Most powerful break up song ever? It has been for me anyway. Lead singer Peter Liddle does like to reference literature and mix his metaphors but so what, it works perfectly. We've got Arthurian legend, the humble woodcutter figure (from Grimm's fairytales?) whose internal life finally gets told, the oxymoron of 'the coldest star in the sky' (I think of Lord Byron's incredible poem 'Darkness' here, please read it!). Yes, we have poetry. But we also have scenes that all us 21st century people are familiar with - putting old records on after the break-up, the dabblling with religion (rosary beads), and of course that killer first line full of both bravado and dejection - 'you've made your decision, now get up and leave.' The only other lyricist to get this balance is Jeff Buckley, and Peter Liddle owes him a big debt but actually outdoes him on this track. I'm sure all Dry the River fans know his stuff, but on the outside chance that you don't then you need his first LP Grace in your life.
Most powerful break up song ever? It has been for me anyway. Lead singer Peter Liddle does like to reference literature and mix his metaphors but so what, it works perfectly. We've got Arthurian legend, the humble woodcutter figure (from Grimm's fairytales?) whose internal life finally gets told, the oxymoron of 'the coldest star in the sky' (I think of Lord Byron's incredible poem 'Darkness' here, please read it!). Yes, we have poetry. But we also have scenes that all us 21st century people are familiar with - putting old records on after the break-up, the dabblling with religion (rosary beads), and of course that killer first line full of both bravado and dejection - 'you've made your decision, now get up and leave.' The only other lyricist to get this balance is Jeff Buckley, and Peter Liddle owes him a big debt but actually outdoes him on this track. I'm sure all Dry the River fans know his stuff, but on the outside chance that you don't then you need his first LP Grace in your life.