'World Service' Explained Song By Song (Delirious.org.uk)
Last modified: 08 Dec 2003
Source: Delirious.org.uk
Author: Dave Wood
Date: 08 Dec 2003
Delirious? guitarist Stu G explains the 'World Service' album, song by song, in his own words:
Grace Like A River
I had a real experience of God's grace last year and was just more and more getting aware of how we don't get what we deserve and we get what we don't deserve. And the fact that we're loved unconditionally is incredible.
Rain Down
Rain Down started out as a sound check jam and kind of developed from there. We weren't quite sure if that was going to work out and it wasn't till right at the end of the album that it all came together.
God In Heaven
God In Heaven started off as a chorus and a riff that Martin had come up with. We were listening to the 'Queens of the Stone Age' and wanted to try and get some of that energy into the song. So that kind of developed from there and Martin's take on it was that he had always loved the hymn 'To God Be The Glory Great Things He Has Done' and wanted to write a modern day version on that theme. In the middle Martin does that whole rock and roll vocals and that's great to hear him do that.
Majesty (Here I Am)
I felt that it was an amazing thing to be able to experience the Majesty of God and really that's what it's about. We did this event in Anaheim called Harvest, and they had a trailer of the Passion movie that Mel Gibson has made about the last few hours of Jesus' life and they played it behind us when we played Majesty and it went down really well. Since then, some of the guys on the production team at Icon Productions who have made the movie, have seen that and they came out to see us last week when we were in Indianapolis and we had a good chat with them and we actually saw a preview of the movie.
Inside Outside
Inside Outside is kind of along the same sort of lines theme wise as Investigate. Saying that there is nowhere we can go apart from with You. You're inside and You're outside. It was quite fun for me to do the lead vocals on that.
Free
It started off as a chorus from Martin and we worked on it together. There's a big riff going through the verse that actually came from the session when we were tracking Audio Lessonover. We had a song about having cleans hands and a pure heart and all that's left of it is this riff. Jon's a great writer, we haven't really exploited that to his full potential yet. 'Free' was one that he had a real big part in.
Everyone Knows
It's a real kind of fun song. It kind of came from bits of songs I'd got in the background. I played them to Julian [the producer] and to Martin and they were like "oh yeah, we like that bit, and that bit of that one" So we fused it all together and ended up with this kind of west coast hippy kind of thing. Tim played horns on that one, so that was really good.
With You
Another pounding rhythmic vibe going on. Talks about hanging out with God and living together like that. The backing vocals were a response from me listening to the Red Hot Chill Peppers. I like the 'By The Way' album and they have lots of ooh's and aah's on there so we went a little bit down that road.
Mountains High
Mountains High was written directly as a result of Jon's uncle dying. It's a song without any answers. Saying there's too much for us to change, we don't understand it and it's not what we feel was intended.
I Was Blind
Another Martin influenced song. It's kind of a classic Delirious? take on 'Amazing Grace'.
Feel It Comin On
Feel It Comin On started off in the studio as a guitar riff and a chord sequence and we built on it there and then in the studio. Martin had the lyrics, which had leprosy in and that was his artistic licence to talk about jealousy and the needs of the heart that can develop.
Every Little Thing
It started life last summer for Martin with a chorus, he wrote most of that one. That had real purpose and fulfilment after John dying and having left a wife and four beautiful girls behind.