Mike & The Mechanics  -  The living years

Country - Great Britain     Player- Colin

Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door

I know that I'm a prisoner
To all my Father held so dear
I know that I'm a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I'm afraid that's all we've got

You say you just don't see it
He says it's perfect sense
You just can't get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defence

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye

So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It's the bitterness that lasts

So don't yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don't give up, and don't give in
You may just be OK.

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye

I wasn't there that morning
When my Father passed away
I didn't get to tell him
All the things I had to say

I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I'm sure I heard his echo
In my baby's new born tears
I just wish I could have told him in the living years

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye
 

 

Player's comments:
Mike Rutherford (b. 2 October 1950, Guildford, Surrey, England; bass) formed the Mechanics in 1985, during a pause in the career of Genesis while vocalist Phil Collins was engrossed in his solo career. The line-up comprised Paul Carrack (b. 22 April 1951, Sheffield, Yorkshire, England; vocals/keyboards, ex-Ace), Paul Young (b. 17 June 1947, Wythenshawe, Lancashire, England, d. 17 July 2000, Altrincham, Cheshire, England; vocals, ex-Sad Café), Peter Van Hooke and Adrian Lee. Van Hooke was already an accomplished session musician, having played or toured with many singers, from Van Morrison to Rod Argent. The band's first UK Top 30 hit came with "Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)" in 1986, which was used as the theme to the movie On Dangerous Ground.

They enjoyed greater success in the USA where the single reached number 6, and its follow-up, "All I Need Is A Miracle", climbed one place higher. In early 1989, the band reached US number 1 and UK number 2 with the Rutherford/B.A. Robertson-penned "The Living Years", an personal song expressing Rutherford's regret at the lack of communication he had with his father while he was alive. The attendant album reached number 2 on the UK charts and number 13 in America. With the exception of the UK number 13 single "Word Of Mouth", further chart success eluded the band. Quality singles such as the highly emotive "A Time And Place", and "Everybody Gets A Second Chance", failed to make the UK Top 50, a sobering thought for future songwriters with high hopes of chart success.

Beggar On A Beach Of Gold was preceded by the lively UK Top 20 single "Over My Shoulder"; unfortunately this proved to be the album's only ingot. The title track was written by B.A. Robertson and was a Top 40 hit in the UK in 1995. Pedestrian cover versions of the Miracles' "You Really Got A Hold On Me" and Stevie Wonder's "I Believe (When I Fall In Love It Will Be Forever)" added nothing and the album, although competent, did not break any new ground. The band continues to be as fluid as possible, with a new album appearing in July 1999, although the death of Young the following year was a great shock.