To Her Door
Encyclopedia
"To Her Door" was the first single released by Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls
ahead of their second album, Under the Sun (released in North America and Europe as by Paul Kelly and the Messengers). The single was released in September 1987 and reached No. 14 on the Australian singles charts.
"To Her Door" won an ARIA Music Award in 1988
for 'Best Video' directed by Claudia Castle. In 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association
(APRA) listed the Top 30 Australian songs
of all time, including "To Her Door" written by Kelly.
, 'Silver Top', a taxi
company and 'Olympic', which is a local bus company.
In an interview with Debbie Kruger
, Kelly indicated that the song took seven years to write.
Kelly uses the same protagonist in "Love Never Runs on Time" from 1994's Wanted Man and then in 1996's "How to Make Gravy" from the extended play How to Make Gravy
.
The B-side, "Bicentennial", is about the plight of Australian Aborigines
in the past and the present, highlighting aboriginal deaths in custody
. In 1988, Australia celebrated its bicentenary
, in the song Kelly writes from the point of view of those unimpressed with 200 years of white settlement.
Recording details
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
ahead of their second album, Under the Sun (released in North America and Europe as by Paul Kelly and the Messengers). The single was released in September 1987 and reached No. 14 on the Australian singles charts.
"To Her Door" won an ARIA Music Award in 1988
ARIA Music Awards of 1988
The Second Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards was held on 29 March 1988 at the Sheraton Wentworth Hotel in Sydney. Cliff Richard was the host, with Bryan Ferry, Feargal Sharkey and Ian "Molly" Meldrum included as presenters of the 21 awards...
for 'Best Video' directed by Claudia Castle. In 2001, the Australasian Performing Right Association
Australasian Performing Right Association
The Australasian Performing Right Association is a copyright collective representing New Zealand and Australian composers, lyricists and music publishers. The association's head offices located in Sydney Australia, and it has branch offices in Auckland, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth...
(APRA) listed the Top 30 Australian songs
APRA Top 30 Australian songs
APRA's Top 30 Australian songs between 1926 and 2001 was a list created by the Australasian Performing Right Association to celebrate its 75th anniversary...
of all time, including "To Her Door" written by Kelly.
Music and lyrics
The song is a ballad about young love, the couple's marriage "hit the skids" and Kelly using a third-person narrator provides a fragment of this couple's struggle to survive. It is brutal and beautiful and an attempt at reconciliation. In the final verse, Kelly chooses to eschew a happy ending and reflect life's uncertainty: "Could he make a picture and get them all to fit?" The song contains references to 'The Buttery', a drug and rehabiliation clinic on the north coast of New South WalesNew South Wales
New South Wales is a state of :Australia, located in the east of the country. It is bordered by Queensland, Victoria and South Australia to the north, south and west respectively. To the east, the state is bordered by the Tasman Sea, which forms part of the Pacific Ocean. New South Wales...
, 'Silver Top', a taxi
Taxicab
A taxicab, also taxi or cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choice...
company and 'Olympic', which is a local bus company.
In an interview with Debbie Kruger
Debbie Kruger
Debbie Kruger is an Australian music journalist and pop-culture writer, she wrote Songwriters Speak in August 2005, which contains interviews with 45 Australian and New Zealand songwriters about their craft...
, Kelly indicated that the song took seven years to write.
Kelly uses the same protagonist in "Love Never Runs on Time" from 1994's Wanted Man and then in 1996's "How to Make Gravy" from the extended play How to Make Gravy
How to Make Gravy
How to Make Gravy is a four-track EP by Australian singer-songwriter Paul Kelly and was originally released in 1996 on White Label Records in Australia....
.
The B-side, "Bicentennial", is about the plight of Australian Aborigines
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
in the past and the present, highlighting aboriginal deaths in custody
Aboriginal deaths in custody
Aboriginal deaths in custody became a major issue because of a widespread perception that a disproportionate number of Indigenous Australians were dying in jail after being arrested by police...
. In 1988, Australia celebrated its bicentenary
Australian Bicentenary
The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1970 on the 200th anniversary of Captain James Cook landing and claiming the land, and again in 1988 to celebrate 200 years of permanent European settlement.-1970:...
, in the song Kelly writes from the point of view of those unimpressed with 200 years of white settlement.
Personnel
Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls- Paul Kelly – acoustic guitarAcoustic guitarAn acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...
, vocals - Michael Barclay – drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
, backing vocals - Peter Bull – keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
- Steve Connolly – guitar (electricElectric guitarAn electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
), backing vocals - Chris Coyne – saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
(tenorTenor saxophoneThe tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor, with the alto, are the two most common types of saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B, and written as a transposing instrument in the treble...
) - John Schofield – bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
- Chris Wilson – harmonicaHarmonicaThe harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
, vocals, saxophone (baritoneBaritone saxophoneThe baritone saxophone, often called "bari sax" , is one of the largest and lowest pitched members of the saxophone family. It was invented by Adolphe Sax. The baritone is distinguished from smaller sizes of saxophone by the extra loop near its mouthpiece...
)
Recording details
- Producer – Alan Thorne, Paul Kelly
Releases
| Format | Country | Label | Catalogue No. | Year |
| 7" single | AUS | Mushroom | White K412 | 1987 |