The Fisher King Blues

Album: Tape Deck Heart (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • The Fisher King is a legend with many variations, but the basic story is of a wounded king who is charged with protecting the Holy Grail.

    The story is a favorite of Turner's, who contrived his own version of the story based on the abandoned Battersea Power Station in South London, a rather creepy landmark that appears on the cover of the Pink Floyd album Animals. In our interview with Turner, he explained: "Fisher King is the king of an abandoned kingdom, and he sits by the river waiting for the return of his brother. So I always figured if he lived anyway, he probably lived in Battersea Power Station."
  • Turner says that he's not entirely sure what this song is about. "Something about how human beings have an endless ability to f--k up repeatedly in a way that's almost endearing in the long run," he told us.

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