preceded by act of the apostle, another one from the perspective of a girl).
i dont care whether its about isobel or not, its the best song on the album.