Cocteau Twins - Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops Lyrics & Meanings

Cover art for Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops lyrics by Cocteau Twins

by SpinglassHydra

3y ago

Everyone has different lyrics and we are suppose to make our own conclusions about their meaning; however, "Pearly-Dewdrops' Drops" does have a real meaning, with a true history behind it's creation. All three members realized a simple psychology involved, if people are left to create their own wording, they'll defend and advocate a song, because now your fully invested in "your version". It's a simple idea, but that's not why Elizabeth Fraser sings the way she did back then.

Most people always sarcastically ask me, "How do you know?" I was very, very fortunate to edit the move manuscript for the Cocteau Twins movie. Later on, Elizabeth would back-out of the project and without Elizabeth's blessing there would be no movie, saying "It's to painful to revisit the past". I offered my edited and revised script to Robin, who said "Just keep it, but never reveal it to the public", so please don't ask me if you can read it. It's been locked away in a bank vault, along with all band memorabilia and I'd never hurt Elizabeth by betraying her trust, but I can clarify the bits-and-pieces together so people have a better understanding of just how exceptional these three artist's have been and still do... !!!

What people don't know is the history behind this song. Ivo Watts-Russell the head of 4AD Label, rented a live/work loft space for Elizabeth, Robin, and Simon to live in the bucolic Scottish countryside to focus on making music. Elizabeth was finding it very difficult to sing in front of people who she didn't implicitly trust and Robin was evermore a pain-in-the-ass, with his necrotic need for perfection, so he was extremely insistent and was famous for throwing the recording engineer's out of the editing booth. Robin's famous "grouchy attitude" came from correcting other peoples mistakes, so he was constantly inside the sound studio pestering the sound engineer's to make the proper adjustments throughout every step. People also forget this was before computers became so prevalent in the music industry, who can almost make anybody sound good, but it was extremely difficult to align those cascading reverberations with analogue equipment. So, Ivo decided he needed to do something that was rather radical, concerning the three of them.

He needed to rally them together and focus, so this rented loft space had everything they would need, including a specially built recording studio with its own recording booth. Each member had the freedom to come and go as they pleased to either work together as a band, or independently from one another; yet, each could tweak and perfect everything round the clock. For example: If an idea struck any member at 3:12 AM or whenever inspiration struck them the studio was nearby to go into and record, which this process hammered what would eventually become the Treasure album.

Since Ivo was footing the bill on this live/work studio arrangement, but he needed something to promote the bands groundbreaking sound and he was getting tired of hearing, "We're working on it". So, Ivo told them he was sending somebody there to drive from London to pick-up a completed song. Ivo's "muscle" was a very tall, heavy-set, a large domineering man named -- you guessed it -- "Roddy". They had the time it took for Roddy to drive from London to outside Edinburgh to make something completely ready for delivery. Much had already been done, but Elizabeth was stumped for more lyrics other than phrasing, the "Pearly Dewdrops' Drops". Amazingly she was inspired by watched the morning dew gather onto a spiders web outside, which caught the morning sunlight -- glistening, as she took one of her morning walks. The rarest vinyl records have a photograph of that exact web. Simply genius, as she tends to be, she channeled the anxiety of the moment into, "Oh's the Pearly Dewdrops', Drops", continued into the phrasing "We'll Be Sold, When Roddy Comes [into a double meaning, interswitching a correlation] -- Ruby Sun's, When Roddy Comes" had became so emblematic in the phrasing of the pressing moment. So, "Ruby Sun's, When Roddy comes" is referring to the end of the day at sunset.

Robin added more floating rifts, but Simon had already saved the day with his base guitar. Usually, base guitar backs the lead guitar. Simon was originally invited in because of his multitalented flexibility, but not necessarily for guitar playing, but he adapted the his base-guitar to carry everything. Most bases guitar players, play one string at a time, instead Simon uses two and even three strings simultaneously, switching offsetting keys in 1/3's and 1/5's, like someone who would be playing a Japanese "Koto". I know this sounds highly technical, but these weren't ordinary musician's by any means. If you take away Simon's base-guitar, then you take way the scaffolding of the entire song. And, contrary to the awful speculations' that Elizabeth has no lyrics, this idea is absolutely ridiculous and it's insulting to Elizabeth Fraser's intelligence.

In an early interview, Elizabeth said, "How stupid can people be about me ?"

Eventhough this song was rushed, it doesn't sound anything like it, but there's a sleighted mawkishness towards Ivo, in the phrase, " T 'is a Lucky, Lucky, Penny, Penny, Penny --- Watch the Pearly Dew Drip, Those". Why? They felt Ivo was forcing out their creativity over money, so it's the metaphor of money dropping into 4AD's bank account. They were still very young and their naivete quickly burned off, after they were done recording the Treasure album. Still it's interesting to know, that it was Ivo who rushed them and made a mad dash into making a video, but later all three members would express their disappointed with the video's outcome, much later, after they dropped the 4AD Record Label. All-in-all, it wasn't anything they had imagined in their collective minds and it was another opportunity they felt helpless to control.

Occasionally, I've released the true lyrics on various YouTube channel's who have the best audio. It was only to prove that Elizabeth had real lyrics and providing the real lyrics, would quiet the awful speculations that she was "Just making pleasant sound's".

I hope this reaches the people who truly loves the Cocteau Twins and especially this special song, that has been featured in more movies than any other. Following quickly behind is "Song of the Siren".

Thank you for your time and attention.