Driver
Driver was recorded during the 1982-83 era (duration: 3:17 min.) and is one of the Portastudio Demos of the time.
Although it was never released officially, Driver has come to light on various bootlegs, such as Acoustics From The Beehive, Before The Flood, Hard Reign, In The Shadow Of Angels and others. There have been speculations that this song could have been a potential canditate for a Sisters single.
The lyrics are mostly concerned with how the band will pile into a car, wind the windows down, and fly along the public highway,
yielding reason to speed and power. Some early hints towards the way later release of Black Planet on The Sisters' first studio album First And Last And Always in 1985, maybe. The first two lines later became the first two lines of Heartland, and the music, too, is in the same line with Heartland
An instrumental version of this song has also surfaced on some bootlegs, in that case it is often named "Candle". That version is far superior to the recording quality of Driver. To get an impression, you might find an animated picture video here (Driver - fading) or still video here (Driver - full) with many thanks to the uploader endemoniada75.
Analysis / Notes
It is not yet clear who wrote the lyrics and the music to this song, nor is there an actual confirmed version of the lyrics at all. There is, however some basic discussion on the lyrics in The Heartland Forums' Lyrics Section, see The Driver....
A very recommendable and informative article about Driver is also available at the I Was A Teenage Sisters of Mercy Fan blog under the entry Driver (demo).
Lyrics
Lay me down the long white line
Leave the sirens far behind me
Call me weird and call me frightened
Call me when the sun goes down
We will fly the public highway
We will wind the windows down
Call me at the magic hour
When the marvels run to ground
Reason used to yield the power
While the wheels go wheeling round and round
Life is short and life is cruel
But we have here and we have fuel
We are never coming down
Dress the creature up in glass
Lines across the middle and the
House is waste, ever faster
Rushing through the shame and shadow
While the pleasure flashes past
The sound that fills the big black cars
A thousand drum bursts
We should have a celebration
We are never coming down
We will live forever
While the wheels go wheeling round and round
Call me weird and call me frightened
Call me when the sun goes down
We will fly along the highway
We will wind the windows down
Call me at the magic hour
When the marvels run to ground
Reason used to see the power
While the wheels go wheeling round and round
Words & music: unclear ...
Lyrics and music are property and copyright of their respective rights holders and provided only for study purposes.
