Stereophonics – Local Boy in the Photograph: So this week, I’m in a bit of an Autumnal mood – and this song (pretty much for like two of it’s lyrics) really does remind me of Autumn – a season that I used to hate, but now, have grown to very much love. It’s from one of my favourite bands, Stereophonics.
Trigger warning – this post talks about suicide – please, if you’re upset by this subject, check out something else instead 🙂
I’m sure I’m not alone with this (or if I am, it’s you lot that are weird, and not me) – but certain songs remind me of certain times of the year – like, I know we have Christmas songs, but I have “seasonal” songs, that bring back memories or put me in a good mood- and this is one for Autumn, probably because of these lines:
There’s no mistake
I smell that smell
It’s that time of year again
I can taste the air
Clocks go back
This time of year, as the summer sun starts to leave us earlier in the evenings, and sits lower in the sky, just fills me with a warmth that I never used to experience. I’m a winter baby, and the colour of autumn used to get me down, but now, the golden browns and rich yellows are just incredible – and songs like this from the Sterephonics seem to transport me back to those woodland walks in the autumn sun. It’s also since having Grayson and being with Ashleigh, I enjoy our walks in the woods together, G loves the squirrels, and there’s so much change happening at this time of year, it’s great to see.
Anyway, that aside, this song is just a really trigger for those memories, so I thought I’d share it with you.
Stereophonics – Local Boy in the Photograph
Of course, it wasn’t written to celebrate the joys of autumn! This song is actually about a real life event that took place, “local boy” Paul David Boggiss‘ tragic suicide – which was caused by a train travelling between Cwmbach and Aberdare. He was the real life “local boy in the photograph” that the song mentions.
Lead singer, Kelly Jones, said;
“It (the song) was just more about a celebration of his life than was about his death, really, about the kid sitting on the bank drinking, and lots of imagery of the seasons and the clocks going back and I that’s when I found that descriptive writing is what people would stop and listen to really.”
For me, the interpretation of the song will be a positive one, because that’s the memories I’ve conjured up from years of listening to it – but for others, I imagine this song has some very strong emotions and feelings attached to it – and it’s testament to the Stereophonics that even now, 23 years (!) since this was released, it can still be so poignant.
As always when we mention suicide, it’s important that we provide links to resources to help people who may have stumbled across this post looking for help and advice. Please, check out the Dadvengers “Getting help” section for some immediate Mental Health contact advice.
If you’re a fan of the Stereophonics, why not check out Ocean Colour Scene, Embrace and Doves, and go from there 😉
You can also follow our New Tunes Tuesday playlist on Spotify, if you wanted a playlist of all the tracks we add over the coming weeks, or check out previous new tunes Tuesday posts.