I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Brewing alternatives
What's in the bottom drawer
Waiting for things to give
Spare us the cutter
Spare us the cutter
Couldn't cut the mustard
Conquering myself
Until I see another hurdle approaching
Say we can, say we will
Not just another drop in the ocean
Come to the free for all
With cellotape & knives
Some of them six feet tall
We will escape our lives
Spare us the cutter
Spare us the cutter
Couldn't cut the mustard
Conquering myself
Until I see another hurdle approaching
Say we can, say we will
Not just another drop in the ocean
Am I the happy loss
Will I still recoil
When the skin is lost
Am I the worthy cross
Will I still be soiled
When the dirt is off
Conquering myself
Until I see another hurdle approaching
Say we can, say we will
Not just another drop in the ocean
Ocean
Watch the fingers close
When the hands are cold
Am I the happy loss
Will I still recoil
When the skin is lost
Am I the worthy cross
Will I still be soiled
When the dirt is off
Am I the happy loss
Will I still be soiled
When the dirt is off
What's in the bottom drawer
Waiting for things to give
Spare us the cutter
Spare us the cutter
Couldn't cut the mustard
Conquering myself
Until I see another hurdle approaching
Say we can, say we will
Not just another drop in the ocean
Come to the free for all
With cellotape & knives
Some of them six feet tall
We will escape our lives
Spare us the cutter
Spare us the cutter
Couldn't cut the mustard
Conquering myself
Until I see another hurdle approaching
Say we can, say we will
Not just another drop in the ocean
Am I the happy loss
Will I still recoil
When the skin is lost
Am I the worthy cross
Will I still be soiled
When the dirt is off
Conquering myself
Until I see another hurdle approaching
Say we can, say we will
Not just another drop in the ocean
Ocean
Watch the fingers close
When the hands are cold
Am I the happy loss
Will I still recoil
When the skin is lost
Am I the worthy cross
Will I still be soiled
When the dirt is off
Am I the happy loss
Will I still be soiled
When the dirt is off
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The "seventh floor" is studio 7B on the seventh floor at Broadcasting House, where the famous Peel Sessions were recorded.
Thanks to regulations forced on the BBC by EMI back in the 1940s, DJs were severely restricted from putting a song into rotation unless it was an official single on a major label. John Peel found a clever end-run to this: he'd hire the band members as "session musicians" to come in and record a "cover" of their own song, which then counted as BBC content, so he could play it as often as he liked. By 1982, the Peel Sessions were a cultural institution, which Peel had used to break hundreds of bands, in a dozen new genres from psychedelic to punk.
Echo & the Bunnymen were particular faves of Peel's, and they were appreciative. In 1979, their demos had been rejected by all of the labels, but after their first Peel Session, Warner not only signed them, but created a new imprint (Korova) to sign similar bands. And Peel kept bringing them back—in the middle of recording Porcupine, they did their 4th session in 3 years, which got "Back of Love" heavy airplay before it was released as a single.
No idea what he's singing about. But I love the song. The opening is one of the most distinct I've ever heard. It really grabs your attention.
This song is just great. Fun to dance to.
I have no idea what it's about: I didn't even like it the first few times I heard it. But, one day, I listened without being critical, and some element reached out to me, and I began to feel differently about it. The small feeling eventually balloned into something larger, and I came to love this song, and wonder now how it was I ever felt differently.
Ok, the 7th floor is referencing this Broadcasting building in London, where BBC recordings take place (or used to anyway). Cello tape I believe was used in recording to create a certain sound with a microphone, or maybe just taping mics together, and for other various purposes. So, the way I look at it, they were a struggling band, putting together instruments or setting up their stuff in a studio as best they could, trying to make an impression, and hoping they would be spared from the "cutter" or the critical minds of the music industry who have little patience for experimental, creative music. They're hoping that the industry people on the 7th floor who control their destiny are "brewing alternatives" which would allow their music (the stuff the music industry might put in the bottom drawer initially) to actually see the light of day.
"Say we can, say we will, not just another drop in the ocean." He's saying they are not just another flash in the pan, that they have something to give.
A parallel to all of this (my own interpretation of course) is the idea of the cutting itself. Cutting- as in the way a person with psychological issues might cut into their own skin. This is done for many reasons, and in some cultures the cutting is done as purification rituals (others call it bleeding, and this practice used to go on all the time). In this case, I think he might be referring to the fact that the industry sort of takes chunks out of you when you become part of it, and he is wondering if he will still have the raw emotion that he had before he got into all of this, that the industry doesn't numb him to all of this manipulation. "Will I still be soiled when the dirt is off" to me is another reference to trying to wash away guilt, and that ties in with the cross/religious reference as well as the sacrifice in "figurative" blood he is making to become an artist. He has to make some artistic sacrifices if he want to "escape our lives" of starving artists, or he could just be referencing the art itself as an escape. Also, there is always figurative blood spilled when an artist produces something.
I also really love the line about "happy loss" this really meant to me the true nature of being an artist. There is some bit of a masochistic tendency I think in really good artists. They sort of enjoy suffering for their art (or cutting for that matter), as it can be a wealthy source for creative ideas. It's a necessary evil, so to speak. The pain (the cutting) creates the art (the release, or rush...but also the loss of blood...hence, the "happy loss".... sorry, I just love the metaphor) Lots of great artists have always been somewhat self-destructive, so I think there's something to that in here as well.
Also, along those lines, "will I still be soiled" means that if he is accepted as an artist in the industry, he will have some means, so he won't be as much of a "soiled," starving artist, but will that mean that he will be worthy still of making great art? Will his art be viable if he's not struggling, since that what spawned his desire to become an artist in the first place (by spawned I don't necessarily mean he was driven by money, but rather that he really developed his artistic eye as a struggling outsider)? Additionally, this could also have to do with his worries about failure. When the blinders are off, when everything is tripped away and he is exposed, will he still be shite?
And when he says "watch the fingers close, when the hands are cold," I see this as meaning that he needs to remind himself to keep it together. He needs to stay away from getting caught up in the release, and focus on the art. The release that the actual cutter receives can be too much of a good thing if too much blood leaves the body. Just as the release of emotion in art must be tamed as well, because ultimately an artist wants to harness the emotion and articulate the experience with an objective, critical eye. The risk is dropping into a self-destructive vortex.
So all of the good stuff: self-doubt, stuggle, anxiety, fear of success, fear of failure, overcoming personal hurdles, maintaining integrity- it’s all in here, a great great song as far as I'm concerned. And I didn't even get into the power of the cutting, ripping guitar chords and the sounds of the climactic chorus! Oh well, there's always next time!!!
Gotta disagree with this whole "cutting" meme. Yes, Ian may well be using any number of metaphors to illustrate his "suffering artistry" inc. Biblical references. But as far as "cutting" as a psychological disorder is concerned not only was it unrecognized as symptom in 1983 but in general affects 4-5x as many women as men. I'm confident this track is about censorship & criticism both overt & subtle from the engineer's stool to the A&R guy, the BBC, the UK press to Warner Bros., the US media & back again.
Yeah I agree with BruceMcD. The self inflicted cutting thing is so far fetched. To me that makes everything else you speculate about very suspect. I'm just being honest. The reason I don't give a detailed opinion is because for me there are two or three obvious scenarios. I look at these comments and people read way too much into the lyrics. The simplest possibility tends to be the best explanation, yet time and time again these artist that don't come clean and explain the meaning have a reason for not. It's because there isn't one or they were so high at the time they have no clue. Half of Kurt Cobain's songs, and I quote, are "complete nonsense." And he's considered one of the greatest poets of all time.<br /> <br /> Noel Gallager got hammered and cut to pieces by critics over CHAMPAGNE SUPERNOVA. "What do you mean?'Slowly walking down the hall faster than a cannon ball...' that makes no sense." His reply, "Yeah but it rhymes and it went multi platinum you fucking wankor!"
@OneTwo \r\nI always thought the stuff about \'brewing alternatives\' on floors and such was an oblique reference to Dylan\'s Subterranean Homesick Blues
Its "sellotape." Its a brand name.
As someone who grew up on echo, this song to me, critics, ect. was regarded as containing several drug references. I don't think they are completely at odds with OneTwo's thoughts, but to ignore them probably isn't right either. Brewing alternatives, bottom drawer could easily be references to drugs. Conquering myself...anyone who has tripped to hard can understand this, etc.
Ok, here is the actual significance of "spare us the cutter". It is a reference to the film Clockwork Orange. In the film, a tramp asks the main character Alex "can you spare some cutter, me brother". He was begging and "cutter" means "money" in the "nadsat" slang used throughout the movie.
I don't know what the song is about, that is DEFINATELY the origin of "spare us the cutter".
The song has a lot of content from the film Clockwork orange. Spare us the cutter is a line from the film, one scene the gang attack with Celotape and knives, I believe he lives on the seveth floor , etc
@davesellwood Does that have anything to do with circumcision ? Just thinking - with these lyrics :- "Spare us the cutter, Will I still recoil, When the skin is lost"<br /> Sounds like fcuking OUCH! to me - a fellow sufferer!<br />
This lyric is directly taken from the film A Clockwork Orange if you wach the film you will understand.
@davesellwood Well, not really. The line from the film is "can you spare some cutter, me brothers". So no, it's not "directly" taken from the film. Similar, yes.<br /> <br /> But here again, as so often is the case, is a person presenting wishful thinking and/or coincidence as if it were solid facts.<br /> <br /> The rest of the lyrics to this song do not allude to that film or its themes in any way at all. So most likely it is just a coincidence.<br /> <br /> Kids, learn form this. Think first, writer later.
@davesellwood <br /> urstoopid I think this is a nom de plume ,<br /> give them some artistic licence, I think you have not watched the film or was asleep.<br /> Alex lives in a tower block ( 7th floor ) <br /> whats in the bottom draw ( pet snake )<br /> Selotape and knives one of the violent attacks etc...<br />
This song is about creating music. But I don't think "the cutter" is the labels and their pet producers trying to water it down, as so many of the comments say. From almost any other band, I'd agree, but not from Ian McCulloch.
For one thing, Echo & the Bunnymen had been lucky and never really faced any kind of label interference up to this point. And if you look at the history of this album, even in Ian's words, he was the reason for all of the problems they had with it, not the label (much less the producer, Ian Broudie, who the band asked for and got over the label's original choice). It's worth reading the story in Turquoise Days, or at least the summary on the Wikipedia page for this album.
Ian has said the whole album is about "coming to terms with the opposites in me", and that it's "so personal that I hate it, it's oppressive". It ties in with the general struggle with OCD that so many of his songs are about, but in this one, it's specifically about how that struggle manifests when trying to get a song from the raw Peel Session version to the final world-conquering single. It's his own alternating self-doubt and perfectionism that drove him to keep rewriting and rearranging this song (only part of the chorus survived from the 1981 version, called "Happy Loss"), and I think that as it evolved over countless obsessive rewrites, it became about that process itself.