Audio mp3
Lyrics:
I'm so tired, of playing
Playing with this bow and arrow
Gonna give my heart away
Leave it to the other girls to play
For I've been a temptress too long
Just. .
Give me a reason to love you
Give me a reason to be ee, a woman
I just wanna be a woman
From this time, unchained
We're all looking at a different picture
Thru this new frame of mind
A thousand flowers could bloom
Move over, and give us some room
Give me a reason to love you
Give me a reason to be ee, a woman
I just wanna be a woman
So don't you stop, being a man
Just take a little look from our side when you can
Sow a little tenderness
No matter if you cry
Give me a reason to love you
Give me a reason to be ee, a woman
Its all I wanna be is all woman
For this is the beginning of forever and ever
Its time to move over
Song facts from http://www.songmeanings.net/lyric.php?lid=6582
This is an honest and well-written song about a woman in a relationship who is frankly just tired of love being so complicated - she is ready to give her heart away and "leave it to the other girls to play" (great line). She wants her partner to try and see things from her side - "So don't you stop being a man, Just take a little look from our side if you can." His inability (or perhaps unwillingness) to do so is stopping her from just being able to love him the way she would like to.
This is a timeless relationship song that far too many people aren't aware of. Certainly any woman who's been at that point in a relationship where things are starting to look very bleak can sympathize with Portishead's heartfelt lyrics. Also, lyricism aside, this is one of the best-sounding songs I've ever heard. The descending melody of the bass, the shimmering strings, the distortion, and Portishead's voice - it is ALL just fantastic. I really love this song. And I always thought it would be great to give a striptease to. (Wink, wink). No, but seriously...
Glory Box is an Australian term for a box of womens clothes etc that is stored in preperation for marriage.
...
Only You
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Audio mp3
We suffer everyday, what is it for
These crimes of illusion, are fooling us all
And now I am weary and I feel like I do
Its only you, who can tell me apart
And its only you, who can turn my wooden heart
The size of our fight, its just a dream
Weve crushed everything I can see, in this morning selfishly
How weve failed and I feel like I do
Its only you, who can tell me apart
And its only you, who can turn my wooden heart
Now that weve chosen to take all we can
This shade of autumn, a stale bitter end
Years of frustration lay down side by side
And its only you, who can tell me apart
And its only you, who can turn my wooden heart
...
http://music.yahoo.com/ar-260850-bio--Portishead
| Portishead may not have invented trip-hop, but they were among the first to popularize it, particularly in America. Taking their cue from the slow, elastic beats that dominated Massive Attack's Blue Lines and adding elements of cool jazz, acid house, and soundtrack music, Portishead created an atmospheric, alluringly dark sound. The group wasn't as avant-garde as Tricky, nor as tied to dance traditions as Massive Attack; instead, it wrote evocative pseudo-cabaret pop songs that subverted their conventional structures with experimental productions and rhythms of trip-hop. As a result, Portishead appealed to a broad audience -- not just electronic dance and alternative rock fans, but thirtysomethings who found techno, trip-hop, and dance as exotic as worldbeat. Before Portishead released their debut album, Dummy, in 1994, trip-hop's broad appeal wasn't apparent, but the record became an unexpected success in Britain, topping most year-end critics polls and earning the prestigious Mercury Music Prize; in America, it also became an underground hit, selling over 150,000 copies before the group toured the U.S. Following the success of Dummy, legions of imitators appeared over the next two years, but Portishead remained quiet as they worked on their second album. Named after the West Coast shipping town where Geoff Barrow grew up, Portishead formed in Bristol, England, in 1991. Prior to the group's formation, Barrow had worked as a tape operator at the Coach House studio, where he met Massive Attack. Through that group, he began working with Tricky, producing the rapper's track for the Sickle Cell charity album. Barrow also wrote songs for Neneh Cherry's Homebrew, though only "Somedays" appeared on the record. Around the time of Portishead's formation, he had begun to earn a reputation as a remix producer, working on tracks by Primal Scream, Paul Weller, Gabrielle, and Depeche Mode. Barrow met Beth Gibbons, who had been singing in pubs, in 1991 on a job scheme. Over the next few years, the pair began writing music, often with jazz guitarist Adrian Utley, who had previously played with both Big John Patton and the Jazz Messengers. Before releasing a recording, Portishead completed the short film To Kill a Dead Man, an homage to '60s spy movies. Barrow and Gibbons acted in the noirish film and provided the soundtrack, which earned the attention of Go! Records. By the fall, Portishead had signed with Go! and their debut album, Dummy, was released shortly afterward. Dummy was recorded with engineer Dave MacDonald, who played drums and drum machines, and guitarist Utley, who rounded out Portishead's lineup. Both Barrow and Gibbons were media-shy -- the vocalist refused to participate in any interviews -- which meant that the album received little attention outside of the weekly U.K. music press, which praised the album and its two singles, "Numb" and "Sour Times," heavily. Soon, Go! and Portishead had developed a clever marketing strategy based on the group's atmospheric videos that began to attract attention. Melody Maker, Mixmag, and The Face named Dummy as 1994's album of the year, and early in 1995, "Glory Box" debuted at number 13 without any radio play. Around the same time, "Sour Times" entered regular rotation on MTV in America. Within a few weeks, Dummy and "Sour Times" were alternative rock hits in the U.S. Back in the U.K., the album had crossed over into the mainstream, becoming a fixture in the British Top 40. In July, the record won the Mercury Music Prize for Album of the Year, beating highly touted competition from Blur, Suede, Oasis, and Pulp. Following the Mercury Music Prize award, Barrow retreated to Coach House to begin work on Portishead's second album. The self-titled record finally appeared in September 1997. The live PNYC followed late the next year. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide |
| Written by Stephen Thomas Erlewine |
