Broken English

Style and Themes

Faithfull’s immediately preceding albums, Dreaming My Dreams and Faithless (which in fact shared some tracks), had been in a relatively gentle folk or country and western style. Broken English was a radical departure, featuring a contemporary fusion of rock, punk, new wave and dance, with liberal use of synthesizers. After a number of years of drug abuse, Faithfull’s voice was in a lower register, far raspier, and had a more world-weary quality than in the past that matched the often raw emotions expressed in the newer songs.

The album’s title track took inspiration from terrorist figures of the time, particularly Ulrike Meinhof of the Baader-Meinhof group. “Guilt” was informed by the Catholic upbringing of the singer and her composer Barry Reynolds. “The Ballad of Lucy Jordan”, originally performed by Dr Hook, was a melancholy tale of middle class housewife’s disillusionment; Faithfull’s version became something of an anthem and was used on the soundtracks to the films Montenegro (1981) and Thelma and Louise (1991). “What’s the Hurry?” was described by Faithfull as reflecting the everyday desperation of the habitual drug user. Her cover of John Lennon’s “Working Class Hero”, recorded as a tribute to her own heroes such as Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, David Bowie and Iggy Pop, and Lennon himself, was widely praised.

The last track, “Why D’Ya Do It?”, was a caustic, graphic rant of a woman reacting to her lover’s infidelity.