a short site about The Divine Comedy

French version

I Was Born Yesterday

Lyrics & Music: Neil Hannon

Published by: Damaged Pop Music / BMG Music Publishing Ltd.

Originally interpreted by: The Divine Comedy

 

To see the lyrics, click on the name of the version you are interested in (on the left).

 

Tabs/Scores

Informations

This song was played in '92, '93, '94 and '96. Then we don't have any gigs featuring if until 2001.

Besides the album version, the two other versions are lives, the Promenade Companion version being quite an item! Obviously Neil as drunk (he even burps at the end of the song!). His performance of 'I Was Born Yesterday' is never to be equalled.

Usually, the song is played live on the guitar. But the album version begins with keyboard and the tune seems to be based on Kraftwerk's 'Neon Lights' from The Man Machine.

The theme of the song is quite coherent to that of the album, but by antagonism. It's about obeying blindly to one's parents, girlfriend, etc… In the verses, Neil is talking to a girl earning classical ballet because her parents want her to and he imagines what her life would be like is she was suddenly free of them. The line "I have a question" could apply either to the question in the chorus or to the question starting the second verse.

As most of the songs in Liberation, it's hard not to link the meaning of the song to Neil's situation within TDC before and after the 1992 split. He once declared he felt "liberated". Does it mean that before he felt oppressed?