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Martin
Posted on Monday, February 09, 2004 - 01:20 pm:   

Heres one that I love -Was there anything I could do. A classic Grant line "a picture of her by the pyramids, a knife held to her heart" a classic line in a classic song. The song sounds non auto biog but its imagery is brilliant.
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graeme in zurich
Posted on Wednesday, February 11, 2004 - 05:08 pm:   

And it contains a line about curtains. Very few pop songs talk about curtains, but they get at least two (any more?) mentions from the GoBs. A sign of their acuity.
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jerry
Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 07:15 pm:   

that particular line reminds me of leonard cohen.
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fsh
Posted on Thursday, February 12, 2004 - 08:35 pm:   

Was there anything I could do?
When I saw you up there lighting fires.
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Seamus
Posted on Saturday, February 14, 2004 - 04:58 pm:   

the picture with the pyramids remind me of bob dylan
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michael
Posted on Friday, May 21, 2004 - 11:17 pm:   

The pyramid is a place in northern Queensland near cairns, near where cane toads were first released in Australia at Gordonvale (thereafter to march in every direction), the pyramids are in Egypt. I always thought it was the former. Only because in Bye Bye Pride Grant talks about the lights down on Sheild St which is in Cairns. Could have have the whole north QLD connection wrong. Anyone got a view on this.
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Babs Keatings neighbour
Posted on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 05:14 pm:   

"Turned the fan off and went for a walk by the lights down on Shield Street" has always been one of my favourite Go-Betweens lines. It's about someone with time on their hands and nothing in particular to do. It's hot. It's night time. There's something happening on Shield Street or, at the very least, the possibilty of something happening. He's turned the fan off so he's obviously been in the house/room/apartment on his own - dreaming, as we later discover, about "resistance".

Magnificent.
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Duncan H
Posted on Tuesday, May 25, 2004 - 07:47 pm:   

I love that line too. I love the strength through "resistance" rather than fighting this song displays.

It always reminds me of Bournemouth on a hot summer's evening. Not quite it's intended image, I'm sure, but it sticks in my mind.
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Teenage Rasputin
Posted on Sunday, May 30, 2004 - 10:18 pm:   

Shield Street. Always been intrigued by this locale, because of the pop brilliance of the context and delivery. Checked out many a city centre map,but Cairns? Knew that trawling this board would pay off!
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michael
Posted on Sunday, July 11, 2004 - 07:17 am:   

It all fits, every home in Cairns has a fan which you'd probably turn off before heading out for a walk down on Sheild St.
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jonny
Posted on Tuesday, July 20, 2004 - 10:59 pm:   

I've always thought "was there anything..." was not one of their better songs - a terrible video, the fact it was in the 80s is no excuse!!!A shocking choice to open "the best of..." as well.

love goes on! or quiet heart would have been much much better GM 16LL choices. IMHO, of course.
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Pete Azzopardi
Posted on Wednesday, July 21, 2004 - 12:53 am:   

Ditto, Jonny.
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michael
Posted on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 11:54 am:   

I suppose that's why we started roaming towards Bye Bye Pride, a much better song. Wouldn't you agree Pete. Does the Teenage Rasputin drink gin?
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Teenage Rasputin
Posted on Thursday, July 22, 2004 - 01:27 pm:   

Does the teenage bear shit in the woods?
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Pete Azzopardi
Posted on Friday, July 23, 2004 - 01:50 am:   

Ditto, Michael.
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Hamish
Posted on Friday, July 30, 2004 - 09:52 pm:   

So, now that we know where it is and as I have never been anywhere near Cairns, can anyone tell me what Shield Street is like? And what about la Brisa de la Palma?
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Matthew Berlyant
Member
Username: Incarag

Post Number: 7
Registered: 06-2005
Posted on Tuesday, June 21, 2005 - 05:59 pm:   

I love "Bye Bye Pride", too, but I have to stand up for "Was There Anything I Could Do?". It's one of my favorites, though it's definitely an anomaly on that album in that it isn't a plaintive, positive love song from Grant, but rather a character sketch that doesn't seem to be autobiographical. Regardless, the line "I can't say that I blame her, people don't know what they want, if you spend your life looking behind you, you can't see what's up front" is awesome. I like the line about the pyramid, too.
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Boundary Rider
Unregistered guest
Posted on Friday, June 13, 2008 - 10:36 am:   

I think you're on to something with the Nth Qld connection...I've been wondering where Sheridan Street (as in "Love Goes On") is for a while, and now I find that it's a main street in Cairns too :-)

I've always thought "was there anything...", "bye by e pride" and "love goes on" were about the same person anyway, probably along with several other songs....
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Charles Coy
Member
Username: Coy

Post Number: 73
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Wednesday, June 18, 2008 - 12:47 pm:   

..probably 'Right Here'..maybe 'Wrong Road'..
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Teenagerasputin
Unregistered guest
Posted on Tuesday, January 05, 2010 - 10:00 am:   

recently, Ive only just discovered the go-betweens.
there's just something about their lyrics and melodies that stay with you for a long time after you hear it. i especially love the lines:

so you take your shoes and go outside/stride over stride/walk to that tide/because the door is open wide.

amazing.
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Charlie Mortdecai
Unregistered guest
Posted on Friday, July 25, 2014 - 07:10 am:   

It's been a while since I looked at it, but the liner notes for the "Best of 1978-1990" compilation definitely mention the Cairns connection to "Bye Bye Pride". I think it was a Robert Forster song from memory. I do wonder about the Brisa de la Palma though, something I always heard as "greasy De la Palma", assuming there was a bar or restaurant by that name.
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Jon Scott
Unregistered guest
Posted on Thursday, November 24, 2016 - 10:04 am:   

Heard Grant say in an interview that he lived in Cairns for a while. Always thought Cattle and Cane was about Cairns as well. I use to ride through the sugar cane fields on the way to school when I was a kid in the early 80's.
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Jon Scott
Unregistered guest
Posted on Thursday, November 24, 2016 - 10:07 am:   

There was an old motel in Cairns called Las Palmas, think the navy guys used to stay there.
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Jon Scott
Unregistered guest
Posted on Thursday, November 24, 2016 - 10:13 am:   

Shield street is just south of the city centre, has a few small restaurants. It use to be lined with big Moreton Bay fig trees giving it character but council in their wisdom decided to cut them all down about 20 years ago.

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