The singer-songriter approach: Massive Attack – ‘Teardrop’ (1998)
“Teardrop on the fire/Fearless on my breath…”
Featuring stream of consciousness-style lyrics penned and sung by former Cocteau Twin Elizabeth Fraser, ‘Teardrop’ was the lead single from the Bristol collective’s 1998 album Mezzanine, the darker, more aggressive follow-up to 1994’s Protection.
In a 2009 interview with The Guardian, Fraser recalled how the lyrics to ‘Teardrop’ took on even greater personal meaning following the death of her ex-lover, Jeff Buckley: “‘His career was everything to him, and I wish I had been more understanding – happy with a different kind of relationship. I missed out on something there, and it was my fault.’ The news that Buckley had disappeared – he drowned, swimming in the Wolf river in Memphis – came while Fraser was recording Teardrop with Massive Attack. ‘That was so weird,’ she says. ‘I’d got letters out and I was thinking about him. That song’s kind of about him – that’s how it feels to me anyway.'”
With lyrical content straight out of the Bob Dylan school of ambiguity, it’s the imagery that shines. Juxtaposition is celebrated: those black flowers blossom, while the teardrop is left to fall on the fire.
“Love, love is a verb
Love is a doing word
Fearless on my breath
Gentle impulsion
Shakes me, makes me lighter
Fearless on my breath
Teardrop on the fire
Fearless on my breath
Night, night of matter
Black flowers blossom
Fearless on my breath
Black flowers blossom
Fearless on my breath…”
It’s all pretty grim stuff. Sure, “love is a verb” (which is about as fine a lyric as one can muster, regardless of genre) but in the end, backed by Massive Attack’s relentless beat and oppressive synths, the lament can only have one end: “You’re stumbling down,” sings Fraser, repeating to coda.
To those who struggle to find meaning in the lyrical content of electronic music – sometimes with good cause – it should be enough to cite the leaden perfection of ‘Teardrop’.
The adoption of a full-on singer-songwriter approach to lyricism rarely works in straightforward house or techno tracks, but when it’s twisted into a less dancefloor-orientated electronic music context it can be one of the most emotive forms of lyric and vocal. Massive Attack are clear masters of the approach thanks to the likes of ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ and ‘Protection’, but credit must also go to The Knife for ‘Heartbeats’:
09.11 AM
glad to see the Oliver S track on there, what a tune and a great composition!
01.33 AM
Hmmmm. . . . . shouldn’t that “Little Fluffy Clouds” track be in there somewhere? I feel like everyone knows that one.
02.08 PM
I was expecting to see EBTG’s “Missing” or at least one nice example from early progressive house era, say, John Creamer and Stephen K’s “Wish you were here”, as a perfect example to show sometimes singer-songwriter approach to lyricism really works in straightforward house or techno tracks too.
03.07 PM
Liked the article but just wanted to point out that Massive Atack’s “Mezzanine” was recorded in 1997 and released in 1998, not 2007 as stated here!
03.09 PM
Thanks Electronomist. Not sure how that one slipped through!