I climbed a tower in the centre of town with a friend to “show” him London. Rooftops and clamour stretched into the apparent infinite distance – yet it seemed devoid of life that grey afternoon…
It is this urban scene that is framed by the couple’s window at the beginning of “Saviour”. Gazing in different directions, they subtly clash. She has some defiant hope in the transcendent – a connection possible beyond the passing moment – but he claims no time for such fantasies.
Down at street level wandering under an overpass – perhaps pushing a trolley or wearing a sandwich board – there’s the obscure, eccentric old man. Prophet-like, he speaks of “One”.
As I ride away on a double-decker in the mess and chaos of a night bus in the rain, I reflect back on these characters and the question that echoes…
In this song the exuberant and extravagant genre of funk with horns and driving bass, meets the story-telling blues. It is written in the guitar’s favourite key of E, where all of the wood and string harmonics resonate. When we play it live as a band, the song just seems to drive itself.
Calling
This part of the city seems so empty,
this part of the city seems to have no soul.
She stares out over distant rooftops,
she stares out: tries to see where she’s from.
And he – he sips at his super-fruit fruit shake.
He says there’s no way – he says there’s no hope.
And she, I don’t know why, she stares at the ceiling
I don’t know why she looks back when he’s gone.
And it seems to me that
we’re all looking for something.
And it seems to me that
we’re all longing for something.
I heard you say we all need some saviour.
I heard you say we can’t wait too long.
Old man on the corner: says he’s met some “Jesus”
the old man on the corner says that this is the One.
And it seems to me that
we’re all looking for someone.
And it seems to me that
we’re all looking for someone.
There’s One who says,
“Come – if your burden’s heavy.”
And there’s One who says,
“Come, come to me.”
Riding on the top deck, rain-lashed windows,
riding on the top deck and cans roll at my feet.
There’s something you said that sticks in my head:
something you said keeps coming back to me:
“There’s One who says,
“Come, come.”