B-side, 1997
. . .
Your heart has been broken again, it’s broken
This b-side, which is on the shortlist of Prettiest Songs Ever Recorded, Indiepop Division, is also as obscure as they come, having only ever been released as a b-side to 1997’s “Ain’t That Enough” single, but I swear on a stack of Bandwagonesque reissues that they never recorded anything quite so exquisitely beautiful.
Your heart has been broken again, it’s broken
Outside of 1995’s Deep Fried Fanclub, there has never been an official compilation of Teenage Fanclub b-sides and ephemera, and even that one only collected their pre-Geffen records. That means is that there is a ton of great songs that most people have never heard, unless they’ve bought things like the U.S. CD of Thirteen or the deluxe versions of records like Howdy and Man-Made.
Your heart has been broken again, it’s broken
And I do mean tons: I found an unofficial compilation in the early 2000s, and it had like 50 items on it. One of which was this utterly gorgeous dirge, “Broken,” which had originally been a b-side of their 1997 single “Ain’t That Enough.” And while I can see why it didn’t make Songs For Northern Britain, I hate the fact that it’s a super deep cut. Because “Broken” is the prettiest, saddest and simplest song that Teenage Fanclub ever released.
Your heart has been broken again, it’s broken
It starts off with an acoustic guitar and the easiest of drumbeats, and eventually what sounds like an organ comes in and fills some space, and eventually eventually Norman Blake and Gerald Love start singing, and all they sing is this:
Your heart has been broken again, it’s broken
That’s it. That’s the entire lyric. But that’s enough. More than enough, because that single line contains entire universes of pure beauty. In fact, “Broken” is so fucking sad and so fucking gorgeous that it probably doesn’t need the ringing echoy church organ that takes over the back half of the song. But the same time, I’m so glad that church organ exists, because it also takes “Broken” to an even higher, sadder plane, as if that was even possible.
Your heart has been broken again, it’s broken
As it turns out, “Broken” has become my second or third favorite Teenage Fanclub song, after “Alcoholiday” and (maybe) “Star Sign,” and is one of those songs that makes me so glad I do this, because you might even listen to it and also fall in love with it.
Your heart has been broken again, it’s broken
That said, they would occasionally break it out in concert, like the incredibly touching performance from 2018 I link to below where Blake invites long-departed drummer Brendan O’Hare onstage to sing at the end, an acknowledge of friendship and age and camaraderie that it practically makes me burst into tears every single time.
Your heart has been broken again, it’s broken
“Broken”
“Broken” Live in London, 2018
Did you miss a Certain Song? Follow me on Twitter: @barefootjim
The Certain Songs Database
A filterable, searchable & sortable somewhat up to date database with links to every “Certain Song” post I’ve ever written.
Certain Songs Spotify playlist
(It’s recommended that you listen to this on Spotify as their embed only has 200 songs.)
Support “Certain Songs” with a donation on Patreon
Go to my Patreon page