As Holy As The Soil - Forever Delayed

Tom · #1 01-10-2013, 20:04

Couldn't find a thread for this.

Maybe my favourite song from the new album. I'm not sure what it's supposed to be about, but almost inevitably I can't help but hear it as anything but a desparate plea to a departed friend. I think Nicky's singing once again is fantastic, as are his lyrics. So heartfelt and honest.

Thoughts? Have the band talked about the song at all? I haven't really been following media coverage.

mar · #2 01-10-2013, 20:05

It's about Richey.

hummingbird · #3 01-10-2013, 20:08

this is from the quietus track by track

"I think this is as close to a love song to Richey as we’re ever going to write. It’s the oldest song on the album, I wrote the music and the words and I’d kept it hidden for about three years, because it’s one of those topics you just feel a bit… but then you realise it’s 20 years. We’ve done stuff like ‘Cardiff Afterlife’ and ‘Nobody Loved You’, but they were a bit more autobiographical - this is more, 'Fucking hell, it would be good if you were around, if you just turned up one day. Imagine how many festivals we could headline?' At which he would laugh. I just miss his pulverising intellect. It’s not just us - I think the musical landscape misses him. Then I lost a really good friend at Sony, our product manager for the last five years, and he died really young, so I changed a couple of lyrics because it had an awful impact. It became this song about redemptive loss. I think this is my best vocal, I put a lot of work into it. James said he thought this is the one my voice should be on, because it’s got that sort of cracked frailty in the verses. I’m dreading playing it live - I don’t like singing live."

wireobsessed · #4 01-10-2013, 20:13

Yeah it's for Richey and also a friend of Nicky's who died ( someone he mentioned in one of the video interviews, he said he'd adapted some of the lyrics to fit) He also mentioned the issue (if that's the right word) of losing family and friends including his aunt and uncle. I guess it strikes a major chord for the band, Nicky said it was a direct track about Richey and not a hidden message to or about him as in other tracks like Cardiff Afterlife. For me it seems like it could mean a lot to many people who have lost someone they love. It's probably my favourite track and I'd love them to release it and do a video for it. Love Nicky's voice, the emotion in it and the duet with James and they lyrics are just beautiful.

Tom · #5 01-10-2013, 20:16

Thanks for that.

mar · #6 01-10-2013, 20:17

Dont put a sad face, it's lovely to have a song like this.

Dancing Kirby · #7 01-10-2013, 20:20

Death of a Digital Ghost is also about Richey. Or at least it may as well be.

mar · #8 01-10-2013, 20:20

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dancing Kirby

Death of a Digital Ghost is also about Richey. Or at least it may as well be.

Really? Love that song but didn't know it was about Richey too.

Dancing Kirby · #9 01-10-2013, 20:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by mar

Really? Love that song but didn't know it was about Richey too.

Dunno how these lyrics could be about anything else.

Quote:

Face to face with a departure
Disguise the pain by acting stronger
Your smile burnt into the silence
Your words comfort and are timeless
There's no point in finding answers
The sun is rising through the vapour

Tom · #10 01-10-2013, 20:25

I just think it's very upsetting. Cardiff Afterlife is completely different, as he kind of says in that Quietus quote. The words in that song romanticise things to a certain extent. In this one it's just complete desperation. Losing a best friend isn't something that I've ever really given proper thought to before.

mar · #11 01-10-2013, 20:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dancing Kirby

Dunno how these lyrics could be about anything else.

Yes, and Nicky sings again. Guess you are right.

wireobsessed · #12 01-10-2013, 20:30

I agree with the upsetting feel but because of that and the emotion and honesty in it I love it even more. A friend of mine committed suicide in the same year as Richey went missing and my Dad died at the start of February '95. Even though I know they can never come back I totally understand the song and love the way they have put it all into words. It says things I never could and helps because of that.

MoMoney MoJunk · #13 01-10-2013, 21:29

Brilliant song, my fave of the new album. I love the punchy drums after the second chorus.

Son of Stopped · #14 22-10-2013, 22:19

Who sings the final line? I think it's James.

Porco · #15 22-10-2013, 22:35

I do like it, I find it heartfelt, really like the lyrics, and it's one of the best Nicky vocals he's done IMHO.

But for now it's my least favourite track on the album, it's just a little bit ploddy. The brass in the verses makes me think of a farm-based soap opera for some reason (it is kind of ... 'rural' and 'soily-sounding' to me I guess!) and it was further diminished for me by the unfortunate (forced by the sound of it) last-minute removal of the Captain Beefheart sample. Plus I find the ending a bit too abrupt. But don't get me wrong, I do like it in its own right, I might well end up liking it more in future.