Recorded: Manorside, Abbey Wood, 2 December 1998

4 , 5, 8, 9, 18, 19, 26, 28 February, 3, 4, 15 March 1999.

Mark Tingley:

Lead Vocals, Harmonies, Humming, Keyboards, Handclaps, Peas, "Drums", Bass.

Helen Smith: Violin solo


This is the first song I ever wrote on the piano, sketched out during early '98.

Like "I'm Crying", I finished the lyrics later in the year in the wake of losing my Step-Dad, Denis, and in memory of other people I'd lost over the years. Inevitably the craziness I experienced in 1998 would seep into these songs.

At last the chance to do the big piano ballad thing had arrived! Squeezed into the lead vocal track right at the end was a humming chant, inspired by the Prodigy! The line "too good to be true" summed up Denis perfectly, but was also a sarcastic nod to my doomed relationship. I did originally have my ex-girlfriend (also a vocalist) in mind to sing an operatic solo (an idea borrowed from a Pink Floyd track that appeared on a headache commercial!) . When she blew me out and wasn't too good to be true, I thought a violin might sound better anyway. I roped Helen in who did a fantastic job, because it was a difficult solo to handle.