Melt!

"Melt" / "Il Est Né Le Divin Enfant" is a double A-sided single by British rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees released in 1982. It was released as the second and final single from the band's fifth album A Kiss in the Dreamhouse; "Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant" does not appear on that album.

The sensual lyrics of "Melt!" compare an intense sexual interlude with a lover to dying. Its lyrics can also allude to a S&M encounter ("...Handcuffed in lace and blood and sperm / Swimming in poison / Gasping in the fragrance / Sweat carves a screenplay / of discipline and devotion...").

"The Baudelairean imagery of 'Melt' evokes claustrophobic scents of opium, sex and sickly flowers, and lapses into morbidity with lines like, 'You are the melting man and, as you melt, you are beheaded,'" observed Dave Morrison in a review of Twice Upon a Time: The Singles. "OK, it's a touch ludicrous, but a great pop song nevertheless."^[1]

"Il Est Né Le Divin Enfant" is an adaptation of a traditional French Christmas carol. This track was exclusive to this single, and remained unreleased on album or CD for many years, until the appearance of the Siouxsie and the Banshees box set Downside Up in 2004.

Released in late 1982, "Melt!"/"Il Est Né Le Divin Enfant" peaked as a double A-side at number 49 in the UK Singles Chart.^[2]

References

↑ Select, November 1992
↑ Johns, Brian. Entranced : the Siouxsie and the Banshees story. Omnibus Press, 1989. Page 94. ISBN 0-7119-1773-b

v t e Siouxsie and the Banshees

Siouxsie Sioux Steven Severin Marco Pirroni Sid Vicious Kenny Morris Peter Fenton John McKay Budgie Robert Smith John McGeoch John Valentine Carruthers Jon Klein Martin McCarrick Knox Chandler

Studio albums	The Scream Join Hands Kaleidoscope Juju A Kiss in the Dreamhouse Hyæna Tinderbox Through the Looking Glass Peepshow Superstition The Rapture

Live albums	Nocturne The Seven Year Itch At the BBC

Compilation albums	Once Upon a Time: The Singles Twice Upon a Time: The Singles The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees Downside Up Voices on the Air: The Peel Sessions

EPs	The Thorn

Singles	"Hong Kong Garden" "The Staircase (Mystery)" "Playground Twist" "Mittageisen" "Happy House" "Christine" "Israel" "Spellbound" "Arabian Knights" "Fireworks" "Slowdive" "Melt!" "Dear Prudence" "Swimming Horses" "Dazzle" "Overground" "Cities in Dust" "Candyman" "This Wheel's on Fire" "The Passenger" "Song from the Edge of the World" "Peek-a-Boo" "The Killing Jar" "The Last Beat of My Heart" "Kiss Them for Me" "Shadowtime" "Fear (of the Unknown)" "Face to Face" "O Baby" "Stargazer"

Videos	Nocturne The Seven Year Itch At the BBC The Best of Siouxsie and the Banshees

Related articles	Discography Personnel The Creatures The Glove Bromley Contingent

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