An article about the history of writing the song Cherry Lips by the rock band Garbage should begin with a brief mention of an American writer who works under the pseudonym JT LeRoy (JT LeRoy). He broke into the world of modern literature in the early 2000s, wowing readers with his novel Sarah, about the son of a prostitute determined to outdo his mother in the professional arena.
LeRoy’s first bestseller was followed by two more brilliant works that critics vied with each other. Interestingly, the author himself did not appear in public, and his interests were represented by a certain Savannah Knup. And in 2005, it turned out that in fact JT is a woman named Laura Albert.
Story and meaning of the song Cherry Lips – Garbage
Shirley Manson is an admirer of the writer’s talent and became friends with her when she was still known to the world as JT LeRoy. Inspired by Albert’s novels, Garbage’s vocalist wrote the lyrics to the song Cherry Lips (the protagonist of the novel “Sarah” called himself Cherry Vanilla).
The composition began with a melody on keyboards under the working title Wonderjam. The parts for the rest of the instruments were written while working at Smart Studios.
Producer Butch Vig talked about the recording process:
… we slowed down the track so that at normal speed Shirley’s voice sounded strange, as if under the influence of helium. I recorded verses through the “wah” [гитарный эффект wah-wah], which I pressed and released with my hand, because I could not get into the rhythm with my foot. And it’s not a guitar. The main sound is an accelerated excerpt on the tuba. It seems that we added a guitar to it.
Gearslutz.com, 2009
The decision to include Cherry Lips on the Beautiful Garbage album was made when the rest of the tracks had already been selected.
Bassist Daniel Shulman:
We grabbed this song at the last minute, and in the end, it turned out to be a favorite. Then it becomes a single. I was about to leave town when they asked me to quickly sketch out some bass part. I made a couple of recordings and composed some kind of bass melodic line for the chorus. Butch said, “Hey, cool tune – let’s get it,” and they settled on it. I played my Saber through a B-15
Bass player, 2008
Release and achievements
Garbage performed Cherry Lips for the first time on October 2, 2001 at the Virgin Megastore in Chicago. In December, the song was released as a single from the Beautiful Garbage album.
She enjoyed the greatest success in Australia, where she climbed to number seven on the chart. The single peaked at number 22 on the official UK charts.
Clip Cherry Lips
The music video for the track was directed by Joseph Kahn and filmed in Brooklyn, New York. The use of advanced technologies at that time made it possible to make the musicians invisible in the video.
Shirley Manson, who appeared here in a new image, was not happy with the clip:
Our record company literally blackmailed us into making a video that we thought was terribly bad even at the stage of storyboarding. We fought back with all our might, but we had no trump cards, so we had to give in.
Illustrated: Shirley Manson, 2013
Let’s watch the clip of Cherry Lips by Garbage.
Interesting Facts
- The liner notes for the album say that the song is dedicated to “The Terminator” (another pseudonym for Laura Albert).
- Some of the proceeds from the sale of the single were donated to the Red Cross.
Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!) Lyrics Garbage
She gave you everything she had
But she was young and dumb
She’d just turned 21
She didn’t care to hang around
So when the shit came down why she was nowhere to be found
This life can turn a good girl bad
She was the sweetest thing that you had ever seen
chorus:
You’re so such a delicate boy
In the hysterical realm
Of an emotional landscape
In physical terms
With your cherry lips and golden curls
You could make grown men gasp when you go walking past
And in your hot pants and high heels
They could not believe that such a body was for real
It seemed like rainbows would appear
Whenever you came near the clouds would disappear
Because you looked just like a girl
Your baby blues would flash and suddenly a spell was cast
You hold a candle in your heart
You shine the light on hidden parts
You make the whole world wanna dance
You bought yourself a second chance
Go baby go go
We’re right behind you
Go baby go go
Yeah, we’re looking at you
Cherry Lips (Go Baby Go!) Alternative
She gave you everything she had
But she was young and stupid
She just turned 21
She didn’t want to sit with you all the time
And when all this shit happened, she was impossible to find
This life can ruin a good girl
She was the cutest creature you’ve ever seen
Chorus:
You are such a gentle boy
In a hysterical realm
Emotional landslides
carnal relations
With cherry lips and golden curls
You made grown men gasp when you walked by
And when you were wearing tight shorts and high heels
They couldn’t believe that such a body could be real.
It seemed that a rainbow was about to appear,
Whenever you pass by, the clouds disperse
After all, you looked just like a girl
Your blue eyes sparkled – and unexpected spells arose
There is a candle in your heart
You fill the hidden corners with light
You make the whole world dance
You got a second chance
Come on baby, come on
We’re right behind you
Come on baby, come on
Yes we are looking at you
Song quote
…an adrenaline rush…perhaps the most festive song we’ve ever written.
Shirley Manson
