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Echo & the Bunnymen — Bring On The Dancing Horses
Album: Songs To Learn And Sing
Avg rating:
7.3

Your rating:
Total ratings: 1794









Released: 1985
Length: 3:49
Plays (last 30 days): 0
Jimmy brown
Made of stone
Charlie clown
No way home
Bringing on the dancing horses
Headless and all alone

Shiver and say the words
Of every lie you've heard

[Chorus]
First I'm gonna make it
Then I'm gonna break it
Till it falls apart
Hating all the faking
And shaking while I'm breaking
Your brittle heart

Billy stands
All alone
Sinking sand
Skin and bone
Bring on the dancing horses
Wherever they may roam

Shiver and say the words
Of every lie you've heard

[Chorus]

Brittle heart
Brittle heart
And my little heart
Goes

Jimmy brown
Made of stone
Charlie clown
No way home

[Chorus]

Bring on the new messiah
Wherever he may roam

Brittle heart
Brittle heart
And our little hearts
Comments (127)add comment
 aspicer wrote:

You are spot on - I saw an interview recently with Bono and Edge (done with Elvis Costello of all people) and they actually shared a story about the influence of The Bunnymen on them, particularly their first album Crocodiles, and the first time they played together... you may find it on youtube?


This might be it - https://youtu.be/kj1SwrZrbA0
 chinaski wrote:

WHFS 102.3 FM in Bethesda, MD back in the day ....you had to be there to appreciate it. Just reminiscing is all...



Heard it first on Brave New Waves (CBC)
Avid Bunnymen fan, and while this song made them "known" - finally - it always feels like a let down from the incredible music that precedes it, some of which is on this "hits" album.
 tm wrote:

The 80s were fucking great


Depends on your point of view, after all we had  ronnie and maggie and jesse helms
The 80s were fucking great
Eating all the bacon
and shaking while I'm baking
 bdwhitepm wrote:

OR CFNY out of Toronto.  Strong enough signal to be heard by us in Buffalo!


0r 97X the future of rock and roll - later WOXY.ocm
 Ullrskid wrote:

That was WHFS 99.1 out of Annapolis. I was there witcha, hon.
Sorry - but originally they were out of Bethesda. 102.3  1961-1983
Annapolis 99.1 1983
Baltimore 105.7 2005-2008

Always fun to gauge a band by their most popular song. Echo and the Bunnymen are extremely diverse and creative and have a vast volume of works. 

Song=8 
Band=10
Crush > One Of These Days >...> Bring on the Dancing Horses. Oh my, brings me back to my HS/college years. This era of music will always be my favorite.  Thanks for the run, RP!
ONE OF THE BEST POP SONGS EVER!
Radio paradise is simply fantastic. Switch from Carmen to Smashing Pumpkinks! Brilliant
 Ullrskid wrote:

That was WHFS 99.1 out of Annapolis. I was there witcha, hon.
 
OR CFNY out of Toronto.  Strong enough signal to be heard by us in Buffalo!
This song brings me back to the eighties where I, unaware, would be the last of the generation of album oriented rock college DJs. I remember when at the urging of my roommate putting this song among others in rotation. My ratings went through the roof.
 chinaski wrote:
WHFS 102.3 FM in Bethesda, MD back in the day ....you had to be there to appreciate it. Just reminiscing is all...
 
That was WHFS 99.1 out of Annapolis. I was there witcha, hon.
 horstman wrote:
I love Echo & the Bunnymen, but I don't like this! His earlier work was much, much stronger. This is too bubblegum, late eighties garbage. As is most of his solo stuff (most). Anything from Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here, Porcupine, or even Ocean Rain is much better than this segue in their career. Play The Cutter! or Higher Hell!
 
1st: Him?  Try Them.
2nd: "even" Ocean Rain, gimme a break. It's their apex.
Great
WHFS 102.3 FM in Bethesda, MD back in the day ....you had to be there to appreciate it. Just reminiscing is all...
 Imkirok wrote:

Lips Like Sugar was always my favorite.  Something to do with part of a summer spent on an ocean beach with a really cute French au pair...

 
Yep.....Lips did it for me!
 bravadodon wrote:
I might be wacked, but, you all thought that was great? 
 
I'm with you bro.  I grew up in the 80's, but still, some of this synth drum music just doesn't do it for me.  I have my share of nostalgic songs that I can't tell if they are actually good, or it's just me and my memories.  I didn't really go for this type or new wave/age generally speaking.  Not that there's anything wrong with that.
 hallogallo wrote:


I've always been fond of Echo and the Bunnymen, especially tunes like "Killing Moon" and "Do it Clean" ...



 
Lips Like Sugar was always my favorite.  Something to do with part of a summer spent on an ocean beach with a really cute French au pair...


This song always takes me back to a great time, and a great movie soundtrack (Pretty In Pink). Many Echo fans prefer their earlier work, but I think this arrangement represents their peak: a luscious mix of psychedelia, jangle, and mid-80s gloss supporting a timeless melody. 9 for me.
 topcat99 wrote:
Oh my God this song tastes exactly like that girl's lips. Sigh...

 
First I'm gonna make it
Then I'm gonna break it

Oh my God this song tastes exactly like that girl's lips. Sigh...
 MilesW wrote:
So aged.

 



Yeah, well aged!
So aged.
A blast from the past! Thanks for reminding me about this song and this band. These guys are awesome.
Such sublime flute playing... not to mention all the rest of the arrangement!
 msymmes wrote:
Surely U2 listened to these guys.

 
You are spot on - I saw an interview recently with Bono and Edge (done with Elvis Costello of all people) and they actually shared a story about the influence of The Bunnymen on them, particularly their first album Crocodiles, and the first time they played together... you may find it on youtube?
 socalhol wrote:

Oh yes!  I LOVE the song Zephyr!!  I bought the 4-song import cd years ago & it's still in my collection.  I love how many passionate music lovers are found here on RP.
 
I checked out Zephyr socahol, it's quite cool (sounds closer to U2 than any E+tbm did imo : )  Cheers! 
Surely U2 listened to these guys.
Perfect.
I might be wacked, but, you all thought that was great? 


I've always been fond of Echo and the Bunnymen, especially tunes like "Killing Moon" and "Do it Clean" ...


Yup, fabulous music

Everybody in my mushrooming multitude of churches be dancing buck ass naked all over the world like bowlegged gypsy muleskinners...  love this song...  love sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll... 

The best years of my childhood were spent in UK, from 1980-85, while great music was made.{#Guitarist}


 ThePoose wrote:
Do u think they listen to U2?

 
I believe it would be...do you think U2 listened to E&The Bunnymen?
 kaybee wrote:

I like the shimmering guitars best of all!

 

This song is marvelous...  love it...

Love them, love the Bunnymen!
Great song...amazing...perfect...
 ThePoose wrote:
Do u think they listen to U2?
 
They were contemporaries.  The two bands probably heard each other's music pretty frequently back in 1985.
Do u think they listen to U2?
Ah, fond memories of fumbling in the backseat of a trans am, trying to get my groove on with a less than savory boy...
Cracking tune - makes me miss the North of England and think of the Anthony Gormley statues standing in the sand at Crosby beach staring out to sea...
Wow!  I bought this new in '85 — I was 15 and boy did it sound cutting edge, then.
 
Johnny-smooth wrote:
Nice to hear some Echo - long over looked group, guess they just didn't have the marketing cache that U2 did, even if U2 totally ripped off Echo's sound.
 
 I always thought the same thing!
Got a soft spot in my cold cold heart for the Bunnymen
Love the Bunnymen. My old East Village days....sigh.
 ojay~alcatraz wrote:
for those who dig Echo and the Bunnymen, try this...it's friggin' great!
Electrafixion was formed by Echo and the Bunnymen members Ian McCulloch (vocals) and Will Sargeant (guitar) in 1994, and released this album originally in 1995. Suprisingly, it doesnt come across as being better or worse than Echo and the Bunnymen, or even as merely a side-project band. Electrafixions music goes in a harder, more psychedelic-rock-oriented direction than Echo and the Bunnymen ever went.
 
Oh yes!  I LOVE the song Zephyr!!  I bought the 4-song import cd years ago & it's still in my collection.  I love how many passionate music lovers are found here on RP.

A good popular song from The Bunnymen, but there is MUCH MUCH better in their catalogue, and would love to hear more of it on RP!

As a long time, avid, fan of The Bunnymen, here is my humble (and accurate!) opinion about their best albums from top to bottom, f
or those looking to get into the band :

Heaven Up Here
Porcupine
Crocodiles
Ocean Rain
and then the rest....... 
(Ocean Rain & Crocodiles is arguable about which is third)

Enjoy the brilliance!



 roxmilt wrote:
despite being an avid record collector and having a fairly broad knowledge of popular music,echo & the bunnymen are one of those bands that i mainly know by name and not by sound. Same with hootie & the blowfish. And siouxsie & the banshees. Do you see the pattern?

 

Given that those three bands have little in common (especially the second one, which shall not be named), other than the "& The..." part included in their bands' names, it would seem as if that format has discouraged you from knowing their material.  If that theory were wholly true, however, you would not have high ratings for songs by Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers or Big Head Todd & The Monsters.  It must be a different pattern - which remains, as of yet, unrevealed.

{#Curtain}




Nice to hear on RP!

In addition to the music, I've always loved this album cover. . . 
 
BEST Echo song. Love love love.
I love when this comes up on the playlist. It is one of the first songs I uploaded and had accepted here on RP many years ago.
25 years later...still holds up! *8
despite being an avid record collector and having a fairly broad knowledge of popular music,echo & the bunnymen are one of those bands that i mainly know by name and not by sound. Same with hootie & the blowfish. And siouxsie & the banshees. Do you see the pattern?

absolute perfection, what a song
 romeotuma wrote:


This song is good for the ears...
 
I like the shimmering guitars best of all!

Nice, but c'mon!  There are much better Echo and the Bunnymen songs out there!  How about something from Ocean Rain? Or Crocodiles?
Bring on the dancing bananas.......{#Dancingbanana}{#Dancingbanana_2}{#Bananasplit}
spaceman wrote:
"... breaking your pretzel heart ..." ?
spaceman wrote:
"... breaking your pretzel heart ..." ?
Brittle....brittle heart
"... breaking your pretzel heart ..." ?
for those who dig Echo and the Bunnymen, try this...it's friggin' great! Electrafixion was formed by Echo and the Bunnymen members Ian McCulloch (vocals) and Will Sargeant (guitar) in 1994, and released this album originally in 1995. Suprisingly, it doesnt come across as being better or worse than Echo and the Bunnymen, or even as merely a side-project band. Electrafixions music goes in a harder, more psychedelic-rock-oriented direction than Echo and the Bunnymen ever went.
Excellent album. Spins on my tables frequently.
(click here) This is the kind of tripe I think of whenever I hear this Echo dribble. And I have all their earlier works and this just plain blows.
aww, i miss echo. true 80s alternative.
Johnny_Wave wrote:
I think you might be referring to "Neon Lights" by Love Tractor
Wow. I haven't heard Love Tractor for years. I'll have to dig out the CD immediately. Oh, I should probably make some comment about this song. Meh.
2 words : Bangladesh...DeSH...Desh...desh...desh.......
jdorn1 wrote:
Bill! Hello, Bill? Earth to Bill? This is the weakest of all Echo & the Bunnymen recordings! They have 10's compared to this songs 6. Try: Heave up Here (anything) Crocodiles (anthing) Porcupine (anything) 4th album (anything) Particulary nice are the large strings versions of the The Killing Moon, Seven Seas and others on the 4th album. Heaven Up Here has some particularly comelling songs and the other recordings are smattered with unique offerings....
How about "The Cutter"? That's a good one.
meh.
Johnny-smooth wrote:
...even if U2 totally ripped off Echo's sound.
Baaa,haaaahaaaaa. That's a good one! I love Echo, seen them twice in concert, but they sure as hell didn't get ripped off by U2.
Nice to hear some Echo - long over looked group, guess they just didn't have the marketing cache that U2 did, even if U2 totally ripped off Echo's sound.
omniphiliac wrote:
If nobody told me otherwise I'd have thought this was U2.
U2 has all their CD's
I haven't heard this song in 10 eyars and it is beautiful
This has held up better than my Doc Marten's...and my hairdo... and yet the sound remains distinctively Echo-y and connects well with their 2006ish release... That's saying something. U2 my socks!
trollboy wrote:
doc martins and swoopy doo hairdos (the kind where your bangs hang almost over one eye) we were so cool!
guilty.
Johnny_Wave wrote:
I think you might be referring to "Neon Lights" by Love Tractor
Love Tractor? Whoah!
omniphiliac wrote:
If nobody told me otherwise I'd have thought this was U2.
Here is a hint, its not U2. Not even close.
If nobody told me otherwise I'd have thought this was U2.
Not my favourite EATB song, but I still enjoy hearing this tune.
nick_valensi wrote:
I can hear some Kraftwerk "Neon Lights" here. Anybody?
I think you might be referring to "Neon Lights" by Love Tractor
Stop playing this song...it's OK, but there is better Bunnymen we could be listening to!!!
trollboy wrote:
doc martins and swoopy doo hairdos (the kind where your bangs hang almost over one eye) we were so cool!
Man, when I read this I just knew we had to be the same age, and we are! Ha! We WERE so cool! ;) Thos were the days!
doc martins and swoopy doo hairdos (the kind where your bangs hang almost over one eye) we were so cool!
nick_valensi wrote:
I can hear some Kraftwerk "Neon Lights" here. Anybody?
don't know that one, but would love to hear some Kraftwerk here!
I can hear some Kraftwerk "Neon Lights" here. Anybody?
I love Echo & the Bunnymen, but I don't like this! His earlier work was much, much stronger. This is too bubblegum, late eighties garbage. As is most of his solo stuff (most). Anything from Crocodiles, Heaven Up Here, Porcupine, or even Ocean Rain is much better than this segue in their career. Play The Cutter! or Higher Hell!
jdorn1 wrote:
Bill! Hello, Bill? Earth to Bill? This is the weakest of all Echo & the Bunnymen recordings! They have 10's compared to this songs 6. Try: Heave up Here (anything) Crocodiles (anthing) Porcupine (anything) 4th album (anything) Particulary nice are the large strings versions of the The Killing Moon, Seven Seas and others on the 4th album. Heaven Up Here has some particularly comelling songs and the other recordings are smattered with unique offerings....
can you upload some of your great suggestions for us from the Land of Cheese, please? go ye now! upload!
Leslie wrote:
On the now playing list it reads "Bring On The Dancing Ho" in my browser.
I'll send in an extra donation if that happens.
Excellenté
DUCKIE!!!
Bill! Hello, Bill? Earth to Bill? This is the weakest of all Echo & the Bunnymen recordings! They have 10's compared to this songs 6. Try: Heave up Here (anything) Crocodiles (anthing) Porcupine (anything) 4th album (anything) Particulary nice are the large strings versions of the The Killing Moon, Seven Seas and others on the 4th album. Heaven Up Here has some particularly comelling songs and the other recordings are smattered with unique offerings....
I love Will Sargeant's style; this does hold up well.
happy happy
YYYYYaaaaaay!
serendipity_blue wrote:
Shame to reject The Killing Moon
Reject? I've heard it here a couple of times now. :-k
On the now playing list it reads "Bring On The Dancing Ho" in my browser.
Angloray wrote:
most of my Echo uploads have been turned down so far.:(
Don't understand it. Good ratings, good response.... Let's rally around them! More E&TBM!
Shame to reject The Killing Moon
good to hear this in the middle of a workweek...takes me back to a good place! ta, RP!
Angloray wrote:
most of my Echo uploads have been turned down so far.:(
Wow, you're not kidding. Here is what I found on the scrap heap: Rejected: Echo and the Bunnymen - Hide And Seek Rejected: Echo and the Bunnymen - Rescue Rejected: Echo & the Bunnymen - Bring On The Dancing Horses Rejected: Echo & the Bunnymen - Flowers Rejected: Echo & the Bunnymen - The Game Rejected: Echo & the Bunnymen - The Killing Moon Rejected: Echo & The Bunnymen - Bed bugs and Ballyhoo Rejected: Echo & The Bunnymen - Blue Blue Ocean Rejected: Echo & The Bunnymen - Crocodiles Rejected: Echo & The Bunnymen - Crystal Days Rejected: Echo & The Bunnymen - My Kingdom Rejected: Echo & The Bunnymen - No Dark Things Rejected: Echo & The Bunnymen - Over The Wall Rejected: Echo & The Bunnymen - Seven Seas Rejected: Echo & The Bunnymen - Show Of Strength Rejected: Echo & The Bunnymen - Silver
8) Wow... good old tune from the Aidies.... thanx
Angloray wrote:
most of my Echo uploads have been turned down so far.:(
Keep trying...we don't need to keep hearing this dire stuff!!
This makes me think of the episode of "The Young Ones" when Rick writes a protest letter and addresses it "Dear Mr. Echo and the Bunnymen."
80's tunes that hold up! The good stuff! A 9.
amv wrote:
Not the Bunnymen at their best. Let's have some Crocodiles or Heaven Up Here - era tracks instead.
most of my Echo uploads have been turned down so far.:(
And lo, the Bunnymen appeared. And even though it is not a favored Bunnymen song, it was good enough.
It's U2! The whiny voices! The repetitive, wandering, tedious music! The unintelligible lyrics! A perfect rendition.
I wish i hadn't been a clueless moron when this music was new. My life from then til now would have been so much better.
Whoa ! .. now this is a totally unexpected flashback. Merci RP. !
big 80s sound. not much else. no thanks.
Agree with sentiments below: this one holds up nicely. Love that upper-register bass lick under the chorus, nice counterpoint to Will Sargeant's sparce guitar and the harmony vocals.
Not the Bunneymen at their best. Let's have some Crocodiles or Heaven Up Here - era tracks instead.
A fantastic song that I haven't heard in ages - thanks.
THANK YOU!!! What a great band - nice to hear them on RP!
I love this song. Funny how good tunes never seem to go out of style. (even if they are from the 80's!) Thanks RP!!