Cuts You Up
"Cuts You Up" is a song by English musician Peter Murphy, from his third solo studio album, Deep (1989). It was released as a single in 1990 through Beggars Banquet Records. The song became Murphy's most successful release, topping at Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart, as well as charting on Billboard Hot 100 and Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks charts.
The live versions of the song appear in on the b-side of "You're So Close" (1992) single and Alive Just for Love live album, released in 2001.
Background and recording
"Cuts You Up" features a melodic violin line over a bed of acoustic guitars, keyboards, percussion, and bass guitar. Peter Murphy described the song as "having a very driving, acoustic quality to it and lots of sort of hooky, melodic overtones to it with a not-so-straight lyric." Producer Simon Rogers stated that "Murphy brought the song to the sessions in more-or-less its final form," describing it as "pretty much exactly like the demo."
Murphy also visualized the violin part that runs through the performance and used a sample. Rogers recruited a viola player to play the line. Nevertheless, he wasn't satisfied with the live recording of the strings, stating that "it didn't have the atmosphere and was too moody." The sample was eventually retained for the finished release.
Podcasts:
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by Peter Murphy
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by Static-X
Cuts You Up
by: Peter MurphyI find you in the morning
After dreams of distant signs
You pour yourself over me
Like the sun through the blinds
You lift me up and get me out
Keep me walking but never shout
"Hold the secret close", I hear you say
You know the way it goes about
It takes you in and spits you out
It spits you out when you desire
To conquer it, to feel you're higher
To follow it you must be clean
With mistakes that you do mean
Move the heart, switch the pace
Look for what seems out of place
On and on it goes
Calling like a distant wind
Through the zero hour I will walk
Cut the thick and break the thin
No sound to break, no moment clear
When all the doubts are crystal clear
Crashing hard into the secret wind
You know the way it twists and turns
Changing color, spinning yarns
You know the way it leaves you dry
It cuts you up and takes you high
You know the way it's painted gold
Is it honey? Is it gold?
You know the way it goes about
It takes you in and spits you out
Cuts you up, cuts you up, cuts you up
You know the way it goes about
It takes you in and spits you out
It spits you out when you desire
To conquer it, to feel you're higher
To follow it you must be clean
With mistakes that you do mean
Move the heart, switch the pace
Look for what seems out of place
Cuts you up, cuts you up
It's okay, it goes this way
The line is thin, it twists away
Cuts you up and spits you out