Information:
-
The subject of Forgiven, Not Forgotten is suicide. Andrea was quoted in a 1997 Hotpress
Interview with Joe Jackson, saying this about the song:
Jackson: "Was Andrea ever involved with a man who committed suicide, an act that then left the narrator of the song contemplating the same fate - which is, as she once admitted, the subtext of Forgiven Not Forgotten? And if that really is the subject of the song, why didn't she make it a little more obvious?"
Andrea: "Because I'd rather have those undercurrents in a song," she
says. "To state it blatantly is far less interesting, as far as I'm
concerned. And it could be dangerous. I think Romeo And Juliet is a
beautiful story but I don't want anyone to think that suicide is
romantic. It's not. It's horrendous. But tragic fantasies are
romantic. Yet, no it's not about an ex-boyfriend and I never seriously
contemplated committing suicide. Of course I have thought about
suicide but I immediately go 'how can anyone do that to their family?'
It's so selfish, to leave them there, questioning, trying to work out
what went wrong. But then you have to be in a not-right frame of mind
to commit suicide because everything in your body is telling you to
live. Yet even though I love life too much to actually do it, I'm
drawn to exploring the subject of suicide, the fact of our own
mortality. Then again, there are times when I'd stand at the top of a
building, look out a window and say, 'Hey Andrea, you could just step
out there and end it all'. And I have to look deep into that
feeling. It's like riding a roller coaster."
For the entire interview see here:Hotpress
Article
- This is one of the songs that the band played for David Foster when
they first approached him for a record deal. It was played
acoustically around a piano. (This is noted in the Planet Rock
Profiles Pt. 1 (7.43 minutes))
- The Corrs performed Forgiven, Not Forgotten on an episode
of Beverly Hills 90210 in 1996. The episode was titled "Turn
Back the Clock" and it was a New Years Eve episode. The band opened
for Celine Dion for some gigs and met Aaron Spelling through her.
Sharon and Caroline were interviewed in a Hotpress article on the
band, dated August 1996, regarding the performance.
Recently (1996) all four members of The Corrs appeared as themselves
in an episode of 90210. So what was that like? "It was very good",
smiles Sharon modestly. "Actually we were really tired at the time
because we'd just flown in from Dublin the day before. We'd been doing
the Celine Dion tour in Europe and we just flew into Los Angeles to do
Beverly Hills 90210, from seven in the morning to eight that
night. Then later that night we flew to New York, got straight off the
plane and did a morning show. After that we then flew back to LA to do
a Billboard convention so we were absolutely shattered. But the show
was a good experience. We met Jason Priestly and he sent us over a few
beers. He was really nice, a really nice guy. And it was great
exposure as well, y'know. We just played Forgiven Not Forgotten on
stage in the Peach Pit for their New Year's party and then they also
had us playing Runaway through some of the more poignant scenes of the
show".
"It's very weird when you see us, an Irish band, being catapulted into
this whole Beverly Hills scene", grins Caroline. "And you know the way
the show is so glam and everyone looks so 'LA'. And here we are, from
Dundalk, in the middle of it all going 'how did we get here?' I mean,
they even wrote us into the script. There was a line in that episode
where one of the characters said someting like 'oh, so and so really
turned me on to The Corrs' or whatever. Like it was actually in the
script! Completely weird".
Written By:
- In a radio interview Sharon was asked who wrote Forgiven, Not
Forgotten and she responded "Uh, Andrea and Jim I think
wrote Forgiven, Not Forgotten". Because there is other
evidence that Andrea wrote the lyrics, we assume that Andrea and
Jim possibly wrote the music together.
- The lyrics for Forgiven, Not
Forgotten were written by Andrea.
|
Lyrics:
All alone, staring on
Watching her life go by
When her days are grey
And her nights are black
Different shades of mundane
And the one-eyed furry toy that lies upon the bed
Has often heard her cry
And heard her whisper out a name long forgiven
But not forgotten
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're not forgotten
A bleeding heart torn apart
Left on an icy grave
In their room where they once lay
Face to face
Nothing could get in their way
But now the memories of the man are haunting her days
And the craving never fades
She's still dreaming of the man long forgiven
But not forgotten
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're not forgotten
Still alone, staring on
Wishing her life goodbye
As she goes searching for the man long forgiven
But not forgotten
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're forgiven, not forgotten,
You're not forgotten,
You're not forgotten,
No, you're not forgotten.
|