James. oh really?

[All Over Battersea]

I love James, and got into them at the start of 1985 entirely on Mozzer's reccomendation.

But if you want an example of exceptionally irritating lyrics, you can do no better than 'Destiny Calling'.

http://www.kovideo.net/desting-calling-lyrics-james-419184.html

 

[KenzieW]

How can Morrissey give his support to a band which lyric-writing is this underdeveloped:

Help comes when you need it most
I'm cured by laughter
Mood swings not sure I can cope
My life's in plaster (in plaster)

May your mind set you free
(chorus: opened by the wonderful)
May your heart lead you on
May your mind let you breathe all of disaster
(chorus: opened by the wonderful)
May your heart lead you on

These wounds are all self-imposed
Life's no disaster, disaster
All roads lead unto death-row
Who knows what's after

May your mind be wide open
May your heart beat strong
May your mind's will be broken
By this heart-felt song

May your mind set you free (Chorus: Be opened by the wonderful)
May your heart lead you on
May your mind let you breathe all of disaster (Chorus: Be opened by the
wonderful)
May your heart lead you on, may your heart lead you on
May your eyes let you see all of disaster
May your heart lead you on, lead you on
(Chorus: May your eyes be opened by the wonderful)
Set you free (Chorus: May your heart lead you on)
Lead you on

Particularly the " Help comes when you need it most, I'm cured by laughter"- part strikes me as truly awful. And people think Oasis was bad. Huh?

Those lyrics are terrible. I'm not really a James fan, but I do like his songs "If things were perfect," "Fire so Close," "Folklore," "What's the world," and "Hymn from a village." The lyrics in "Hymn from a village" are interesting:

This songs made up, made second rate
Cosmetic music, powderpuff
Pop tunes, false rhymes, all lightweight bluffs
Second-hand ideas, no soul, no hate
Wasn't mean to be
Built on complacency
The nightmares ride away
When you refuse to play
Oh go and read a book
It's so much more worth while
Being a song-smith crook
Study death in style
Death in style

This language used is all worn out
A walking corpse that won't play dead
Disease dragged on from bed to bed
Pay for your twist, paid for shout
Wasn't meant to be
Built on complacency
Open your eyes and see
That lie is not for we

Raise a rope and a knife
Cut it out - the lie
I don't want to decay
Take the short cut away
Oh go and read a book
It's so much more worthwhile
Being a song-smith crook
Study death in style
Study death in style

Heard you calling through the drumbeat
Answered with sticks and bones
Scream, shout, and dance about the campfire
You can hear the question, can you feel the reply?

Heard you calling through the drumbeat
Heard you calling through the drumbeat
Can you hear the question, feel the reply?
Can you hear the question, feel the reply?
Hymn from a village
The hymn from a village

 

[All Over Battersea]

No one said James are better than Morrissey, but as good as.
What's the point of slagging them off?
If you don't like their songs, just ignore them.

I like James, really thankful to Morrissey whose recommendation made me to listen to their work.

Well said, Kewpie.
This post reminds me of the bit in 'Morrissey Live at Earls Court' when he says "I can't be wrong about everything".

 

[modrevolve]

Destiny Calling and Runaground are pretty dodgy which is why they don't play them much anymore. They were rush jobs cause they had greatest hits collection coming out and had to meet a deadline..



Tongue split
In the night
I woke up in blood
Red sheets
Wrapped tight
Dreamt I was drowning in mud
Now there's a beast in my mouth
It's out of control
Beats with will of it's own
Broken my teeth withdraw my gums
I think that it's taken control
Spits out your emotion
Left a deep impression
Expression
Expression, makes me feel more expression
Life changed
That night
As rip chord took command
Spit balls
All the abuse
Were more than friends could stand

Now I don't think before I speak
I open my mouth to see
What comes out
A whisper or a shout
Some sanity or a scream
Spits out raw emotion
Looking for a deeper expression
Expression
Expression
Expression
Expression, makes me feel more... expression

That be me says it all
That be me has it all

Expression
Expression

 

[Wozzer]

OK, in the scoring so far:

Modrevolve 3
Amy 2
Wozzer 1
Karl P 1
Silke 1
Dave 1

-honorable mentions for me, CG & Skinny

I've created a monster. Let's separate Morrissey completely from the matter, move the thread to the music section and concentrate on the bloody-obvious badness of James.

 

[hand in glove]

Here are two that send shivers down my spine because of their sheer brilliance and beauty:

Sometimes:

There's a storm outside, and the gap between crack and thunder
Crack and thunder, is closing in, is closing in
The rain floods gutters, and makes a great sound on the concrete
On a flat roof, there's a boy leaning against the wall of rain
Aerial held high, calling "come on thunder, come on thunder"

Sometimes, when I look deep in your eyes, I swear I can see your soul
Sometimes, when I look deep in your eyes, I swear I can see your soul

It's a monsoon, and the rain lifts lids off cars
Spinning buses like toys, stripping them to chrome
Across the bay, the waves are turning into something else
Picking up fishing boats and spewing them on the shore

The boy is hit, lit up against the sky, like a sign, like a neon sign
And he crumples, drops into the gutter, legs twitching
The flood swells his clothes and delivers him on, delivers him on

Sometimes, when I look deep in your eyes, I swear I can see your soul
Sometimes, when I look deep in your eyes, I swear I can see your soul

There's four new colors in the rainbow
An old man's taking polaroids
But all he captures is endless rain, endless rain
He says listen, takes my head and puts my ear to his
And I swear I can hear the sea​

I could fill an anthology with their lyrics - as I could with Morrissey - they have nothing and no one to answer to.

Dave

I LOVE that song. I think they're a fine band.

 

[celibate]

no
' born of frustration'

?

definbately lyrics/song Morrissey would suit

Tim and Morrissey are still OK, they have their own lives, but thres is
and never was hatery/jealousy/put down

'Hymn from a village' js also good, was one of the first released tracks from Jmess
avaiblke in me country [Netherlands]

I'm banned from mainpage, me thinks, doesn't work posting
didn't see the clip, the mainpage has indeed some time to work as
we used too

 

[speedfreaks ball]

james are fantastic musicaly and lyricly, end of story! saw them in december and the 2 new mini albums from last year are the best thing to come out of the music scene in a long while, songs about alcholism, prolonged ageing, cancer and of course love and passion -viva JAMES.