C'mon Billy
{{Infobox song
| name = C'mon Billy
| cover = C'monBilly2.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = PJ Harvey
| album = To Bring You My Love
| B-side = "Darling Be There" / "Maniac" / "One Time Too Many"
| released = {{Start date|1995|7|3|df=y}}
| recorded =
| studio = Townhouse Studios (London, England){{cite AV media notes|title=To Bring You My Love|title-link=To Bring You My Love|others=PJ Harvey|year=1995|type=CD |publisher=Island Records|id=LC0497|location=London, United Kingdom}}
| venue =
| genre = * Alternative rock
- country{{cite magazine |last= Blender Staff |first= |date= May 2003 |title= 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die! |url= https://archive.org/details/blender-2003-04-15-eminem-c/page/n59/mode/2up |magazine= Blender |location= New York |publisher= Dennis Publishing Ltd |access-date= April 1, 2023}}
| length = 2:52
| label = Island
| writer = PJ Harvey
| producer = * Flood
- John Parish
- PJ Harvey
| prev_title = Down by the Water
| prev_year = 1995
| next_title = Send His Love to Me
| next_year = 1995
| misc = {{Extra album cover
| header = Alternate cover
| type = single
| cover = C'monBilly.jpeg
| border =
| alt =
| caption =
}}
{{External music video|{{YouTube|pr1j3GfJuR4|"C'mon Billy"}}}}
}}
"C'mon Billy" is a song by the English musician PJ Harvey, released on 3 July 1995 as the second single from her third studio album, To Bring You My Love (1995).{{cite magazine |title=News: Billy for Polly! |magazine=Melody Maker |date=24 June 1995 |page=5 |issn=0025-9012}} Produced, engineered, and mixed by Flood with Harvey as co-producer and engineer, it features the artist on vocals and guitar, John Parish on drums and percussion, Joe Gore on guitar, Sonia Slany on violin, Jocelyn Pook and Jules Singleton on viola, and Sian Bell on cello. The string arrangement is by Pete Thomas. The song is cited as being a clear example of Harvey's sound change since breaking from the PJ Harvey Trio.
The lyrics talk about a woman begging for 'Billy' to come home and meet his son.{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&q=%22c%27mon+billy%22+%22pj+harvey%22&pg=PA369 |last1=Brackett |first1=Nathan |last2=Hoard |first2=Christian David |publisher=Simon & Schuster |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: Completely Revised and Updated 4th Edition |date=November 2, 2004 |accessdate=November 23, 2012 |edition=4 |isbn=0743201698}} Harvey's singing style has been described as "frantic purrs”.
Critical reception
The single has been described as a clear example of Harvey's sound change; critics have stated that it was possibly a "glimpse of the Blues Explosion and Portishead."{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=XY5HXiUDbskC&q=%22c%27mon+billy%22+%22pj+harvey%22&pg=PA5 |last1=Santangelo |first1=Antonio |title=CMJ Silver Salute |date=July 3, 2003 |issue=821 |pages=5 |publisher=CMJ |accessdate=November 23, 2012}}{{cite journal |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Jy0EAAAAMBAJ&q=%22pj+harvey%22+%22c%27mon+billy%22+string&pg=PA12 |last1=Aswad |first1=Jem |title=PJ Harvey To Bring You My Love Island |date=April 1995 |pages=12 |publisher=CMJ |accessdate=November 23, 2012}} It peaked at No. 29 on the UK chart, and had moderate airplay there.{{cite web |url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/pj%20harvey#albums |title=Pj Harvey |publisher=Official Charts Company |accessdate=November 23, 2012}}
Music video
The accompanying music video shows PJ Harvey as an old-time performer in an old theater-dining setting, described by one scholar as "surreal".{{cite journal |author=Michigan Sociological Association |title=Michigan Sociological Review, Volumes 13-15 |year=1999 |volume=13-15 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9ofZAAAAMAAJ&q=%22music+video%22+%22c'mon+billy%22+%22pj+harvey%22|accessdate=December 9, 2012}} There, she attempts to seduce a bald man in the setting while singing the song. The video switches to a version of her in a modern red dress, her face stained with tears. There is a scene with her apparently in her bedroom, on a mattress on a twin-sized bed without sheets, shot from the ceiling. The video eventually shows a home movie of Billy, Harvey (minus her previous make-up) and a baby boy, playing together outdoors in happier times.
The Chicago Tribune{{'}}s Greg Kot described Harvey in the video as a "sadomasochistic dominatrix in blood-red dress". Although the video impressed VH1 executives, they refused to air it because the video was seen as scary and off-putting. Kot wrote that it "blew away everyone in the room and every video aired that day, but was rejected. 'She's amazing,' one VH1 executive remarked, 'and way too good for us.{{'"}}{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/2000/12/18/my-music-has-not-been-easy-listening-that-stops-people/|title='My Music Has Not Been Easy Listening: That Stops People' |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |last=Kot |first=Greg |date=December 18, 2000 |access-date=November 23, 2012}}{{cite web |url=http://www.artistdirect.com/video/pj-harvey-c-mon-billy/85705 |title=PJ Harvey - C'mon Billy |publisher=Artistdirect |accessdate=November 23, 2012}}
Track list
- "C'mon Billy" – 2:52
- "Darling Be There" – 3:46
- "Maniac" – 4:01
- "One Time Too Many" – 2:51{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/PJ-Harvey-CMon-Billy/master/52596|title=PJ Harvey – C'Mon Billy|publisher=Discogs|accessdate=November 23, 2012}}
Chart positions
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{official website|pjharvey.net/}}
- [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pr1j3GfJuR4 Video on YouTube]
{{PJ Harvey}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:C'mon Billy}}
Category:Island Records singles