“Song from the Edge of the World” by Siouxsie & the Banshees is my song of the Day. It was released in 1987 as a stand-alone single, which I had, or shared with my high school boyfriend, on cassette.
Perhaps fittingly for such a strange and lovely offering, the outside of said tape was left melted and rippling by the California sun. It was an abstract sculpture containing a jewel whose celluloid guts only occasionally had to be pencil-wound.
With its lush production and train-car momentum, “Song from the Edge of the World” sounds modern, fresh and new. It’s also, however, distinctly of an era. It’s representative of the exuberant second British Invasion wave that hit the US rock scene like a missile, peaking in the ’80s.
Siouxsie was the dark queen of this movement, enlivening prosaic daily life with a mythic and mystical ambiance. She and her cohorts brought the glam, gothic and darkwave aesthetics to new heights. Plus, she could apply eye makeup like no other.
I could be wrong, and I often am, but I think most Siouxsie & the Banshees Songs are co-written by Siouxsie and bassist/multi-instrumentalist Steve Severin, the latter being the founding member of the band.
The image-heavy lyrics they forged set the group apart, and made them sort of a salt and pepper set with The Cure, contemporaries who also wove a hallucinogenic spell. The words of both groups paint a world that is strange, startling and beautiful as a Etruscan mosaic.
Perhaps that comparison comes to mind because Siouxsie & the Banshees, in particular, drew inspiration from history in songs like “Cities in the Dust” off the 1986 album Tinderbox. That particular tune is an elegy for the victims of Pompeii, whose lives were cut short by Vesuvius’ infamous tantrum.
Back to “Song from the Edge of the World.” Don’t look to Siouxsie to expose her emotions, like a novice poker player showing his hand. Instead of saying I love you, she paints a picture. If you’re a poetry buff, this wild musical invitation is worth a read:
“Let me take you down
To testify
Under the brow of a sparkling sky
We’ll dance away
A distant day
And shout our sins
In a passion play
Over we go
Diving for pearls
Over we go
From the edge of the world
Let the fire fall in
The footsteps we leave
painted on the ground
We’ll watch the stars
Come crashing down
Upon our heads
Like a madding crown
Let me take you down
To testify
Under the brow of a sparkling sky
We’ll dance away
‘Til the day is done
Then rise again
To unwrap the sun
Over we go
Diving for pearls
Over we go
From the edge of the world
This is the song from the edge of the world”
In the band’s sonic favor, the British music icon could power the world with her voice, a deep, octave-straddling and soaring vibrato.
“Song from the World” is unforgettable. You know how lazy radio stations are, though. They shy away from deep cuts and B-sides alike, leaving you to think Thin Lizzy was a one-hit wonder whose only song was”The Boys Are Back In Town.”
I’ll wager this song has never seen airplay outside of Shropshire. Here it is for your listening pleasure. There are few experiences as immersive as having Siouxsie & the Banshees scatter black and silver fairy dust over your world.
Listen to more Songs of the Day curated by Sarah Torribio HERE
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