The Foxgloves: "I Dreamt That Love Was A Crime"

I must thank a million times over a certain Krister Bladh (who used to write at The Rain Fell Down, but has since left Glasgow and now writes from Sweden at Heaven Is Above Your Head), as it is he who is responsible for me finally hearing what had been unknowingly been right under my nose for the past four years. The Foxgloves are Joe Brooker of The Pines and Stephen Troussé, who wrote for the Papercuts zine. Their EP, The Lives You Didn't Lead, was released in 2003 on Ara Harcopian's practically unknown DC pop label, Foxyboy. See, right under my nose; but how was I supposed to know?! They may have not known it at the time, and maybe they still don't, or maybe they did – how could they not? – but the first four minutes and fifty seconds of the aformentioned EP contain quite possibly the finest pop song I've heard in some time. The song is, of course, "I Dreamt That Love Was A Crime." My shoddy writing skills are bereft of anything that would do this song justice, so I've chosen to just write down the lyrics, in hopes that they may help you realize the beauty within the beginning and the end.

[MP3]: The Foxgloves :: I Dreamt That Love Was A Crime (Very Highly Rec'd!!!)

Words:

I dreamt that love was a crime
But still I couldn't get arrested
The guilt was mine, but you confessed it
And you're the one doing time

I saw the picture today
The pale confetti in your auburn hair
I have convinced myself I didn't care
And put the paper away

But when you're waiting for the bus in the rain
Your mind is set to wander again along the avenues and streets
Of every life you didn't lead
And all the neighborhoods, they all have their charms
You're only good at wasting the arms of dreams that linger then fade
With every choice you never made

I spent two years on the run
I never knew what i was running for
In every room I found the exit door
I'd lost before I'd even begun

I saw the picture today
The pale confetti in your auburn hair
I have convinced myself I didn't care
And put the paper away

But when you're waiting for the bus in the rain
Your mind is set to wander again along the avenues and streets
of every life you didn't lead
and all the neighborhoods, they all have their charms
you're only good at wasting the arms of dreams that linger then fade
with every choice you never made

Chris wrote about the song here.

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