Gemini
Written by Steve Hillier
Date Written September 2007
Originally Sung By Sarah Blackwood
Features Yamaha CP-70B, Boss Dimension-C Pedal
“Newcastle stone”At the heart of every Dubstar song is the lyric, it’s the reason the song exists. The lyric within Gemini was inspired by Frog Prince by Keane, although you’d never guess that from hearing it. It’s one of my favourite Keane songs (and they have two others that come close, why do I never like the hits???). What appeals is that sense of story telling, but without actually telling a story. Just hinting at what’s going on.
Gemini is the tale of a man trapped in the past, a metaphorical castle that his love created, long gone, from which that he could never escape. This song was inspired by many conversations I’d had with men of my age. There seemed a creeping bitterness among them, cynicism, a sense of defeat in their voices. Their youth had evaporated and they no longer had a role in the world. They’d even stopped trying to find one and resented the rest of the world for carrying on. And so often this sense of being forgotten began in relationships where they had been ‘done wrong’ by a woman…although whenever I listened carefully it was obvious that the women in question had done nothing of the kind. It was the men who’d messed it all up by being reliably useless (at best), reliably destructive (at worse) or unreliable (most commonly).
Gemini is seeing someone stranded in their life, trapped in a past that’s receding into the distance every day. Where they don’t realise it, but they’ve spent years blaming others for their own mistakes, blaming others for how disappointing their lives have turned out to be. I think this is one of the best songs Dubstar ever recorded, definitely in the top ten.
It’s unusual for a song of mine as there’s no chorus of any kind, just verses. Another reason why I love it so much.
INSIDE OUTLINES, the first collection of solo piano pieces by Stephen Hillier is out now: