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Formed in the multimedia commune of "Lypton Village" (one of the most important artistic and cultural circles in Dublin), the Virgin Prunes represented a unique adventure within the British dark-wave scene of the early '80s. Their style was born from the need to represent the primitive component of man, far from dehumanizing progress, instead aimed at recovering the panic sense, the pure and uncontaminated contact between man and nature. Their songs were apocalyptic rituals, searching for man's beastiality as the "primary" component. The lyrics expressed a pagan sentiment, an obsessive will to "return to origins," lost due to the unstoppable process of "civilization." For the few uncontaminated, there is no escape anymore (Virgin Prunes stands for Forsaken Virgins). Art, music in this case, thus becomes a way to claim a space, to shout to the world its error.
The record in question is their first LP. Dated 1982, it represents the unsurpassed peak of their music. The instrumental "Ulakanakulot" welcomes us into their heretical ritual, an unpronounceable title that seems like the magic word of an ancient sorcerer. Tribal percussions serve as the backdrop to an arcane chant, made powerful by a threatening bass in the foreground... without realizing it, we sink into the following "Decline And Fall," where Gavin Friday's sorcerous voice takes center stage, a voice that invites us to "take our dreams and fly away," to distance ourselves from this life built around us. "Sweethome Under White Clouds," with its hypnotic rhythm and theatrical singing, pushes us even deeper along these rivers of suggestion, a prelude to the masterpiece of the album, the terrifying nightmare of "Bau-Dachong," a macabre ballet full of distant oneiric reverberations, sharp guitars dripping blood, sinister dissonances. A genuine jewel of all dark music.
"Pagan Lovesong" develops on a frenzied rhythm, with Friday's "Glam" declamation always in the foreground.
The second part of the album is slightly inferior in craftsmanship compared to the first, yet it remains at a good level. The concluding "Yeo" bids us farewell with an unfinished, indefinable melody, the splash of a trickle of water wets the chords of a nocturnal piano, all suffocated by the concluding demonic voice, which seems to come from the depths... the depths of her majesty death. After all "...If I Die, I Die".
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Ulakanakulot (02:35)
See the children play by
Running try to touch the sky
When one falls you hear a cry
"You're dead, you're dead, you must die"
"Take a dream and fly away," she will call
They will wait for you not I, see me crawl
And sometimes I feel so old
I never smile nor do cry
Shadows flicker from above
"Seeker save your soul," she said
She will fly, she will fly
He will wait far away
A golden key to open the door
Behind which the answer lies
You sinned in dreams
Now awake in deeper, deeper dreams
"Take a dream and fly away," she will call
They won't wait for you not I,
they will wait for you not I
See me crawl, she will fly far away.
Decline and fall
Never return
Die
Die
03 Sweethome Under White Clouds (04:45)
Sweethome under white clouds
A picture on the wall, it says it all
I had a dream long time ago, imaginary
Like water, I had no colour
Running free, eternal beauty
And heaven, it was on earth
The promised land of milk and honey
And I see it now
The pain it lasts and all is wasted?
And we slept happily ever after
Sweethome under white clouds
Home is where the heart is
05 Pagan Lovesong (03:31)
Heathen a pagan
No sun shines for me
Savage but gentle
The animal within
And I see it now
I had a weird dream
Watch but don’t touch
I had a weird dream
I’m taking it away
“Put it in a bag, hide it in a tree”
I want to steal your heart, your heart
With these eyes I cannot see
And this cold heart never bleeds, never
Sweet smell this poison, the colour you bring
Tongue swollen venoms, to touch…to love
I want to steal your heart
I want to eat your heart
I reach for the sky but never can touch
It seems so easy, easy to me
Still I cannot, will not take this thing
Hearsay, this heresy
A victim to sin
Eternal the torment, the answer lies within
I had a weird dream watch but don’t touch
I had a weird dream I’m taking it away
“The love you give is the love you get…”
06 Baby Turns Blue (05:07)
Mary be so proud, things that aren't allowed,
To take your own life, stab it with a knife.
They put you in a box, send you up to heaven, heaven.
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
Give me money, give me sex,
Give me food and cigarettes.
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
(What should we do if baby turns blue)
You broke my heart, it came in two.
The faculties of a broken heart.
I go out on Monday, looking for a Tuesday.
Nothing ever makes much sense.
You don't seem to make much sense.
Shooting out in someone's dream.
Shooting out in something else.
It was an accident, I didn't mean it.
It was an accident, I didn't mean it.
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
(What should we do if baby turns blue?)
John had a bomb and he lit it in his head,
Went to bed for seventeen weeks,
Took too many drugs, now he don’t eat.
They put you in a box and send you up to heaven, heaven.
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
Give me money, give me sex,
Give me food and cigarettes.
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
Oh what to do, not to feel and who are you?
What should we do if baby turns blue?
09 Caucasian Walk (04:44)
I looked at my watch and I saw I had no time
Didn't notice all the clocks on television
Controlled violence on sale in new streets
Don't delay in boring studios!
Whatever happened to Emancipation Act '73?
I think it's lost, yes it's lost
In a world of satisfaction. No delay!
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Caucasian walk, Caucasian talk
Because I can't do nothing, can't do nothing
Seen is only truth in a shell of lies
Distributed feelings to a race that doesn't comprehend
I don't smoke, I just do it for the company
Political problems, sexual frustration won't end
It's the type of poison that doesn't count in life
I think not of the glasses but of the drink
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Caucasian walk, Caucasian talk
Because I can't do nothing, can't do nothing
Glitter stardust in dull camp void
Hero are you out there or is it just a shadow?
I could give you words if the world gives me vibes
Tell me what's the position between the man and beast?
Impressions on a mirror for everyone of you to look at
It's the type of happening in a weird situation
And that's the reason for doing nothing
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Caucasian walk, Caucasian talk
Because I can't do nothing, can't do nothing
I looked at my watch and I saw I had no time
Didn't notice all the clocks on television
Controlled violence on sale in new streets
Don't delay in boring studios!
Whatever happened to Emancipation Act '73?
I think it's lost, yes it's lost
In a world of satisfaction. No delay!
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Like a crazy singer in a band that's lost the words
Caucasian walk, Caucasian talk
Because I can't do nothing, can't do nothing
I have no words, no words
Caucasian walk, Caucasian talk...
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