Colour Me In

I am grey, still on the page, oh colour me in

When I first heard that line, I felt I had been fixed on a pin. It was early 2004, S. had given me the heave ho, and I felt drained of any possibility of being myself without her there. I’ve always been a bit like that – dependent on just the right people, a few close friends, and if they aren’t there I disappear. Become

Just an outline, sketchy but fine, oh colour me in

It was always something I’d been rather ashamed of, and to hear Broadcast’s ‘Colour Me In’ catch this frailty, clear as a bell, and lift it up, was a joy. I played the song on my guitar for months, lived and breathed it. The chords were beautiful: crystalline, precise, un-fussy. Trish Keenan’s delivery had not a drop of sentimentality about it, she gave a calm strength to what would seem like weakness to most. There are many reasons to love Broadcast, but this is mine. It is hard to believe she is gone.

(Click the image above for the chords to the rest of the song.)