Guy's words about Great Expectations

Days ago I listened to a series of audios of elbow on KEXP in 2008, and after they sang Great Expectations Guy said something about it. I wanna write a blog about it (in Chinese of course ^ ^) so I did a little dictation (let me know if I put anything wrongly, thanks!):

It based on a few events actually. And.. the first girl I was in love with, I fell in love with her on a bus, and I've been with her about 4 or 5 months but I rememeber the moment I thought: "God I love her!" You know. And this is what it feels like the sort of thing, and so I sort of invented a marriage that took place at that moment. And imagine: "a call girl ... on a bus be our witness and priest" - it says in the lyrics, "Stockport supporters club kindly provided a choir" in the wedding ...sort of..um ... yeah, it's very easy to write about that girl even know ... you know I've ...with both moved on, she has a family and I'm very much in love of somebody else, but it was very easy to write about her because I had so many those feelings for the first time with her.

I really really love this song. As far as I can remember, when I was on the maillist of elbow forum in yahoo, somebody once said he would play this song on his wedding, actually I was thinking about that as well! (I'm gonna marry a wonderful English guy later this year *^^* but our favourite song of elbow is "One Day Like This") Sorry for going so far from my topic. I'd like to share this with you.

The audio I referred is KEXP Radio Seattle Washington USA FM_Broadcast on May 5th in 2008. I don't know who did it, but many thanks!

it is a lovely song, from a very lovely album. still my favourite

Hi, shelala - the woman behind the song is DJ Edith Bowman, who is now married to Tom Smith of Editors in case you wanted specific details.

*sigh* I love that song so much.

When I listen to it I'm back 5 years ago on my boyfriend's bed listening to it on repeat, willing myself to stay awake because every minute I sleep is a minute closer to having to leave. The first year of our relationship was long distance - ah, difficult times.

Thank you very much shelala for sharing the interview with us.

Great Expectations has not been bettered by Elbow or anyone else, not yet anyway, IMHO. It is so vivid, both in its imagery and its emotional content, and to this day I am blown away whenever I hear it. I suppose I always will be, it's a real gem of a song. Thanks for sharing that, Shel!

I love that album too, ChrissyBoy, The Stops and The Everthere is another one of my favorite.

Hey ukkonen, thank you for the information! Yeah I didn't know that before. I do think I saw the name "Judith" before in something about elbow or Guy Garvey.

Kim, thanks for sharing your personal feeling about the song. I'm not with my boyfriend right now either, both waiting for the day to be together... I know how it feels when you get together and have to seperate soon.

ChrissieInFL, I suppose that's why the song is still so "perfect" to some people - good enough but not perfect ^^

I didn't "get" "Great Expectations" for a long time. The song just didn't catch me.

Then a friend of mine was going through a bad break-up. I'd introduced him to Elbow, sent him copies of all four albums, and he wrote me one day that "Great Expectations" was on repeat pretty hardcore for him.

I knew his ex-. In fact, at one time I was even in love with his ex-; she and I went back a long ways, long before she'd ever met him.

I listened to the song. And again. I was trying to understand what he was going through, what he was feeling.

Then I understood.

Somehow, the whole "break-up album" aspect of Leaders had passed me by. A couple of months later, a break-up of my own under the belt, I really "got" "The Stops," and then I realized what I'd been missing in the album.

The break-up songs of Leaders are gorgeous and heartrending. "Great Expectations" has some truly vivid imagery, and if it hits me right it will break the heart.

allyngibson, I got so moved by what you just wrote!! You guys have helped me understand this album better and better. Thanks a lot for sharing the feelings!

Loving, if that's the right expression, all your feeling about 'Great Expectations' - the bus he's talking about is the 135 from Bury to Manchester and the Stockport Supporters Club are a load of Stockport County Football Club's fans that got aboard it....I'm pretty sure that's right.

My all time favourite song ever by anyone fluctuates between Newborn and GE.

At the Halle/Bridgwater gig were Newborn/Great Expectations/Friend Of Ours, in that order - I was literally bursting with emotion and my tears were being 'kettled' by my eyelids.....

It's perfect in every way - i literally cannot describe in any other terms.

My Bury Vest wrote:

At the Halle/Bridgwater gig were Newborn/Great Expectations/Friend Of Ours, in that order - I was literally bursting with emotion and my tears were being 'kettled' by my eyelids.....

Ahh MBV, me too... though for me it was Great Expectations/Friend Of Ours/Powder Blue that had me actually sobbing. Especially as I'd been wanting to hear Powder Blue live for 9 years!

friend of ours.

april 2008. I'd just been through a particularly rough patch. decided to take some time out, headed of to centre parcs for a long weekend to get away from it all. picked up TSSK somewhere between the two (late to the party as usual: the album had been out for a month or so at the time). was aware of the story behind the album, and the significance of 'friend of ours'.

so I took the cd with me, put it on loop and proceeded to get royally drunk the first night. by the end I was an emotional wreck. friend of ours: amazing climax: in a few spare lines it conjures up the whole essence of the album, of the band. months later when they played abbey road and it was on bbc iplayer I recall sitting at my desk with eyes closed and getting emotional all over again.

for some reason, I had it in my head that this would be the ONE song the band would NEVER play live. to hear it with the halle, well that just floored me: everything else knocked into the proverbial cocked hat: love ya mates.