All Across The Sands

Bones of an impressive romance
Scattered all across the sand
A secret safe with all the world
Too vain to seem so capable

Can you hear it calling ?
Do you feel warmer ?
As the hired hand's exposed

How can a pretty painted shell
Send them all packing off to hell
A freight train laughs and rattles by
You kissed the girls and made them die

Can you hear it calling ?
Do you feel warmer ?
As the hired hand's exposed

And I'll never come here again
And we will never come here again
And we will never play here again, again

Can you hear it calling ?
Do you feel warmer ?
As the hired hand's exposed ?

Of her call
Of her call
Of her call
Dead and cold

Can you hear it calling ?
Do you feel warmer ?
As the hired hand's exposed ?

Of her call
Of her call
Of her call
As she calls

Lyrics by:
Brown

Music by:
Squire / Brown

Written:
1985

Personnel:
John Squire (guitar)
Ian Brown (vocals)
Pete Garner (bass)
Alan Wren (drums, backing vocals)

Produced by:
The Stone Roses & Simon

Available on:
Sally Cinnamon single (as b-side)
The Complete Stone Roses (2.40)

First live performance:
In late 1985

Details:
The dark lyrics of All Across The Sands were influenced by a book Ian read about a German murderer, who killed and buried his female victims under sand. It appears to draw from a passage of the Bible, 'The Shepherd and His Flock' (John 10: 1 - 21):

"I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep."
(John: 10: 11 - 13)

A collective group (a number of women / flock of sheep) are subject to an attack in both the book Ian was reading and in this particular passage of the Bible. In each case, the 'hired hand' is exposed (only it is the wolf that attacks the sheep in the Bible, not the hired hand - obviously the attack is resultant from his neglect in duty however, symbolic of those that stray from God). Ian would go on to use the Bible passage immediately following this years later, on Can't See Me. Biblical influence is also evident in the lines, "I'll never come here again" (Jesus) and "And we will never come here again" (Jesus speaking, inclusive of His Disciples). When sending out His twelve Disciples, Jesus gave the following instruction:

"If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town. I tell you the truth, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town."
(Matthew 10: 14 - 15)

Back To The Songs