Sowing The Seeds Of Love – Tears For Fear | Top 40 Chart Performance, Story and Song Meaning
Chart Performance: Pop (#2); 1989
Story Behind The Song By Ed Osborne
Having established themselves in the U.S. with two consecutive #1 smash singles in 1985 (Everybody Wants To Rule The World and Shout), Tears For Fears took a lengthy break between albums.
On the first two LP’s, Tears For Fears – essentially Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith – combined a layered synth soundscape with Orzabal’s deep-thinking lyrics. Between albums two and three, Roland and Curt caught a show in Kansas City by singer Oleta Adams, and were struck by the power in her voice-and piano-only performance.
Back in the studio, the two worked to free up their own music, using live instruments and less studio effects. For Sowing The Seeds Of Love, a lovely Beatle-esque tune, Roland drew lyrical inspiration from the world around him, as in the “I love a sunflower” line, taken from graffiti on a wall near his home.
Sadly, love was the one thing lacking between Roland and Curt, who left TFF soon after.
This content and all Song Meaning articles were created and written by Top 40 Contributing Editor Ed Osborne. © 2024 Ed Osborne. All Rights Reserved. In addition to these song meaning articles, Ed has written our “Year in Music 1960s-1990s” articles.
Produced by:
- Tears for Fears
- Dave Bascombe
Lyrics Written by:
- Roland Orzabal
- Curt Smith
Ed Osborne
Hi. I got my first record at age two and never looked back, spending a decades-long career in radio and the music business. Even after years of reading about and listening to all types of music, I am still fascinated by it. Apart from that, I’m endlessly intrigued by art, nature, and the inner lives of people (and dogs).