Home | Songs By Year | Songs from 1994
This Is a Low
Buy This Is a Low now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the song. And once you've experienced the song, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
"'This Is a Low'" is a song by English rock band Blur for their third studio album, 'Parklife'. The song was released as a promotional single in 1995.
Background and recording
Originally titled "We Are the Low", the song began life as an instrumental during the 'Parklife' sessions. In the guitar solo, Graham Coxon played three solos, including one of him sat in front of his amp, turned up to maximum volume. According to bassist Alex James, Damon Albarn was finding it hard to write lyrics. In his autobiography, 'A Bit of a Blur', he revealed that "for Christmas I bought him a handkerchief with a map of the shipping forecast regions on it... you can never tell where the muse is going to appear." "We always found the shipping forecast soothing," James explained. "We used to listen to it [on the American tour] to remind us of home. It's very good for a hangover. Good cure for insomnia, too." On 4 February 1994, the penultimate day of official recording, Albarn was due to go into hospital for a hernia operation. Pressured to come up with the lyrics, Albarn took advantage of the map James had given him. "I'd had this line 'And into the sea go pretty England and me' for a long time", Albarn revealed. "So I started at the Bay of Biscay. Back for tea. 'Tea' rhymes with 'me'. And then I went 'Hit traffic on the Dogger Bank'. 'Bank' 'Rank' so 'up the Thames to find a taxi rank'. And I just went round."
Music and lyrics
The song is in the key of E major'Parklife' album booklet, page 16 and is in 4/4 time. In total, the song contains two verses, two choruses, a guitar solo and two further choruses. The music commences with a four-chord guitar progression, before moving straight into the first verse. The music is based in the mixolydian mode, highlighted by the fact the V chord (B minor) is minor instead of major.
The song's lyrics reference a low-pressure area of weather hitting Britain. The lyrics are based on the Shipping Forecast, with references made to the various areas surrounding the country. In the lyric "sail on by with the tide", passing reference is also made to the tune "Sailing By", which plays at the start of the 0048 forecast on BBC Radio 4. Music writer John Harris described the lyrics as "a fantasia centred around the shipping forecast [an] inexplicably calming institution that soundtracks the switching-off of the UK's night-lights narrated as if the writer was gazing at the whole of The British Isles."
Locations named in the song
This is a list of the shipping areas mentioned in the song (in context):*Biscay "Around the Bay of Biscay and back for tea"
*Dogger, Thames "Hit traffic on the Dogger Bank/Up the Thames to find a taxi rank"
*Tyne, Forth, Cromarty, Forties "Up the Tyne, Forth and Cromarty/There's a low in the High Forties"
*Malin "And on the Malin Head, Blackpool looks blue and red"
The song also mentions the most westerly point of England, Land's End: "the Queen, she's gone round the bend, jumped off Land's End".
Reception
"This Is a Low" is often chosen as a stand-out track from the album, including as a selected highlight by AllMusic, who describe the track as a "swirling, epic closer".Parklife- AllMusic [] Last accessed: 21 July 2008. John Harris described the song as 'Parklife's "key masterstroke" and "close to perfection". Harris also compared the quality with "any of Blur's illustrious forebears" including the Beatles.
It is also very popular within the band, proven by its surprise inclusion on Blur's 'Best Of' compilation album. "This Is a Low" was the only album track included on the album, selected ahead of some A-sides. It was also later included on the band's 2009 'Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur' compilation.
The song has been performed live many times, most notably as the final song at Blur's most famous concert, the Mile End stadium gig of 1995,AllMusic- A Knees Up at Mile End [] 'Last accessed: 16 July 2008' as well as Glastonbury 1994, where the song was voted by fans on the festival's website to appear on the compilation DVD 'Glastonbury Anthems'. It was performed by Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon as their first reunited performance as Blur at the 2009 NME Awards. Blur also performed the song at the 2012 Brit Awards as an encore.
In 2014, 'NME' ranked it at number 198 in their list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/nme_500_greatest_songs_2014.htm Rocklist.net NME The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.. 2014]
Track listing
All music composed by Albarn, Coxon, James and Rowntree. All lyrics composed by Albarn.
'CD promo'
# "This Is a Low" 5:07
Personnel
*Damon Albarn vocals, keyboards
*Graham Coxon guitar
*Alex James bass guitar
*Dave Rowntree drums
References
Category:Blur (band) songs
Category:1994 songs
Category:Songs written by Damon Albarn
Category:Song recordings produced by Stephen Street
Category:Songs written by Graham Coxon
Category:Songs written by Alex James (musician)
Category:Songs written by Dave Rowntree
Buy This Is a Low now from Amazon
<-- Return to songs from 1994