The lyrical content of Songs from the Big Chair, as well as the name of the band itself, is deeply influenced by the writings of psychologist Arthur Janov and the practice of primal scream therapy, a means of exposing and releasing long-suppressed trauma and painful memories, especially from childhood. Central bandmates Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith both admit to having unhappy childhoods, and both men were deeply attracted to Janov's ideas. They explored these deep hurts of the psyche in their first album, The Hurting, but they brought these concepts to full maturity with the genius of SftBC.
Side one of the album begins with the first single, "Shout," which serves as the thematic anthem for the entire work. The lyrics are directly connected to the concept of primal scream therapy and the benefits they found in its practice: "Shout, shout, let it all out; these are the things I can do without...."
Found toward the end of the song is one of the most devastating lyrics I've ever heard: "And when you've taken down your guard / If I could change your mind / I'd really love to break your heart / I'd really love to break your heart." My friends and I used to ride around in 1985 with this song at maximum volume on the car stereo, singing at top volume as if we were in a therapy session ourselves. I don't want to be remiss in mentioning Roland's extraordinary guitar work in this song as well. His personality and outspokenness has often overshadowed his skills as a guitarist.
The second track is "The Working Hour," unknown to radio listeners but a classic song to real TFF fans. This song features amazing saxophone work amidst soaring synthesizers. The lyrics again emphasize dealing with past emotional hurts: "Find out / find out / what this fear is about." The third song is instantly recognizable as one of their most popular and familiar tunes, "Everybody Wants to Rule the World." Recently covered by Weezer on their Teal Album, Roland and Curt dropped in on Jimmy Kimmel Live to play live with Weezer for this song.
Side one ends with "Mother's Talk," a hard-driving new wave rock song that combines synthesizers with a thundering bass and drum pattern that sounds like a relentless march into a fearful future. Therapy is once again in the foreground, with the lyrics emphasizing the importance of dealing with the past: "When the wind blows / When the mother's talk / When the wind blows / Only we can work it out."
Those four songs alone would make this album a classic, but we still have four more on side two, which opens with the lyrical ballad "I Believe." This song is stripped down, mostly Roland singing over subtle drums and piano chords about letting go of our tears and stop keeping our emotions all bottled up. As the song develops, a plaintive saxophone calls out from time to time. As it reaches the end, a synthesizer chord begins to build, then hangs on at the last note, bringing us in direct transition to the next two songs (which are really one extraordinary song).
"Broken" and "Head Over Heels" are listed as two tracks (and were released as separate singles), but they work together as a matching pair. "Broken" bursts in on the final chord from "I Believe" with pounding drums and a screaming guitar instrumental. The melody from "Head Over Heels" coda "In my mind's eye / One little boy, one little man / Funny how time flies" plays out in faster time and a less melodic key, setting the scene for what's to follow.
"Broken" is the bookend to "Shout," the angrier expression of the primal scream experience, as seen in these lyrics: "Between the searching and the need to work it out / I stop believing everything will be alright / Broken...we are broken." Then Roland sings the "Head Over Heels" coda listed in the previous paragraph, coming to a heavy ritard after "Funny how," then drawing out "time...flies..."; then the familiar piano intro to "Head Over Heels" begins. Watch the video below...it sounds so much better than I could ever explain with words.
[The following paragraph comes from my blog for my 100 Favorite Songs from earlier this year; "Head Over Heels" is my #2 song on that list. I'm also including the original video, a wonderful clip in itself.]
I never would have guessed when I started this process that ["Head Over Heels"] would have ended up so high, much less ranked ahead of my other TFF favorites. But the more I listened to it, the more I felt like I was rediscovering something amazing for the first time. Every aspect of the song is typically wonderful for Roland and Curt—the vocals, the guitar work, the mix of old beats with new synths—but what I find most appealing is the five chord guitar riff that happens in the chorus at "...find out" and "something happens" (first appearing at 1:16 and 1:21). That's such a small thing, but so brilliant. I also love the "la-la-la" vocals over the piano theme that leads to the outro. I don't think I'm going out on a limb to claim this as not only my favorite TFF song but also the best thing they've ever done.
[New stuff...] On the album (but not on the single), "Head Over Heels" holds out the now-familiar "Time Flies..." line, only this time, it's a reprise of "Broken" tagged onto the end of the song. It says so much about the complexity and depth of thought that Roland and Curt put into this album that its darkest song encompasses the beginning and the end of its most positive song. It's absolutely brilliant, and I think if I had to re-rank my Top 100, it might just edge out my previous #1 ("Just Like Heaven," by The Cure, in case you missed it).
The final track is "Listen," a mostly instrumental ballad that acts as a transition from their musical therapy session back into the reality of everyday life, but there is as much thought and care put into this final track as anything else. It's an emotional necessity after the ride we've been on so far. I've listened to this entire album more times than I could possible calculate, and the wonder of it all is that it has never grown stale for even one time. I discover something new every time I encounter it.
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