My Lighthouse

By the spring of 1983, Pulp had a revamped lineup, a manager, a record contract with indie Red Rhino, and an album in stores.

Maybe it’s the soft-focus and somewhat amateurish production, or the folk-pop songwriting (not exactly au courant in 1983), or the lead singer’s somewhat pitch-challenged croon. But It only sold about 300 copies, and by the end of the summer, Pulp v2 was no more.

However, the album itself is not a complete disaster. The lead-off track and first single, “My Lighthouse,” contains hints of Jarvis’ future songwriting prowess. The song is fairly beguiling, quiet jangle-pop with an opening mix of seagull sounds and chiming guitar riffs, showing an early facility for evocative arrangements.

The opening line is charmingly awkward: “Come up to my lighthouse for I have something I wish to say/It can wait for a moment; well, in fact, it can wait all day.” According to Jarvis, the song’s inspired came via the film Diva. (“There was a character in the film who lived in a lighthouse, which struck me as the height of sophistication at the time,” he writes in Mother, Brother, Lover: Selected Lyrics.) A simple but catchy keyboard part enters mid-song, similar to synth and organ riffs on ‘90s Pulp hits.

“My Lighthouse” received a slightly altered mix for its single release. This version was included on the 2012 reissue of It. That same year, during Pulp’s reunion tour, the song made an unexpected return to their setlists at three concerts. These performances usually included guests, Jarvis’ sister Saskia and friend Jill Taylor, who sang backing vocals on the original, as well as many other songs on It.

My Lighthouse (It)

My Lighthouse (single mix)

My Lighthouse (Live at the Royal Albert Hall, March 31, 2012)