Here Be Monsters

Story Behind The Song by Andy Cairns (Sep 3rd, 2004)

On one of Michael’s ‘demo’ CD’s there was a fifteen second piece of music called ‘Rainbow riff’. It was three guitar chords over and over. Michael had given it this title as he reckoned it reminded him of old school hard rock titans Rainbow.

I really liked the chord progression and sat down to try to write other pieces of music and lyrics to go with it. Getting nowhere I took a break and switched on the radio. there was a show on about garage rock. Two of the scene’s seminal records Louie, Louie by the Kingsmen and Gloria by Them only used the same three chords the whole way through the songs and were all the better for it.

Then I remembered a scene in a film Mr. Holland’s Opus where Richard Dreyfuss (playing a music teacher) plays a student Louie, Louie as an example of how great music can be simple and fun. Inspired by this I went back to my four-track and pounded out the three chords for three minutes.

I was looking through some lyrics I had written a few nights previously and came across Here Be Monsters. I’d started the song with the title I’d got from watching Pirates of the Caribbean with my son.

At this point in time I was convinced that it needed nothing more. Keep it simple.

At Derby when we joined up with Neil we weren’t so convinced and jammed around with it until we came up with another piece we named ‘the Constantines bit’ as it reminded us of the band of the same name.

Flash forward another week and we’re in Stanbridge Farm studios with Pete Bartlett who’s producing the record. On hearing it he feels it needs another segment. Michael and Neil unleash a passage we title ‘the Propellerheads bit’ because… well you get the point. We beefen up some of the parts and it’s done. The initial vision of a three-chord trick, knuckle-dragging garage screamer has been honed into a head bobbing thing of fury.

In the lyrics, the “God is now here, God is nowhere” is a reverse take on a phrase from the character Cheryl Anway in Douglas Coupland’s book Hey Nostradamus!. Two days after the mixing had finished I was reading about the band Secret Machines whose new album was titled something like “Now here is nowhere” or “Nowhere is now here”, or something. Must have been reading the same book. (By the way, Hey Nostradamus! is, IMO, a great book).

If you’ve ever been scared to leave your room, never mind your front door, never mind your town, then this song’s for you.

Read the story behind the next song on this album.

Lyrics

For fuck sake help me
Because I need a friend to get me through this
With no regrets
And God I know there's no pity from the city
And I know that pity's never been pretty

So I aim low
And I hit my sights
I go ballistic even though it's not right
I'll take you with me
To make me feel alright about myself

Here be monsters
Here be monsters
Here be monsters
Here be monsters

You came along
Because I need someone to get me through this
Not just anyone
Someone who knows
The confusion ahead
When God is now here and God is nowhere

Here be monsters
Here be monsters
Here be monsters
Here be monsters

So here we are
All things must come to an end
Can you enlighten me? Tell me what to expect?
Because I'm lost, alone and afraid of the future

Here be monsters
Here be monsters
Here be monsters
Here be monsters

Here be monsters
Here be monsters
Here be monsters
Here be monsters