Secret Separation

Album: Walkabout (1985)
Charted: 19
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This was released as the first single from the English New Wave group The Fixx' fourth album, Walkabout. Like many of their songs, it did better in the US than in the UK. The tune only reached #83 in the band's native country, but across the Atlantic it topped the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and peaked at #19 on the Hot 100.
  • The lyrics were written by Jeanette Obstoj, who was the girlfriend at the time of the band's producer, Rupert Hine. She directed several of the band's videos, including the ones for "Stand or Fall," "One Thing Leads to Another" and "Are We Ourselves?."
  • The song is about reincarnation. The Fixx singer and lyricist Cy Curnin told us in an interview: "It's about soulmates re-meeting in another time and continually re-meeting, and when they meet sometimes they can't function as lovers in this life, but they have been lovers in a past life or maybe a future life. Therefore the love affair continues through the ages."
  • The Fixx are not known for their love songs, but according to Curnin this song is played at wedding receptions, which he commented to us, "is very strange."

Comments: 2

  • Steve from SomewhereinamericaSounds like a poem I wrote when at age 15, sent to a girl in England to proof it. She died in a car wreck so I lost the poem.
  • Wearenotperfect from SomewhereinamericaMore of a constant battle between two individuals that can't be together but at the same time can't be apart. A sense that one individual knows that their relationship is not what it used to be and is only maintained because of the history they have made together and the other only wonders what it may have been like if they had taken a different path only to realize that their sharaid must continue to please their surroundings.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Jon Foreman of Switchfoot

Jon Foreman of SwitchfootSongwriter Interviews

Switchfoot's frontman and main songwriter on what inspires the songs and how he got the freedom to say exactly what he means.

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.

Tony Joe White

Tony Joe WhiteSongwriter Interviews

The writer of "Rainy Night in Georgia" and "Polk Salad Annie" explains how he cooks up his Louisiana swamp rock.

Cheerleaders In Music Videos

Cheerleaders In Music VideosSong Writing

It started with a bouncy MTV classic. Nirvana and MCR made them scary, then Gwen, Avril and Madonna put on the pom poms.

Spooner Oldham

Spooner OldhamSongwriter Interviews

His keyboard work helped define the Muscle Shoals sound and make him an integral part of many Neil Young recordings. Spooner is also an accomplished songwriter, whose hits include "I'm Your Puppet" and "Cry Like A Baby."

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up Musicians

Into The Great Wide Open: Made-up MusiciansSong Writing

Eddie (played by Johnny Depp in the video) found fame fleeting, but Chuck Berry's made-up musician fared better.