| the song | |
|---|---|
| title : | Bell, book and candle |
| written by : | Boo Hewerdine |
| song copyright : | © 1998 Chrysalis Music Ltd |
| the performance | |
|---|---|
| musicians | |
| Eddi Reader | vocal, acoustic guitar |
| Boo Hewerdine | acoustic guitar, bells |
| Calum MacColl | electric guitar |
| Roy Dodds | drums, percussion, hand claps |
| music | |
|---|---|
| key : | A major |
| time-signature : | 4/4 |
| tempo : | MM 74 |
| form : | V R V R R V R v R V R P |
| lyrics |
|---|
|
provided for research and private study only (see above for copyright details): Bell, book and candle
blue around the morning moon
I need a bell, a book and candle
white horses on a {aah} troubled sea
I need a bell, a book and candle
{aah}
just before the thunder roars
with a bell, a book and candle
blue around the morning moon
I need a bell, a book and candle
|
| explanations |
|---|
|
According to my trusty 1981 edition of Brewers Dictionary of Phrase
and fable, Bell, book and candle is the popular phrase signifying
excommunication by the Roman Catholic Church. After pronouncing sentence
the bell was tolled as for one dead; the bible, the book of life, was
closed; and the candle, signifying the soul, was extinguished. There seems to be some confusion in the song-writers mind between this and exorcism, the casting out of evil spirits, but we mustnt let that spoil a haunting song (sorry, couldnt resist the pun there!). |
| Adrian Dover |
| the recording | |
|---|---|
| personnel | |
| produced by : | Eddi Reader and Boo Hewerdine |
| co-produced by : | Rafe McKenna |
| recorded by : | Jon Inskip and James Loughrey at Britannia Row in 1997-07 |
| mixed by : | Rafe McKenna at Britannia Row Studios and/or The Roundhouse Studios, London |
| mastered by : | ? at ? |
| technical | |
|---|---|
| track timing : | 4:13 |
| recording copyright |
|---|
|
|
| released on | ||
|---|---|---|
| album : | Angels & electricity | track 8 |
| commentary |
|---|
| Eleanor Shanley has also recorded this song, available on her Desert heart album (Grapevine, 1998). |
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