Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion (1987)

The Sisters of Mercy, often categorised as Goth, formed in Leeds in 1979 by F-Club regulars Gary Marx and Andrew Eldritch. Word has it that they did this because they wanted to satisfy their desire to hear themselves on the radio. Hmmmm...
The band name was derived from the 1971 film 'McCabe & Mrs. Miller', which featured the Leonard Cohen track.
The Sisters of mercy did very well in the UK until 18 June 1985, the day of their last gig at the Royal Albert Hall in London, when Andrew announced to relocate to Hamburg, while Wayne Hussey, who had earlier replaced Ben Gunn, announced his decision to split off to form their own group, reasoning it with artistic and personal differences with him. During the highly publicised soap opera dubbed the Corporate Wars that followed, the new band started playing concerts under name of The Sisterhood, while Andrew vetoing it's use for being too similar to The Sisters of Mercy. The band eventually christened themselves: The Mission.


This Corrosion takes a stab at Hussey, with lines like 'Sing this corrosion to me' and 'Selling the don't belong' indicating that Andrew considered The Mission's sound to be a copy or corrosive version of The Sister Of Mercy.
The lyrics concern his previous band members leaving The Sisters of Mercy to form The Mission, being actually an attack on Wayne Hussey. A parody of lyrics by Hussey: impressive sounding words and cliche fragments strung together with little thought as to meaning.
Andrew wrote this track in 1986, and was going to release it as a single from his band Sisterhood, but they waited a year and released it as a re-formed Sisters Of Mercy.
Jim Steinman, who also got 'Holding out for a Hero' and 'Total Eclypse of the Heart' for Bonnie Tyler on the road, produced the track with the 40-strong New York Chorale Society.

There is also a 1999 cover version by the German band In Extremo, a 2002 cover by US-American band Lambchop, a 2003 cover by the German band Unheilig and a 2007 cover by the Swedish band Maryslim, featuring vocals from Jyrki 69 of The 69 Eyes. The song is also covered by Diane Birch on her 2010 covers album The Velveteen Age.

Sisters of Mercy - This Corrosion (1987)
IRL#6, UK#7, DE#17, US#38



Lyrics:

Gimme the ring, kissed and toll'd
Gimme something that I missed (gimme the ring)
A hand to hold, wild and what it seems (gimme the ring)
Kill the king, when love is the law,
And the we'll turn round... (gimme the ring)
Gimme dream child
And do you hear me call? (gimme the ring)
On the loan and on the level
...still on the floor (gimme the ring)
Sing dream child
And do you hear at all?

(sing) (sing)

Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me
Hey now, hey now now, sing...

Gimme siren, child and do you hear me?
Gimme siren, child, and do you hear me call?
Sing, child, of right and wrong
Gimme things that don't last long
Gimme siren, child, and do you hear me call?

(sing) (sing)

Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me
Hey now, hey now now, sing...

On days, like this
In times like these
I feel an animal deep inside
Heel to haunch on bended knees
Living on if and if I tried,
Somebody send me... please...
Dream wars and a ticket to seem
Giving out and in
Selling the don't belong
Well, what do you say
D'you have a word for giving away?
Got a song for me?

(sing) (sing)

Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me
Hey now, hey now now, sing this corrosion to me
Hey now, hey now now, sing...

I got nothing to say I ain't said before
I bled all I can, I won't bleed no more
I don't need no one to understand
Why the blood run hold
The hired hand
On heart
Hand of god
Floodland and driven apart
Run cold
Turn
Cold
Burn
Like a healing hand
Like a healing hand
Like a healing hand
Like a healing hand

No comments:

Post a Comment