about
Back in 1996/97 Rob and I were talking about breaking away from our current band (a charming little outfit called Sphincter) and tossing around ideas for songs. Rob used to write a lot of lyrics, he'd usually turn up to rehearsal every week with at least 4 or 5 sheets of lyrics. I used to have a massive pile of lyrics sitting in my lounge room which I would occasionally sort through when writing music. On this particular day we were talking about writing the simplest song imaginable with as few chords as possible. The name of the song on the top of the lyric pile was "Sunshine Of Your Angst"... I grabbed my acoustic guitar and this song was finished in about 10 minutes. It virtually wrote itself.
After forming a new band which we had named "subGenius" this was literally the first song we taught the other guys. We quickly changed the somewhat unwieldy title to, simply, "Fragile". A year of rehearsals later, and it ballooned into this extraordinary monster of a song, complete with several unnecessary solo sections and an almost two-minute-long intro.
When we recorded it in 1998 for some bizarre reason we decided to change the original second verse lyrics to what can be heard here; something about ambulances. The trimmed-down and simplified album version of Fragile also contains this altered second verse. We reinstated what I personally consider to be the "correct" lyrics on the acoustic version which is the last song on this EP.
Anyway, here is Fragile in all its bloated glory, slightly shy of six minutes long, just like we used to play it live.
lyrics
I'm too good to leave, I'm too bad to stay.
You're fat and you're ugly and you don't care anyway.
You've got me round your finger, I can't say a word.
Now is the Pinter of our discontent.
Now isn't that absurd.
Life's a box of chocolates, fireworks and rockets.
Putting fingers into sockets and death threat notes.
It's hard enough to listen when your eyes begin to glisten
And something seems it's missing.
Put my hands around your throat.
You've decided you don't want me; fine, leave me alone.
You beat me to the punch and yet you cling onto the bone.
I'll chase your ambulance no more.
Your simple promise of solution.
You're the windscreen-struck believer
In the face of absolution.
You're not content with living with the world or with your new man.
"It's good to be alive," you say, "but it's bad to be a human."
Your suffering's so adrenal.
You angst for your endorphins,
Cause the world has got it in for you,
But it's me you've got your claws in.
credits
from
Fragile,
released March 4, 2010
Lyrics: Robert Reid
Music: Rohan Voigt, Darren Hilliard
Vocals: Rob
Guitar: Ro
Bass: Darren
Drums: Nino
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