Throw Your Arms Around Me

"Throw Your Arms Around Me"

1984 single cover
Single by Hunters & Collectors
from the album Human Frailty
A-side "Throw Your Arms Around Me"
B-side "Unbeliever"
Released November 1984
Format CD
Recorded John & Paula's Hardware St. Studio, October 1984
Genre Australian rock
Length 3:29
Label Mushroom
Writer(s) John Archer, Geoffrey Crosby, Douglas Falconer, Jack Howard, Robert Miles, Mark Seymour, Michael Waters
Producer(s) Hunters & Collectors
Hunters & Collectors singles chronology
"Carry Me"
(1984)		 "Throw Your Arms Around Me"
(1984)		 "Say Goodbye"
(1986)

"Throw Your Arms Around Me" is a song by Australian rock band Hunters & Collectors first released as a single in November 1984 by White Label for Mushroom Records.[1] A re-recorded version of the song would later appear on the band's 1986 album Human Frailty. Written by bass guitarist John Archer, keyboardist Geoffrey Crosby, drummer Douglas Falconer, trumpet player Jack Howard, recorder/mixing engineer Robert Miles, vocalist/lead guitarist Mark Seymour and trombone player Michael Waters.[2][3] The song captures the intensity of sensual love at the same time portraying its fleeting nature with lyrics including "And we may never meet again, So shed your skin and let's get started".

Background

Hunters & Collectors had formed in 1981 with Mark Seymour (guitar, Vocals), John Archer (bass guitar), Doug Falconer (drums) Geoff Crosby (keyboards), Greg Perano (percussion), Ray Tosti-Guerra (guitar), and Robert Miles, their sound engineer and art director.[1] Miles was credited as an equal part of the band's output and stayed with the band throughout their career. Tosti-Guerra was later replaced by Martin Lubran, then by Barry Palmer. Seymour is the older brother of bassist Nick Seymour of Crowded House. Hunters & Collectors signed to White Label, an offshoot of Mushroom Records, and by 1985 the line-up was Seymour, Archer, Falconer, Crosby and Miles with Jack Howard on trumpet and Michael Waters on trombone. They recorded the first version of "Throw Your Arms Around Me" for a single-only release in 1984 with "Unbeliever" as its B-side, all members were credited as the songs' writers.[2][3][4] A live version of "Throw Your Arms Around Me" appeared on their 1985 album Way to Go Out. Their breakthrough commercial success in Australia came in 1986, with the release of the album Human Frailty, which featured another version of the single "Throw Your Arms Around Me", as well as "Say Goodbye" and "Everything's on Fire". In 1990 a slower, more acoustically introspective version of the single was recorded and released from their compilation album Collected Works. The promotional video was a mosaic of all their previous videos.

Mark Seymour described writing for Human Frailty:

I was in a relationship with a woman I was very much in love with and she was the inspiration. I wrote virtually all the lyrics on Human Frailty about my relationship with her [...] Throw Your Arms Around Me was the first song I wrote that wasn't angry. And because it was so out of the square, we didn't record it particularly well. [...] One time, we played it at The Palace, to about 2000 people who just went off. We finally got it right, so we recorded it again. I think we did about four versions of it.[5]
—Mark Seymour

Cover versions

A shortened version was performed by Crowded House (a band whose members include Mark Seymour's brother Nick) at their Farewell To The World concert in 1996, and was also earlier covered by the band on MTV Unplugged. The song has also been covered by Australian musical comedy act, Tripod, famous for their work on the Triple J radio Australian network. The song was later covered by Pearl Jam, with the lyric "I will kiss you in four places" changed to "I will kiss you in 155 places" by vocalist Eddie Vedder. Neil Finn attributes this change to Vedder's having heard one of Crowded House's many cover versions of the song before hearing the original.[6] Finn typically changes the number each time he performs it. The comic trio Doug Anthony All Stars performed acoustic versions of this song at many of their performances, and recorded a promotional CD. In 2007 Kate Ceberano recorded a version for her Nine Lime Avenue album. Canadian musician Allison Crowe recorded the song for release on her 2010 album Spiral. Former Yellow Wiggle, Greg Page, recorded a version of the song on his album of the same name. In October of 2011 Sarah Blackwood covered this tune at the request of a fan in dedication to his loved one. Sarah sings solo, accompanied by guitar and begins the performance with a short dedication. A video of the performance was posted to YouTube and at present has over 35,000 views. In 2013 a cover version Vedder and Finn as a duo appeared on the tribute album, Crucible – The Songs of Hunters & Collectors.[7]

Legacy

"Throw Your Arms Around Me" remained one of the most popular songs in Australia for years, being voted number 2, 2 and 4 on the Triple J Hottest 100 in 1989, 1990 and 1991. Prior to 1992, songs from any year were eligible for inclusion in the hottest 100. It placed 2nd in Triple J's Hottest 100 Of All Time in 1998.[8] In May 2001 the Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA), as part of its 75th Anniversary celebrations, named "Throw Your Arms Around Me" as one of the Top 30 Australian songs of all time.[3][9]

Australian Popular Culture

The song is a familiar lyric to many Australian generation X-ers, and is often performed or played at the end of concerts and parties alike. In 1996, the song was used in the Australian soap opera Home and Away during the death scene of popular character Shane Parrish. It was also used in a climactic scene of the 2008 film Unfinished Sky.

On August 14, 2013 Mark Seymour performed the song at the launch[10] of the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre's "Hot Potato" campaign. For the event, he wrote a new second verse with the lyrics:

"Oh, whatever world you come from

Yeah, whatever tongue you speak

Well you can ride on my bus any time

I'll stand by you in defeat

Yeah, for all we know and all we feel

For the naked truth will never die

We may speak a thousand languages

But you will make me call your name

And I'll shout it to the blue summer sky." [11]

Tracklisting

All tracks written by John Archer, Geoffrey Crosby, Douglas Falconer, Jack Howard, Robert Miles, Mark Seymour and Michael Waters, according to APRA.[2][4]

  1. "Throw Your Arms Around Me" - 3:29
  2. "Unbeliever" - 5:19
"Throw Your Arms Around Me"

1986 single cover
Single by Hunters & Collectors
from the album Human Frailty
A-side "Throw Your Arms Around Me"
B-side "Who's on Left?"
"When the Truth Comes Out"
Released April 1986
Format 7"
Recorded Allan Easton's Studio, St Kilda, 1985
Genre Australian rock
Length 3:52
Label Mushroom
Writer(s) John Archer, Geoffrey Crosby, Douglas Falconer, John Howard, Robert Miles, Mark Seymour, Michael Waters
Producer(s) Gavin MacKillop, Hunters & Collectors
Hunters & Collectors singles chronology
"Say Goodbye"
(1986)		 "Throw Your Arms Around Me"
(1986)		 "Everything's on Fire"
(1986)
"Throw Your Arms Around Me"
Single by Hunters & Collectors
from the album Collected Works
B-side " Something to Believe In" / "When the Truth Comes Calling"
Released November 1990
Format 7"
Recorded 1989
Platinum Studios, Melbourne
Genre Australian rock
Label White/Mushroom
Writer(s) John Archer, Geoffrey Crosby, Douglas Falconer, John Howard, Robert Miles, Mark Seymour, Michael Waters
Producer(s) Clive Martin, Hunters & Collectors
Hunters & Collectors singles chronology
"Love All Over Again"
(1990)		 "Throw Your Arms Around Me"
(1990)		 "Where Do You Go?"
(1991)

Personnel

Credited to:[1] Hunters & Collectors members

Recording details

Art works

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Holmgren, Magnus; Warnqvist, Stefan; Bamford, Alan. "Hunters and Collectors". Passagen.se. Australian Rock Database (Magnus Holmgren). Archived from the original on 28 September 2013. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 ""Throw Your Arms Around Me" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "APRA/AMCOS 2001 Top 30 Songs". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 ""Unbeliever" at APRA search engine". Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  5. ↑ Jenkins, Jeff; Ian Meldrum (2007). "40 Great Australian Songs". Molly Meldrum presents 50 years of rock in Australia. Melbourne: Wilkinson Publishing. pp. 299–300. ISBN 978-1-921332-11-1. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  6. ↑ Farewell to the World band commentary track
  7. ↑ "Hunters & Collectors Crucible Tribute Album of the Week". Triple M. Southern Cross Austereo. 20 September 2013. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  8. ↑ "Hottest 100 of all Time". Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). 1998. Archived from the original on 2000-03-04. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  9. ↑ Kruger, Debbie (2001-05-02). ""The songs that resonate through the years"" (PDF). Australasian Performing Right Association (APRA). Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  10. ↑ http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/1799982/%27Hot-potato%27-van-on-asylum-seeker-mission
  11. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nx4A8a2Xa2w

External links