Damien Rice Storyteller

[cuuliem]

Does Anyone know what are Damo's inspirations on his songs?
I've found it concerning I remember : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzfkYRpT-as

We all (mostly everyone) know the story on cheers darlin

On the gigs I've attended, I've just found out about The professor and la fille danse (I tried to translate it) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnFZJQXBGRo ;
a sniplet on Rootless tree : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkuncTRWGJI ;
a nice story about Amie in french (should I translate it?) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqF7-gBdeY4

but does anyone else have any videos (or just tell the stories If you have intented a gig where he was in a chitchat mood) about how/why he wrote all those other songs : 9crimes, accidental babies, sleep don't weep, blower's daughter (i think i've heard this one, but i can't remember) etc...

[dboyd]

i've heard the i remember, cheers, who hasn't... lol but woww.. rofl the professor is a pretty damn funny story when he tells it like that :P never heard that either..

translate the amie one please!!!

[Mort]

I've heard stories behind Cheers darlin, I remember, Cold Water (which was the most confusing story about a song I've ever heard) & Professor

Thanks for writing the story about Professor in english, he said it quite differently when I saw him.

[Calum]

Ah, i have a good one, he told a story about Sleep Don't Weep last night in Brighton (which was an awesome gig by the way). He said that he thought people were like grass, and that there was "a lot of grass" where he lived and most of it was surrounded by walls (or something like that i think... can't remember if he said completely enclosed...) and across this grass were pathways that adults had made for everyone to walk across. However, as a child he just saw where he wanted to go and picked the quickest route to get there and so did other kids and some adults, and after some time the grass died where everyone had taken the short cut through it. And that's what Sleep Don't Weep is about, that you can tread on a person so much that you kill them (not literally kill if you know what i mean).

So yeah, thought that was pretty great story. Oh, he told the story for I Remember about wanting orange juice but getting milk (don't know if you've heard that one), and also the "Mr. Penis" story! But he described his problem as "back pain" and that he'd "vomit" and "sometimes violently"!

If you haven't heard the orange juice one i can go into it in more detail if you like.

[mariaoran]

I've heard a couple of stories about Grey room but when i went to his gig he told quite a funny one...

He said that the song was written after coming out of a situation in which he felt trapped and didn't want to be in ever again, sort of like when you go to a girls house and you have to take a crap, but as you get to the bathroom and sit in the toilet .... well it doesn't come out! ... (this are not his exact words but its the gist of it)

very funny indeed! ... also, thanks for translating the professor's story i was having a hard time understanding it because of the audience's noice... very funny too!
cheers!

[Emelie]

Oh man how I die a little everytime he speaks in french

But to the point.. ehm.
I've though for a while that maybe it would be a nice idea to have a sticky topic where everyone could submit the stories they've heard him tell and we could order it in a nice organized manner.. Of course there's also something to be said for having everyone form their own opinions on song instead of coming here and read what it's about, so this is just a suggestion that I'm putting out there...

[SilentNight]

Originally Posted by Calum

Ah, i have a good one, he told a story about Sleep Don't Weep last night in Brighton (which was an awesome gig by the way). He said that he thought people were like grass, and that there was "a lot of grass" where he lived and most of it was surrounded by walls (or something like that i think... can't remember if he said completely enclosed...) and across this grass were pathways that adults had made for everyone to walk across. However, as a child he just saw where he wanted to go and picked the quickest route to get there and so did other kids and some adults, and after some time the grass died where everyone had taken the short cut through it. And that's what Sleep Don't Weep is about, that you can tread on a person so much that you kill them (not literally kill if you know what i mean).

So yeah, thought that was pretty great story. Oh, he told the story for I Remember about wanting orange juice but getting milk (don't know if you've heard that one), and also the "Mr. Penis" story! But he described his problem as "back pain" and that he'd "vomit" and "sometimes violently"!

If you haven't heard the orange juice one i can go into it in more detail if you like.

i remember he used to telling the grass treading story about some other song. but i think it's fit better with 'sleep don't weep'. When i listened to that song it seemed to me that he was singing at a death bed of someone. death captured that song, especially when he called the tibetan singing bowl sound at the end. it feels like the spirit which is connected to the that sound coming closer and closer to take over the matter, to collect the dying soul, to take it to a place unknown, not a paradise or heaven as i felt, cos i imagine the soul that is melt into that sound would be excruciating as that sound gives me headache. a dark requiem.

[golnazv86]

hey guys!

i have several more to add to the list:
here is the story for Cross-Eyed Bear
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C6HKsBY2gw


and here's amie in english
http://youtube.com/watch?v=TsuPT-9gJsU



and of course there's Eskimo where he had writer's block
http://youtube.com/watch?v=VMyUtok4fGg

and I have an old video of him where he explains 9 crimes, but i can't seem to find it online. it's from a private performance he did at kfog radio a few years back. never the less i have the video and i can send it to anyone who wants it...

that was the funniest story about the professor by the way!!! he told a different story about it when i saw him live. he explained how women have their own problems during the month...you know with PMS and such, and guys have their problems with their penis, and how it gets them in trouble. but i think i like this one better...so funny haha
cheers!

[neil]

^ can you please upload it on youtube? or you can send it to me and ill upload it . thanks for sharing all these videos! its so moving to learn the story behind his songs...beautiful

[cuuliem]

Originally Posted by dboyd

translate the amie one please!!!

It's slightly the same story


http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=qqF7-gBdeY4

This is how he introduces Amie :
Wow! It's hot in here (the audience shouts ***take off your jacket***) (he plays some chords)
Once upon a time, when I was home... alone... and, I don't know why, but I had a headache. I called my girlfriend, I asked :
-"can I come visit you?"
-"why, yes!"
then I left, took the bus and when I arrived at her place, we took a bite. I felt better immediatly.
She said :
-"you can stay home tonight"
I said
-"why, yes"
-"absolutely, my sister isn't here tonight, you can stay in her bedroom"
-"great (quite frustated)"
She said :
-"When you have a headache, it's very important connecting with, umh..., mmtth...(choosing carefully his words) with yourself : stay in the room, open the windows wide , umh... and... spend time with yourself
I said :
-"oh-kay (frowning at her)"
She said :
-"there is a lot of stars in the sky, you could look at them, around them, ask them a question, ask them for a sign"
-"Ok , good night, good night (trying to shorten the talk with her)"
***clearing his voice***
I was in the bed, I stare at the stars for... 30seconds (laughs). after that I spend some time with myself (laughs). And I felt better (laughs) for a few minutes but it wasn't great.
After that I looked at the stars again, I said : "give me a sign" (he whistles, nothing happened) (laughs). I hadn't drink a lot, but I don't know what happened exactly, but something happened. It's hard to explain right now. the next morning, I wrote this song....

[dboyd]

thanks!

[golnazv86]

Here is the story behind 9 crimes that i mentioned earlier. i couldn't find it on youtube before, but here it is now. thanks to srahman24 who posted it in the 9 crimes single thread.

it's my favorite version of this song!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjiWeyrKdSo

[glo32]

here's the story (well, it's not really a stoy, but it's interesting i think) he told before coconut skins three days ago in bollate (milan)...
http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=UE2T1QNIClM

[dboyd]

intro to volcano... i think it might have been cut off a bit but ya, browsing youtube and i found this...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSeOLK5gH14

[dboyd]

Not sure if this was posted yet, but this is him giving like, a 5 second explination about Me, My yoke, and i.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U852NJpu-2k

[borneoman]

^ That remind me that I had this show in which Viv tells the Yoke story instead of Damien. Anyone???? It was soooo funny!! Damien kinda challenges her because she says she knows all the stories.

and the thing is that she tells the wrong story because Damien was about to play Eskimo...

Gonna try to find it!!!!

[dboyd]

i don't think this has been posted.. maybe in a different version? i dunno.. it was added to youtube 5 days ago..

million pounds.. million sperm...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA0bH2B9VC8



btw. we need to sticky some really good threads like this one

[Mort]

Originally Posted by dboyd

btw. we need to sticky some really good threads like this one

Agree. Espeially this one is priceless!
It will be such a pity if it gets lost among other threads in future.

[mariaoran]

alright !! here's so this thread doesn't die!!

the story we've been hearing about the professor but this time before 9crimes (?) .... i think its 9 crimes becuase its on the piano and its the only one i can think of being about that! ...

wembley 07 : http://youtube.com/watch?v=2DCKh48ARDo

[dboyd]

^ it almost sounds like he's about to play what this night is for.... i dunno.. that's what i'm relating it too.. i can't think of it been 9 crimes..

[mariaoran]

Okk this is taken from the 2002 vicar St gig (AKA the O launch gig!)
Its a very good story !!!

Legend:
Damien says: Blue(as in boys! )
Lisa says: Red (as in Girl! )

(...?): these are stuff i cant quite understand ... but they're not important stuff so dont worry!!!
and the things in parentheses are not in the story damien says ... thats just me making comments!!

He basically tells the story about him and Lisa Jumping out of a plane!...
Link: http://www.sendspace.com/file/r4po4o

no we just, We jumped out off a plane

We went down, we had two um, two weeks... two days, two days really
when we went from playing some gigs in London to playing some gigs in cannes
...
anyways we landed in Cannes and as musicians do they're usually last out of the plane
got in and Lisa bought some chocolate
...
so we're sitting outside of the airport and just saw this guy sitting there
He was jumping out of a plane
not there yet!...but he was going to jump out of the plane
so he said to us...um
We were talking about going to Corsica and walking (...?) for a bit
and he said to us -'we've got a lift coming soon'-
So we went and we did and we jumped
and the only thing you really notice is the change in your underwaer color...
no but its ...

Not me na ah!

absolutely wow!(or wild!?... maybe!? )

Damien cried like a little girl!

Ok that's enough

*** this is an edited version! ... he also tells the story of O being an album for the girls and the next one (9) being an album for the boys!!!

[mariaoran]

Originally Posted by dboyd

^ it almost sounds like he's about to play what this night is for.... i dunno.. that's what i'm relating it too.. i can't think of it been 9 crimes..

haha it can toootally be about nine crimes! .... Check the 9crimes thread ... i think its called 'everything we know about 9 crimes ' or something similar!

aaand the story for what this night is for is different and he really never tells stories about 9crimes so it very well could be! ... i guess we need a Wembley goer to tell us!!!!!!! *Hint Hint!... anyone that went to wembley!?*

[Moves-My-World]

Thought we'd lost this thread!

Absolutely brilliant story from Bristol of July last year,

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ecLPjKyCiME

[Joyful]

Originally Posted by Moves-My-World

Thought we'd lost this thread!

Absolutely brilliant story from Bristol of July last year,

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ecLPjKyCiME

That was great, thanks!