Music Review: Sheila E. "The Belle Of St. Mark"
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The Belle Of St. Mark
Album: The Glamorous Life
Year: 1984
Sheila E. adores a troubled, shy man in the uneven "Belle Of St. Mark."
A bell tolls with ticking synths starts the single. The synth then becomes peppy, setting a garish tone. In the first verse, she says he treats everyone equally and exhibits strong emotions. She's seen him argue in a debate with a friend one day. He was gesturing wildly and at times, spoke loudly that people turned around to see who the voice belonged to. He often wore a suit and was mature for his age.
In the chorus, she says she loves him and wishes he could be his girlfriend. Then, she could comfort him as he cries on the steps. If he doesn't return her feelings, it would shake her whole entire being.
In the second verse, she watches his faraway look and frown upon his face. She believes it was an ex-girlfriend who drained him of any happiness. He enjoys the company of the pigeons in the park. However, tears stroll down his face as he walks back home.
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, she says he keeps to himself and nobody in the area really knows him. The way he tilts his head and stares off into space is arousing for her. She wants to know what makes him who he is. She vows to be the woman who changes his point of view regarding love. She says that she can be his savior and teach him about a positive, loving romance.
In the third verse, she says he is perfectly European. His coiffed hair sways elegantly in the wind. She believes even the wind is attracted to him and only appears when he's in the city. She also thinks the woman who dumped him is regretting it now. In her opinion, he's the most handsome man in all the world. He's more handsome than a movie star or an artist, he's just he who he is.
The chorus is sung twice.
At the end, she whispers that she would kill herself if he doesn't go out with her.
The peppy synths close the single.
Sheila E. is obsessed with the man in the city. She's asked people who frequent the park and they've told her what little they know about him. However, she has an entire fantasy built around him. He's a man scorned who needs a woman to prove to him that love exists. She's already decided his ex-girlfriend is evil (she’s heard tidbits but nothing solid) and that she's the one who ruined him. Every day, she goes to the park to see if he's there and try to talk to him. However, she only watches from afar.
Her fanciful vocals are devoted and melodramatic. Not being with him is the end of the world for her. She's invested so much time waiting to talk him and believing in him that she's forgotten herself. O love! Why must it be so hurtful! She's a worshipping fan who has turned an unsuspecting guy into her religion.
The rackety arrangement stalls the momentum of the single. The thudding drum machines and tinny synths distract from Sheila E.
"The Belle Of St. Mark" is well-intentioned but the crazy burgeoning underneath mars it.
Album: The Glamorous Life
Year: 1984
Sheila E. adores a troubled, shy man in the uneven "Belle Of St. Mark."
A bell tolls with ticking synths starts the single. The synth then becomes peppy, setting a garish tone. In the first verse, she says he treats everyone equally and exhibits strong emotions. She's seen him argue in a debate with a friend one day. He was gesturing wildly and at times, spoke loudly that people turned around to see who the voice belonged to. He often wore a suit and was mature for his age.
"The belle of St. Mark was a fair but a passionate creature/Ebony hair and eyes of deep blue-green/The belle of St. Mark wore clothes that belonged to his father/Even though he was only a mere seventeen."
In the chorus, she says she loves him and wishes he could be his girlfriend. Then, she could comfort him as he cries on the steps. If he doesn't return her feelings, it would shake her whole entire being.
"I'm in love/I'm in love/I'm in love /With the belle of St. Mark/It tears me apart whenever I hear him cry/I'm in love/I'm in love/I'm in love/With the belle of St. Mark/And if he doesn't love me I think I'll probably die."
In the second verse, she watches his faraway look and frown upon his face. She believes it was an ex-girlfriend who drained him of any happiness. He enjoys the company of the pigeons in the park. However, tears stroll down his face as he walks back home.
"You can tell from expressions that he makes public/That he suffers from a badly broken heart/He smiles as he feeds the afternoon pigeons/But he cries as he walks the night streets of St. Mark."
The chorus is sung again.
In the bridge, she says he keeps to himself and nobody in the area really knows him. The way he tilts his head and stares off into space is arousing for her. She wants to know what makes him who he is. She vows to be the woman who changes his point of view regarding love. She says that she can be his savior and teach him about a positive, loving romance.
"The belle of St. Mark he don't talk to strangers/He's so mysterious/His erotic persuasion provokes me like no other man/The fire I have for him is undoubtably serious/I must make him see that he needs love to forget/And if anyone can help him, I can/I can help/I can help you."
In the third verse, she says he is perfectly European. His coiffed hair sways elegantly in the wind. She believes even the wind is attracted to him and only appears when he's in the city. She also thinks the woman who dumped him is regretting it now. In her opinion, he's the most handsome man in all the world. He's more handsome than a movie star or an artist, he's just he who he is.
"His Paris hair blows in the warm Parisian air/It blows whenever his Paris hair is there/The woman who hurt him surely must have trouble sleeping/'Cause the belle of St. Mark is a beauty extraordinaire."
The chorus is sung twice.
At the end, she whispers that she would kill herself if he doesn't go out with her.
“And If he doesn't love me I think I'll probably die/And if he doesn't I'll die."
The peppy synths close the single.
Sheila E. is obsessed with the man in the city. She's asked people who frequent the park and they've told her what little they know about him. However, she has an entire fantasy built around him. He's a man scorned who needs a woman to prove to him that love exists. She's already decided his ex-girlfriend is evil (she’s heard tidbits but nothing solid) and that she's the one who ruined him. Every day, she goes to the park to see if he's there and try to talk to him. However, she only watches from afar.
Her fanciful vocals are devoted and melodramatic. Not being with him is the end of the world for her. She's invested so much time waiting to talk him and believing in him that she's forgotten herself. O love! Why must it be so hurtful! She's a worshipping fan who has turned an unsuspecting guy into her religion.
The rackety arrangement stalls the momentum of the single. The thudding drum machines and tinny synths distract from Sheila E.
"The Belle Of St. Mark" is well-intentioned but the crazy burgeoning underneath mars it.