And I know I’m not the one who is habitually optimistic,
But I’m the one who’s got the microphone here, so just remember this
(I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous ~ Frank Turner, 2008)
Frank Turner’s second album “Love, Ire & Song”, which was released in 2008 reached Gold status in the UK a few days ago.
Well. This is a lovely thing – LIS gold in the UK, officially. Thanks everyone who listened, believed, came to shows and so on. And especially thanks to Tristan, Xtra Mile and the Souls. Who’da thunk it, 12 years ago? https://t.co/0Z5Whg9q5J
— Frank Turner (@frankturner) January 24, 2020
And yes, of course there are many other artists whose work reaches that status much quicker an bigger (platinum and double platinum and all that) but still… that’s quite the achievement for a “under the radar” artist, which he still is even in the UK.
I did a review of the whole album some time ago, so this might feel like a repeat for some. But the Gold status made me listen to it all this morning and this is such a great album with so so many of my favourite lyrics. Words I can still relate to and words that got new meaning for me in the last few years. Words to find comfort in and be inspired by. Words that are just utterly beautiful on their own without meaning anything special to me. So why not just note them down once more to celebrate this achievement. Because I am the one who’s got the microphone here… ;-)
I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
Life is about love, last minutes and lost evenings,
About fire in our bellies and furtive little feelings,
And the aching amplitudes that set our needles all a-flickering
And help us with remembering that the only thing that’s left to do is live.
Reasons Not To Be An Idiot
You’re not as messed up as you think you are:
Your self-absorption makes you messier.
Just settle down and you will feel a whole lot better.
Deep down you’re just like everybody else.
[…..]
I’m not as awesome as this song makes out;
I’m angry, underweight and sketching out.
I’m building bonfires of my vanities and doubts
To get warm just like everybody else.
Photosynthesis
Well if that’s your road then take it, but it’s not the road for me.
Substitute
The last girl that I loved, she was a low and lusty liar.
She set my heart on fire, but she made me choke.
Her beauty was a sight to see, but she didn’t save it all for me;
I found other fires by following the smoke.
I wrote a whole separate post, why I like this song quite a bit.
Better Half
And all my imperfections are all that remain
Of the days when I’d love you and I’d leave you, and you’d wish that I would stay.
Love, Ire & Song
Leave the mourning to the morning
There are many great lines but this one is my favourite (I’m a dork about beautiful phrases, I know)
Imperfect Tense
What to say in my defence? I was imperfect, tense.
Another song which already got it’s own post. The first one of those I ever wrote, I think…
To Take You Home
She was a quiet one,
She was a shy one,
She was the prettiest at the show.
Long Live The Queen
“We live to dance another day,
It’s just now we have to dance for one more of us.
So stop looking so damn depressed,
And sing with all of our hearts, long live the Queen.”
A Love Worth Keeping
I guess you never know
Loss til you have something to lose,
Choice til you have something to choose.
St Christopher Is Coming Home
But when the evening casts its shadows on the corners of my days,
And I am old and I am settled in the place where I will stay,
When my wandering meanderings have finally reached their end,
Whatever else may be, I will not forget my friends.
Jet Lag
On the phone
You always ask if I’m OK,
But it’s not the same as being happy.