Ferry's Finest Lyric

Richard · **Joined:** Fri Jul 03, 2009 1:42 pm **Posts:** 271

Windswept2 wrote:

DCJ wrote:

BF has crafted some great lyrics and this thread has made me reflect upon the greatness of the album Stranded. ...

Elegantly Ageing Hipsters,

DCJ is so right (W2 must stop saying this) but any reflection on our hero's lyrical prowess takes you to 'STRANDED'.

It is such an absolute power house of an album - W2 played it twice in its entirety yesterday and was intoxicated from start to finish. The eight tracks are back to back genius and the thing just builds and builds.

There isn't a duffer on the LP and W2 finds Andy Mackay's remarks -as reported under the albums section of this great site — that he considers it to be a 'safe' difficult to grasp.

As a hipster who is sufficiently aged to have lived through the launch
he remembers it being considered as far from safe — extremely brave in fact and was both shocked and pleased when it got to No.1 in the UK album charts.

It was the most innovative album of that year and showcased the strength of Ferry's song writing perfectly.

Yes, there are great songs across the entire spectrum of his career but if one example had to be picked out, it has to be this!

Salutations,
W2

I love Stranded - I am ton between that and Country Life as my fave album - I can see what what AM means to a degree but in some ways it is more experimental with odd time in Amazona, the whole of Psalm etc - the one questions about post Eno Roxy is how many surprises are there in the music - in Stranded's case enough to make it proper Roxy - the surprises get fewer and fewer as time goes by

jesmond · **Joined:** Mon Oct 15, 2012 9:10 am **Posts:** 32

I absolutely agree with you, Richard - and I always agree with Monsieur Windswept, except when it comes to Is Your Love Strong Enough. That was rubbish but not half as dreadful as "Help Me" which appeared on a compilation some years back.

Stranded is Roxy and Ferry at their very best. Eno regards it as their finest album. I think Serenade has never been played live by Ferry, which now that he has performed Beauty Queen might be one for us to agitate for!

Lyrically it is superb. The rest of Roxy were supposedly astounded when Ferry reeled off the lyric to Mother of Pearl in a single take but some of the songs predate For Your Pleasure. Certainly, Ferry said that Psalm was the first song he ever wrote.

Smudge · **Joined:** Fri Jun 19, 2009 1:26 am **Posts:** 1120

I think Serenade has never been played live by Ferry

Not on a solo tour, as far as I know, and not since Roxy's 1973-74 Stranded tour (it is documented on one or two bootlegs, e.g. Liverpool & New York).

It would certainly be nice to hear it again.

DCJ · **Joined:** Thu Jun 18, 2009 9:58 pm **Posts:** 1031

Earlier this year, while promoting Avonmore, BF was on a radio show and the DJ played Serenade and asked him about its origins. And BF basically told the guy that he had no memory of it. Nada.

So maybe BF will pull it out some day for a reboot (like happened with the long ignored Stronger Through the Years), but, unless TGPT is on drums what would be the point?

Windswept2 · **Joined:** Sun May 29, 2011 7:23 pm **Posts:** 1570

jesmond wrote:

Lyrically it is superb. The rest of Roxy were supposedly astounded when Ferry reeled off the lyric to Mother of Pearl in a single take but some of the songs predate For Your Pleasure. Certainly, Ferry said that Psalm was the first song he ever wrote.

Mes Amis,

Merci a Jesmond - encore une fois, nous avons toujours trouve un sujet intéressant!

There is so much to discover. W2 had no idea that 'Psalm' was our hero's first chanson — what a great track to start a career!

Regular readers of these column inches will know that W2 is a great admirer of all of BF's work (except IYLSE).

But, it has to be said, when it comes to which album has the best lyrics, all roads go back to the incomparable 'STRANDED'.

The irony simply drips from those songs right from the opener:

"Hey good-looking boys gather around
The side-walk papers gutter press you down
All those lies can be so unkind
They can make you feel like you're loosing your mind"

What a rallying call that verse was back in Sunderland's Annabel's circa 1973

It would be interesting to know what posters consider to be our hero's
greatest post 'Roxy' lyric — something from 'Boys & Girls' perhaps?

Salutations,
W2

PS. Windswept sometimes thinks that his phd studies into Roxology will require several life times.

True2Life · **Joined:** Sat Jun 13, 2009 4:18 pm **Posts:** 285

Windswept2 wrote:

It would be interesting to know what posters consider to be our hero's
greatest post 'Roxy' lyric — something from 'Boys & Girls' perhaps?

Salutations,
W2

PS. Windswept sometimes thinks that his phd studies into Roxology will require several life times.

Boys and Girls is not one of my favourite BF albums, apart from the tracks released as singles. Even so its wonderful title track is long overdue for revival.

"Who's that crying in the street?
Death is the friend I've yet to meet"

RoxySiren · **Joined:** Wed Jun 10, 2009 11:18 am **Posts:** 679

Great quotations from Boys & Girls and Street Life. Superb.

But dear Jesmond: re Help Me: I always loved that track, still do

. I reckon the lyric is classic ferry angst of the later school. ....and I'm no fan of IYLSE!

VivaRoxyMusic.com · **Posted:** Fri Jul 17, 2015 11:40 am

I have never liked the lyric 'oh baby' to begin any song....there are a million of them. Having said that one of my favourite lines from Ferry is in Windswept:

"a feeling only or a state of mind"

J.O'B.

Windswept2 · **Joined:** Sun May 29, 2011 7:23 pm **Posts:** 1570

VivaRoxyMusic.com wrote:

I have never liked the lyric 'oh baby' to begin any song....there are a million of them. Having said that one of my favourite lines from Ferry is in Windswept:

"a feeling only or a state of mind"

J.O'B.

Philosophical Philanderers,

As you would imagine, W2 shares J.O'B' s love of Windswept.
That said, W2's adoration stems more from the love of the sound scape rather than the lyrics albeit they are good.

When W2 looks at the post Roxy canon he finds many fine songs. One of the strongest from the more recent albums being 'Reason Or Rhyme'.

The difference, IWNSHO, is the apparent loss of the sense of irony that was omnipresent in his early work and a trend towards more straight forward love and lust stories .

There are exceptions. The terrific co-write with Dave Stewart, 'Goddess Of Love' being one example:

' Marilyn says I got nothing to wear tonight
Only a pair of earrings that catch the light
Platinum blonde — is it true that you have more fun
Siberia-now I'm sad and all alone'

A great ode to the glamorous but doomed Marilyn that starts with a verse that perfectly captures the contradiction in her all too short life.

Scintillating stuff n'est-ce-pas?

Any other post Roxy favourites out there?

Salutations,
W2

Topiary · **Joined:** Wed Oct 29, 2014 11:54 am **Posts:** 58

This is a great topic and I've really enjoyed reading all the posts. It's also such a hard subject to narrow down.

Stranded and In Your Mind leap out as albums full of outstanding lyrics. Mother of Pearl, Song for Europe are breathtaking.

It may divide opinion but Mamouna album is my desert island disc. It is perhaps lyrically sparse but every phrase of every song is perfection.

For complete songs I would add Running Wild, Reason or Rhyme, Tender is the Night to the list.

Of course need to add 'just one step at a time and closer to destiny'!

Ferry's Finest Lyric

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