Hotel Hobbies

[Track Info] [The Lyrics] [Explanation]

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Hotel Hobbies - Track Info

  1. Album version (03:36) [Clutching At Straws (1987)]
  2. Live (St. Goar, Germany - "Freilichtbuhne Loreley", July 18th '87) (03:54) [Live At Loreley (1987)]

    Notes: Both version are joined to Warm Wet Circles which comes after. Live version has a longer instrumental introduction, additional backing vocals by Cori Josias and several small lyrics differences.

    Lyrics by Derek William Dick (Fish)
    Performed Live for the first Time: June 22nd 1987

    Published by Marillion Music, Charisma Music Publishing Co. Ltd.

Hotel Hobbies - The Lyrics

Hotel hobbies padding dawns hollow corridors
Bell boys checking out the hookers in the bar
Slug-like fingers trace the star-spangled clouds of cocaine on the mirror
The short straw took its bow

The tell tale tocking of the last cigarette
marking time in the packet as the whisky sweat
Lies like discarded armour on an unmade bed
And a familiar craving is crawling in his head

And the only sign of life is the ticking of the pen
Introducing characters to memories like old friends
Frantic as a cardiograph scratching out the lines
A fever of confession a catalogue of crime in happy hour
Do you cry in happy hour, do you hide in happy hour,
The pilgrimage to happy hour

New shadows tugging at the corner of his eye
Jostling for attention as the sunlight flares
Through a curtains tear, shuffling its beams
As if in nervous anticipation of another day


(Champney's Health Farm, Tring)


EXPLANATION OF SONF ELEMENTS
Copyright © 1997 Fraser Marshall, Matthew Anderson & Bert ter Steege.


HOTEL HOBBIES

Hotel Hobbies (Dedicated to Champney's Health Farm)

Debbie Voller: Fish: All the tracks are dedicated to places that inspired me, and this song always reminds me of the time I went to Champney's to dry out for a week. It was a complete waste of time! Pete: Hah! He got wetter! Fish: I wasn't sneaking the bottles in, I was sneaking myself out. I was the only person waking up on the health farm with a hangover! This song is about being on tour and it's really late at night and you're bored, and you hear all these girls wandering down the corridors and you peer through the spyhole in the door to see what's going on! The whole album's about a guy called Torch, a successful writer who's trying to change his lifestyle, dry out, and write a new book. He's in a hotel and his last bottle's empty and he's smoked his last cigarette - he's in a bad way.

'Cardiograph'
A Machine that monitors heart rate by drawing the graph in much the same way that a lie detector does.

'Happy Hour'
A tradition where for an hour, drinks are sold half priced or cheap. It is usually early in the evening.


Sources:


Last Modified: 27 jul 2000