Brian Eno - Julie With...

[hammill88]

Per me il trittico Julie with, By this river e Spinder and I è qualcosa di unico...capolavori nel capolavoro

[newfuckingwave]

everyone is trying to analyze the lyrics. eno will be the first one to tell you his lyrics are essentially meaningless. his idea is to use the voice as an instrument, and he chooses words that sound interesting together. this is a man that bases his lyrics on nonsense syllables his hums to himself while listening to the instrumental track of a song. all 100% true. god do i love his process

[gothicandfey]

It's very ethereal to be on the ocean or a great lake during a low pressure. That's what I get from the lyrics. Strange, empty "still sea" getting dark at the approach of a storm. There's nothing like it. . . . . . . . . . . .

[evilrobottolhurst]

What a brilliant track. To try to over-analyse it and sellotape a single meaning and a single set of "pictures" to it is to devalue it. Brian Eno said his songs were often characterised by "abandonment" and this is the ultimate abandonment track.

Having said that, I bet we could easily come up with a cracking amateur video for it.

Or ten.

[cheekymonkey1979]

@evilrobottolhurst Amen to that!

[gryphonrampant]

A still-life in music. The only one I've ever had the pleasure of hearing. It's just an incredible piece.

[raffaznp]

RAFFA SAID: Even in Brian Eno's wide and great oeuvre, an album like Before and after science still stands out. The variety of songs on this landmark have been heralded as the beginning of ambient music, as well as heralding the New Wave of the eighties. The best song is Julie with..., which gives the impression of a lazy summer day where time has virtually come to a halt. It is probably the most ambient of any Eno composition outside his pure ambient albums. Simply breathtakingly beautiful.

[Scifimaster92]

No offense, but it's a good thing that Brian's surname is Eno and not Emo, because in the hands of a different artist, this could have been an emo song.

[radweed2009]

Reminds me of Syd Barrett.

[FallenExpert]

@radweed2009 yeah his voice and singing

[zenafied]

one of my favourite albums of all time. especially side b. <3

[sexytokeburgers]

mmmm perfect song to have sex to

[jackonfire85]

Fondamentale.

[MessrDookie101]

"No wind disturbs our coloured sail

The radio is silent, so are we"

This is both beautiful and terrifying.

[kautilya21]

this is my favorite song in the album, one of the most groundbreaking songs i've ever listened to

[mrmojo88888]

Over thinking this. Eno was into creating the background music you might hear if your life was a movie. It's a love song. Julie was just a young girl, in a foggy, lustful relationship. Nothing dark. She's still very pretty in my dreams.

[SuperCartiel]

I once had a very stunning tape. It had this as the first track, followed by Vangelis, Pendrecki, Ligeti, and any other soft, cosmic-sounding music I could get from my LP collection. It was the most beautiful tape I ever made.

I played that tape until I wore it out, and then lost it. And even though I still have the albums, I can't ever make it again.

The entire cassette was based on this song.

[00julieta00]

how many song with this fab name? I'm so lucky.. :)

[sahadeghipour]

Alexz Johnson brought me here. Amazing song, thanks Alexz! :)

[kara65louky]

first heard this w/ my first bf...he told me, "shh," put the earphones on my head, and rubbed my back in a dark room through the whole b side. this song has always had a timeless quality...still...

beyond time, beyond the world....

[TomParker10wordlife]

@WKaliberr haha ive noticed you definitely like both eno and blowjobs very much. nothing wrong with that my friend.

[declique]

@WKaliberr What a douchebag... Weak!

[ilovefall08]

this song makes me so sad ... it feels so nostalgic for some reason.

[ShopliftersUnite]

I cant put my finger on it but Julie With always reminded me of Badalamenti's Twin Peaks theme. Off my favourite Eno record: Before and after science!

[hidroensayo]

Mr Fripp es VERY important during this Eno's period... his participation is outstanding on this record and the previous one. Thank you, master. :D

[thomyketchup]

Ich wollte heute in die Pizzeria, aber sie hat jetzt erstmal Samstag zu. Nun, da hab ich Julia doch noch - auf Wolke 7 à la Eno, das Lied kenn ich/hatt ich ja schon. Eine Pizza Vier Jahreszeiten bitte, Brian!

[davidabinns]

uit thinking

[gamester57]

Intersting all these comments about sex - there is no reference to sex in the song whatsoever. If you think its implied thats just whats in your head. But thats what Mr Eno likes to do, he leaves his music ambiguous so thatthe listener can complete the picture themselves. He's a bit of a fruity type though so it probably IS about sex anways...

[remainsoldmisery]

we'll

[its8ace]

The guy is a genius...just listen to the complete opposites he is capable of; such as 'Taking Tiger Mountain', 'No Pussyfooting' and his Fripp and Byrne collaborations...and then there is Roxy Music! One of my favourites is "The Fat Lady of Limburg". By the way, Eno has developed an iPhone app called 'Bloom ' which lets you make your own 'Music for Films'...or summat like.

One you might also like; depending on the album and your state of mind, is John Foxx's; 'Ha Ha Ha!' LP

[ajhoncantara]

It's funny because he was dissatisfied with the end results of this project and the critics slammed it but it's my favourite from this period. Side Two is absolutely beautiful and is perfect for laying on the bottom of a rowboat in the middle of a remote Canadian lake on a sunny summer day. I know, I've done it.

[arkngt]

@ajhoncantara It's not entirely true that the critics slammed it. It got very good reviews as I remember it. It's on the NME Albums Of The Year 1977 list for example. I agree that it's one of his best albums, though.

[videocanone]

@BeauSylvester47 ... LOL ! Okay , ya got me ! the Julie I knew, she blew me too ! LOL !!! is that better ? perhaps the song should have been ...

Julie with her open mouth

bent over and revealed her shaven thighs ...

and I am sure Brian wrote the tune really thinking about a girl he banged on a gondola somewhere between gigs on tour with Roxy Music !

Okay, so don't confuse me with the innocent ! and you are right, I am sure Brian Eno has had his share of groupies and lost weekends ! Touche' !

[videocanone]

Great tune. I made out with a hottie named Julie to this tune and she let me open her blouse too ! So it has a special meaning for me. Yeah, its a great tune too ! LOL !

We also did some other stuff, but I'll keep it clean out of respect for Mr. Eno !

[BeauSylvester47]

@videocanone lol u kidding dude? that's some innocent shit compared to what mr. eno has done. not saying that's not an awesome story, just sayin that you don't have to keep it clean out of "respect"

[tony501]

I saw Brian perform this on Saturday, its the first time he has ever performed this live, it was beyond words! He has such a powerful voice.

[StuderSSL]

@tony501 WOW!!

Lucky you!!

[just1again]

I always imagined this as being 2 people who are in an lonely relationship- trapped together in a small space ( figuratively) , but feeling very alone, lost, with no sense of connection.They are together because everything outside of that space seems even darker, colder, and more empty.

[Crazybutnice91]

@just1again Thats an interesting point of view.....i never thought about it that way, but it makes sense....i always thought julie is dad because he says "i am on an open sea", not "we are" and because her head is on her arm

[88poppies]

I read something long ago (as I am very very old- almost fifty) which mentioned that  'Julie' of the song is Julie Christy, the actress

Brian Eno = Musical Genius

[1960gal]

Blimey! Takes me back to being a pretentious 16yr old. Didn't want to get a job.....so went to 6th Form, pretending I'd do 'A' Levels lol!!!!

Close my eyes, and it takes me back with my 2 'boy mates', listening to this, and 'Music for Airports' ' Penguin Cafe Orchestra' et al. Thought we were so different (Well those 2 were: Me? very ordinary: wiv a very eclectic taste in music, thank God!).

But I absolutely love this......so thanks for the memories x

[mfRec]

I always thought it was about a lost friend or lover... . . .  none the less deep and amazing... . . .

[MehefinHeulog]

so excellent

[twolegsnotail]

What world are you people from anyway? Murder! Haven't any one of you ever kept a journal and written out your impressions on any given day? That's what this song is - a narration. You people talk about murder because Julie is not writing the journal, her partner is. Get a grip all of you. Read literature, learn how to write yourselves...spend more time near or on the sea and stop staring at screens. Listen to yourselves: you're utterly insane. You've utterly lost it. Get a grip.

[michaelivingstone]

This is my all time favorite Eno song. Its so quiet, so gentle and so little is said......beautiful.

The radio is silent, so are we.....

[1947bowie]

Julie is not dead....although she is most certainly lost to the authour

[kuarkik]

One of my all times favorites..

[ZeeTwelve]

Does anyone else think that julie is dead and they are lost at sea? The lyrics indicate that to me.

[WKaliberr]

I never thought about it but the lyrics point to that

darkness, darkening, silence, empty

its all there

[Dashativity]

@Zee Twelve

I think the fact that the song opens with I am on an open sea as opposed to We are on an open see would suggest what you are saying. But Eno has said many time that few of his songs are actually about anything directly. He composes lyrics rather randomly and for sound and flow rather than meaning.

[zurapDOR]

@WKaliberr

I think it's about a miscarriage due to his loveaffair and an accident. Implicating Julie Christie,back in 76 I guess. 

[cynthiamegginmonster]

@WKaliberr no they are physically alive but are dead to eachother.

[cynthiamegginmonster]

@WKaliberr no they are physically alive but are dead to eachother. every relationship i've had has ended in this way. we look dead to others too.

[WKaliberr]

@cynthiamegginmonster its like describing 98% of all marriages

[xReppinHoustonx]

@WKaliberr more like 97%

[misterjoecool]

@cynthiamegginmonster that's so sad.

[flagey12]

@WKaliberr lyrics mean not so much it's the feel love

[EyeLean5280]

@WKaliberr - to me it is a song about the deepest sort of intimacy. These two are such good companions (perhaps lovers, perhaps not) that conversation is entirely optional. They commune just fine, despite the long, long silence.

[FirmanFam79]

@ZeeTwelve - Julie is dead. The sea is blood.

[DrLearyUSA]

@ZeeTwelve Maybe just maybe all this darkness, emptiness and silence represent feelings after some kind of separation imposed not only by death...

[szmkwroc]

@ZeeTwelve

No - they were making love and now they are in the sea exhausted

[HorseBadorties]

@ZeeTwelve Not me.

[zurapDOR]

@ZeeTwelve They (Eno and Julie Christie, actress) lost their common child in a traffic accident. They also split afterwards. This song seems a requiem to me... for Eno, losing both...

[princebubby]

@zurapDOR Link please. I can't find any confirmation of this

[zurapDOR]

@princebubby

Hey, pb. YT won't link. But try Brian Eno at Imdb :)

[Scifimaster92]

@zurapDOR What happened to them afterwards? Did Julie get a restraining order against Brian or something like that? (Just wondering. Don't get me wrong, I do like Brian and his music, but I've been told that he's a really nasty chauvinist, so I wondering if things ever got that bad between the two.)

[999ReaperIII]

@ZeeTwelve The lyrics do not indicate that, they inform that.

[badaddygum]

@ZeeTwelve Julie's dead?

[feminale]

@ZeeTwelve yes that is what I got. an artistic admission that he killed his first wife.

[feminale]

@ZeeTwelve as indicated by his line "I wonder if we will be seen..."

[cmacleods]

@ZeeTwelve Despite the other responses, I read in an interview once that it's definitely a description of a death scene.

[pen64]

@ZeeTwelve

No.

[Drammaticaz]

I don't think pictures are needed, If your truley deep into music you can imagine things on your own, Not everyones insight's on music are the same.

[PHX99]

One of my all time favorites, definitely Top Ten. Somebody could come up with some awesome visuals to this.

[daryldarko]

i totally agree with you, except maybe in my Top Five. yes, some genius videograph this, please!

[WKaliberr]

what? like images of nature? rivers, trees, country, mountains etc? would that fit in? Check out my video Eldo-Mury, Bruki, there are images there that might work too

[PHX99]

I was thinking of a literal translation. I can see Eno watching Julie drag her fingers through the water, the visual of the sky, maybe with an aurora borealis type feature, lots of gray and red, I dont know.

[WKaliberr]

but thats the point of music and good music like this

its so full of imagery that you can IMAGINE whats going on

I cannot replicate whats in your head because thats different for everyone in the way they interpret the song

[PHX99]

I understand that you cant replicate what I see in my imagination. But I definitely agree that a great song takes you away into the song and you get lost in it and you imagine yourself in the song. Most Eno songs do that for me. Thanks!

[hunchybunker]

My "video" for this song (with 3700 views) at least has a pic of Julie!

[rexasul]

@PHX99 Will do.