One Track Mind (Squared): Marillion - Kayleigh & Lavender (1985)

Much like with tomato soup & grilled cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly, and Queen's We Will Rock You & We Are the Champions, Marillion's Kayleigh & Lavender are inextricably linked.

Listening to Marillion's Misplaced Childhood album it's easy to see that this was by design as Mark Kelly's beautiful keyboard solo acts as a segue from Kayleigh into Lavender.

Both songs are rife with Fish's brilliant image-laden lyrics:

Do you remember chalk hearts melting on a playground wall?
Do you remember dawn escapes from moon-washed college halls
Do you remember the cherry blossom in the market square?
Do you remember I thought it was confetti in her hair? - Kayleigh

I was walking in the park dreaming of a spark
When I heard the sprinklers whisper,
Shimmer in the haze of summer lawns.
Then I heard the children singing,
They were running through the rainbows.
They were singing a song for you.
Well it seemed to be a song for you,
the one I wanted to write for you, for you, you. - Lavender

Both songs also feature a biting and at times even menacing sarcasm in Fish's vocal delivery that twists and darkens the mood of both songs.

By the way didn't I break your heart
So sorry, I didn't mean to break your heart... - Kayleigh

You can hear the venom dripping from his broken heart. He's been hurt and he wants to hurt the one who hurt him. Anyone who has had a broken heart is familiar with that sentiment and Fish captures it absolutely brilliantly not only in his choice of lyrics but in how he delivers them.

While Lavender begins with a lighter tone it doesn't last:

A penny for your thoughts my dear
A penny for your thoughts my dear
I owe you for your love
I owe you for your love- Lavender

If anything Lavender is even more stark in the difference between the lighter tone of the lyrics vs. the harsher delivery of them. Sung by someone else the song could be considered light and even whimsical. Sung by Fish the connotations behind the lyrics are considerably darker.

I "discovered" Marillion in 2002. An online friend of mine who shared some of my other musical interests (Chicago and Dream Theater) recommended Marillion to me. I started with Misplaced Childhood and perhaps it was due largely to impeccable timing-- I was going through a rather rough case of heartbreak myself at the time-- but the album really spoke to me... especially Kayleigh and Lavender. Granted the girl who had broken my heart inherited her name from a Barry Manilow song that had been playing in the car when her mother was on the way to the hospital and not the Marillion song-- but the bitterness of both of these songs spoke to me at that point in my life.

One of the things that I really enjoy about Marillion on the whole is that they twist and turn on its head the negative stereotype that prog-rock is overly technical at the expense of emotion. If Marillion's music is bland and emotionless then I'm a vernicious knid.

Related Links
Marillion Misplaced Childhood (1985) review

Marillion - Misplaced Childhood (1985)

Misplaced Childhood is one of those albums that, if you grew up on the wrong side of the big pond, you might have missed in the cocaine-powered perpetual motion haze of the eighties.

The story of the writing and recording of the album is a Lewis Carroll-esque fairy tale which is highly detailed in the CD sleeve of the new 2 CD 24 bit re-mastered version of this 1985 gem. After receiving a letter from an old girlfriend with a tab of acid and the not-so-subtle suggestion to ingest the envelope’s contents, the cover art and many of the lyrics were inspired during the subsequent acid trip taken by then lead singer, Fish (a.k.a. Derek Dick).

For those of you who did miss it the first time around, this concept album focuses on a loss of innocence or, as the album title suggests, a “misplaced childhood.” Fish has a flair for imagery, it’s his trademark and makes his lyrics very distinct. This album displays him in true form:

Huddled in the safety of a pseudo-silk kimono
Wearing bracelets of smoke, naked of understanding
Nicotine smears, long, long dried tears, invisible tears - from Pseudo-Silk Kimono

Do you remember chalk hearts melting on a playground wall
Do you remember dawn escapes from the moon washed college halls
Do you remember the cherry blossoms in the market square
Do you remember I thought it was confetti in your hair - from Kayleigh

I was walking in the park dreaming of a spark
When I heard the sprinklers whisper
Shimmer in the haze of summer lawns
Then I heard the children sing
They were running through the rainbows
They were singing a song for you
Well it seemed to be a song for you
The one I wanted to write for you - from Lavender

Fish is able to accomplish in words what many artists try and fail to accomplish with paintings and drawings—he paints lush and vivid pictures on the blank canvas of the mind’s imagination. Coupled with the exceptional musicianship of Steve Rothery, Pete Trewavas, and Mark Kelly this album makes a strong musical and lyrical statement from start to finish.

This re-release makes the package even sweeter by the 24 bit re-mastering, copious liner notes featuring lyrics, stories, and full album credits. Putting an exclamation mark on the re-release is the second disc containing rarities, demos, and alternate mixes.

So close your eyes, pop in disc one, and let Fish’s lyrics take your imagination on a wonderful journey, and maybe you too will find your own “misplaced childhood.”