Can Michel Gondry get massive credit for making this video? The building is actually 6 stories laid on the ground. All the window scenes where people are standing up and walking around are actually shot at a large mirror at a 45deg angle while the actors are 90deg to the view and are further down. You can see the mirror angle on the wall at 1:02 and 2:30. All the other shots are well built stages to make you think that gravity is down, but really all the actors are pressing against a wall or chair and gravity is in z-axis, into the screen. The planning and genius this all took to make one seamless shot is so incredible and it almost goes unnoticed until one actor starts throwing a ball up towards the camera. So good. 11/10 directing genius.
I remember tripping acid in NYC one night, walking the tracks. Passing by apartments and buildings, peering inside every lit window from a far. Seeing everyone's personal little world. A little piece of everyone's life as I pass by. This video brings me back to those moments. Wishing and hoping everyone is doing alright.
I had a little girl almost 2 years ago. Things didnt work out between her mom and I, now I go see her when I have time off work. I dont get to see her as much as I would like. I miss her. I come to places like this when I miss her more than I normally do. I adore her. I imagine sometimes when she is older we might listen to this song together, and some of my other favourite songs. Music has always been my solace, my safe place and my saviour. To all the single dads out there- keep strong, and keep your head level. Much love.
Hey BROTHER...sorry to hear tings didnt work out.. I REALLY hope you n ya baby girl are doin brill... I'm a singke dad to a daughter an now have 2 g'daughters Who i love more than i love music ( only just tho JOKE ).. TAKE CARE STAY STRONG YA A FANTASTIC DAD ❤ n ✌ Phil LIVERPOOL uk
Same, I was 15 when this came out. At 17 I would smoke a spliff, my fleece hoodie on, fall to sleep with this playing. I felt so lost and alone. Now I feel alone but not lonely and not lost. I have so much love and so much strength in me now.
At first I thought this song was about romantic love, but actually this song is about all sorts of love. Romantic, parent-child, friendship. It's about sticking up for someone, protecting them and making them stronger, but also accepting them for who they are, flaws and all. We protect the ones we love, and we love the ones who protect us. Parents, siblings, friends, partners.
but also the theme, the lyrics, the video. It all works together to paint a very specific feeling, that has no name, but Massive Attack orchestrated a song, for us to put our finger on it. That's the genius of Massive Attack.
Heard this song once - missed the title as the car I was in went through a tunnel - many years later in a store in Liverpool the girl on the counter play this - the same tremor went through me as the first time - luckily she gave me the title. Know nothing about music - but this is tremendous and so wonderful to hear each time !
You know enough to know this is a great track. This is from Massive Attack's second album Protection. Their next album is their most well known album and my personal favorite. Mezzanine. The vocals you hear in this song belong to Tracey Thorn. You've most likely heard her voice before. She's a part of a duo called Everything But the Girl. They had a really big hit song called Missing. The song was famous but there is a remix of the song that is even more famous.
Hands down one of the best tracks I’ve ever heard. The youth today will never have anything memorable to reflect on the past like our generation did. Was a great time to be alive. Peace and love
As much as I love this song and I loved the music of my generation I completely disagree with you. The youth of today will remember their music just as fondly as we remember ours, just as our parents remember the music from their youth as 'the best'. There's still loads of great music being made today, by the way...
@@jaredburgess8381 There is indeed a load of good new music, but the listening audience is fragmented, and too little opportunity for the artists making the music to gain any real financial reward
Strange, isn't it? When I grew up, I did not at all understand the 50's and 60's music my parents had listened to 10 or 20 years earlier (like Stones, Beatles and Elvis) And although I can appreciate all of the the three today , I'd never put them up on a Spotify playlist. I totally agree with you, though. This song will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Will always be my favourite MA track, and that's no easy feat. There is an intelligence to Massive's music. The spirituality and depth of emotion through the lyrics and chords, that relentless, elongated bass beat and beautiful, simple piano melody...it's timeless and gives me ultra-frisson every time I listen to it (which must be going on 10,000 times since 1995)!
all i want in this life (besides inner peace) is a man who will do just what this song says. be my protection. shield me from the blow. even if shit won't be ok, just make me FEEL like it will be. that's all.
Never turn your back on anyone who is struggling with life and needs a wingman we are all part of something way greater than ourselves! Live to love! Love to live.
The whole movement was just incredibly creative. Not forgetting Tricky, Mo Wax, James Lavelle, DJ Shadow etc. All that music against the back drop of britpop and the club scene too. So much music to choose from. :)
"Stand in front of you... Take the force of the blow... Protection." I never knew what it was like to have someone to be there for me in this way. There was one person in my life that did. I was young, we went our separate ways, but to this day... he was the one. That person who would "stand in front of me". After that... well, I learnt that very few if any will stand in front of you & take the force of the blow.
@@mondoflambe8522 *you, or ~ actually ~ the person Órdering you to write to me will have to be more specific .. Í am not the one using all kinds of $hittY fake names here.._*
England has been and still is the GOAT when it comes to MUSIC. ENGLISHMEN & ENGLISHWOMEN. ... Not Americans, Not Scots, Irish, Swedes, Aussies .. but English. The sheer amount of SUBLIME bands to come from that country overweighs any other country. They've got the numbers.
I'm so glad to see here so many of you appreciating this masterpiece like I do. This song speaks volumes in times like these and the importance of the human soul, and the fact that we are all connected. This has to be one of the most important songs ever composed! Bravo Massive Attack and Tracy Thorn!
Mentally I would play this track over and over in my mind tending to all the people I cared for as a nurse...gave me strength Helped me through some dark times
I once met an old buddhist monk that was giving a buddhist talk on arresting the 5 poisons ( AKA 5 destructive emotions) in us as we go through life to created good karma and cessation of negative karma. He instructed the attendees on reciting some buddhist MANTRA, which is a phrase, rhythmic or musical, again and again, until the negative feeling ceases. I'd like to think that this song is your beautiful mantra for patience and compassion and care for your patients as you help them. The monk also said that one day when we all leave this realm and we reach rhe afterlife, no matter where our negative karmas might impede us, mantras recited with sincerity and positivity would transport us to a place or state of being that is reflective of the mantra's purpose and purity. When i read what you wrote, i'd like to imagine sometime in the future when you move beyond this world, it is this, your beautiful mantra that will bring you a place of protection too.
I love this comment! My mother Roberta(RIP)was a nurse .. she was such a caring and beautiful person.. much peace and love to all the nurses out there! The ones that truly care!! You are appreciated!
Starting in the mid to late 90s, I would periodically catch a few seconds of this song while watching episodes of the first few seasons of the real world, but I was never able to find out any information about this track. No internet, mid 90s, you know the rest. It wasn’t until 2005, and completely by chance that I finally found this gem. Words could scarcely convey the absolute fucking elation and gratification I experienced when the case of the magical mystery song was finally brought to justice. Surely, everyone has had mystery songs that took a short eternity for them to find. What an experience to have.
I had that same situation with Unfinished Symphony. Just kept catching bits of it, couldn't quite remember the lyrics. Then boom - full track (and the internet existed). Immediately bought Blue Lines.
Two come to mind. Pulstar by Vangelis. Heard it as a kid in the UK. in the mid 70's as the theme tune for a tv show on the BBC but never knew what it was called. Took seventeen years to find out that one when a mate at college stuck on a random tape one night and started blaring it out. Even better though was Unsquare Dance by Dave Brubeck. Same basic start to the story but it only concluded when the yt algorithm shoved it under my nose about four years ago.
Massive Attack have this amazing way of transporting you somewhere else with their music. When you lie down, meditating to them through headphones, taking in every little layer with your eyes closed, its close to ecstasy.
Thank you Tracey Thorn for singing like a bird. Bless you girl. my wife walked down the aisle to this. gives me butterflies everytime This masterpiece is definitely in the top 5 best trip hop songs ever.
I want to share a little story that just happened a few days ago, relating to this song. Living in a place where English is not the first language, and K-pop becomes a major part for the local music radio stations, I kind of wonder who still remember this song here. But, a few days ago, in a thunder stormed summer afternoon with sudden heavy rain, I went into a bakery store for a job interview. I sat on a chair waiting for the interviewer/shop manager to be ready. At the moment I was worried because I kind of regretted making this appointment with the HR person after thinking twice about the position I applied and I had no idea what to say to the interviewer. Then, amid in my worries, watching the big heavy rain falling outside the shop windows, somehow I started hearing "Protection"--from its very first beat--and then, the voice of Tracey Thorn. The interviewer was still very busy with the things in her store, so I kept on sitting there and listening to the whole song playing. I had no idea why it was played but I was happy to hear it. It sounded like a warm greetings from an old friend, arriving at the time you just needed some support. The interview started after the song ended. I was never well-spoken at this kind of occasion, but the interviewer was quite friendly and she said it's okay if I felt this job was not for me. So I left the store and went back home. I will never forget this mysterious encounter with "Protection"--amid a sub-tropical summer afternoon thunder storm, before a job interview, when I felt worried and needed support. "Protection" also ended with some heavy rain sounds...this coincidence is so amazing!
My first time hearing this; boarding a flight on Virgin Atlantic from Los Angeles to London in August 1996. This was playing over the speakers on the plane. Amazing times.
So proud to be part of that late 80's, full 90's and early 2000's generation. Genius track and still as fresh 22 years on. Tracey's voice is like a healing medicine. Thank you Tracey Thorn for singing like a bird. Bless you girl.
Great song, Great Music, Great Band, Great Tracey Thorn. "Protection" is a musical diamond. Massive Attack has been horribly missed since "Heligoland." Please, guys, a new album will bring so much happiness in this sad world.
This song literally makes me cry when I hear it; the lyrics are so powerful and beautiful. I want someone to love me like this . . . I stand in front of you, take the force of the blow . . . protection . . . wow.
Same here man. We r old now but we were part of something amazing. Nowadays ppl don't know some many good vibes and values. Just fucking social media and shity non worthy plastic music in media.
You mean the last generation to not have its soul completely stolen by the Internet? Yes, I wish I was younger. Being in your early 40s ain't cute. But so grateful that I got to experience the world when it was real and not just this digital crap.
The moment I heard this song for the first time, it completely changed my idea of what kind of music was out there. I was already starting to explore electronic music but more on the Orbital, Underworld, Daft Punk Homework side of things. This showed me a chiller, more gentle side of electronic music. Still an all time favorite of mine. God the 90s had some good music.
16 years without alcohol. NEVER stop trying to get sober. DON'T GIVE UP. I THOUGHT I'd never succeed, but I did. I believe that YOU can do what I did. JUST DON'T GIVE UP- EVER.
God, I love this song. I love the way it drifts along, really sad and melancholy and the empty chair at the end after he's given his daughter back does me in. :(
Shout out to all trauma survivors who feel this in their soul. Believe you can heal, know you are loved. You are here for a special purpose, hang on 💖💖💖
Likewise shout out to all of the empathetic people out there that have seen people hurting or suffering and decided that though walking away could be easiest, that they couldn't forgive themselves if they left that person there just the way they found them.
I rediscovered this song 10 years ago. I was going through a time of positive change while being in dark. With hindsight I was getting some relief from trauma. One girl had a special influende on me and had a handle on my musical world. I would go on youtube and rediscover music from the past and hear things I had never heard before. Her influence is deep and special. I know when I am dying she will be with me when I am close to the exit; it makes me more at ease with the prospect that life ends at one point. Before I get to that point I will talk about her when I am high as a kite on pain relief and nobody except for one friend will know who I am talking about. This song caught a dark and calm place; it allowed me to hold something fragile in the dark. I played it multiple times a day. The calm and dark was in the interval between the beats of the snare drum like the other aspects of the song were of lesser importance giving it a slow pacing. I never read the comments. The song strikes various chords with people. Listening to the song and reading some of the comments allows me to cry some realizing surviving takes up so much that you forget to come down. I have always marveled about the combination of Tracey Thorn and Massive Attack. Tracey Thorn bringing vulnerability as we have come to expect from her and that worked strangely yet marvelously with the hard hitting guys from MA. They toned down while still maintaing strong and dark with a physical presence tending to, adding layer of gentleness and protecting the vulnerability and strength that Tracey Thorn voices. There is so much to say about this song as all the posts are reflecting and I hand the comment batton to others.
Nada Kurdi For me: 1.- This one. Protection - Massive Attack 2.- Portishead - Cowboys 3.- Telepopmusik - Breathe 4.- Thievery Corporation - Any song you could pick here LOL them are perfection always. 5.- Koop - Modal Mile (2 banks of 4 rmx) Nothng better that that LOL.
lived 2 month in Bristol for a aviation maintenance assignment. walking in that city streets everyday i could feel deep in my guts why massive attack music has that dark and depressing tone which stay with you forever
11 months in my case. Portishead were still big, although the place was a bit of a let-down. Massive Attack just were in everything ... Many hours spent at Temple Meads, the balloon festival over Hotwells, the Aussies got hammered in the Ashes for the first time in forever, the Airbus 380 made its maiden flight over the RR works, I watched it from down at the Cumberland Basin. Breakfasting at North Street diners, watching the worst Star Wars film ever up in Cribbs Causeway (never saw the Clown Wars or whatever it is called), walking the Downs at night, Coffee in Gloucester Road, waiting for my car to get fixed ... Good days, weird days. Then I moved to the East Midlands and a new chapter started.
James Brown sample, Tracey Thorns’ voice! Excellent excavated snippet, alongside a lovely vocal give!. It just does not get tired! It’ll never get tired!
A rare combination of both a perfect music video and a perfect song. I just watched this on my smart phone on my windshield mount while looking at the skyline of San Francisco at night. Amazing.
how can we put a thumbs down on this wonderful music video, this excellent song and sung by Tracey Thorn, besides .. the best English singer for a very long time ...
This isn't a song...this is medicine !!
Two spoons please!
@@SOINEANTAPÁISTE also a sidecar of Morcheebas' best please!
yes it is.
Its a lame song guys
Perfectly sums this up!! Thanks
Can Michel Gondry get massive credit for making this video? The building is actually 6 stories laid on the ground. All the window scenes where people are standing up and walking around are actually shot at a large mirror at a 45deg angle while the actors are 90deg to the view and are further down. You can see the mirror angle on the wall at 1:02 and 2:30. All the other shots are well built stages to make you think that gravity is down, but really all the actors are pressing against a wall or chair and gravity is in z-axis, into the screen. The planning and genius this all took to make one seamless shot is so incredible and it almost goes unnoticed until one actor starts throwing a ball up towards the camera. So good. 11/10 directing genius.
I'm too dumb to understand the explanation about the mirrors but I came here because I've learnt the video was taken in 1 shot..
It's one of my favorite videos. A true work or art.
Its a great video accompanying a great song.
yes it's a masterpiece in set design and carpentry...plus this song still haunts me to this day
To quote Monty Python: "It's only a model".
This is what you call a "Timeless Classic" ❤
❤ hey you are not going.myeyesng.
Onyou
This, Teardrop, Unfinished Sympathy and Sneaker Pimps' 6 Underground on a loop would be heaven
And Angel
57 year old male here. And even after all these years I just tear up when here this...Soooo deep . Massive attack are another level
53 per me, d'accordo con te Per quanto riguarda i Massive Attack! Saranno sempre contemporanei. Ciao amico
I'm 56 , same for me , was working in Skegness painting Butlins when this came on , almost got sacked turned up full blast on a Boom Box ....
Tracy Thorn is spectacular all the time❤
For me, Massive Attack is one of the Best bands ever!
Absolutely
Not only for you! 😊👍
Amen!
Loved everything they did since Unfinished Sympathy. They should be called 'Massive Underated'.
I remember tripping acid in NYC one night, walking the tracks. Passing by apartments and buildings, peering inside every lit window from a far. Seeing everyone's personal little world. A little piece of everyone's life as I pass by. This video brings me back to those moments. Wishing and hoping everyone is doing alright.
Thanks internet friend
I love this
Playmobile world. Everything so small trully.
I used to do the same thing in the uk miss them fun days😅
Golden
Its astonishing the amount of brilliant music that has come out of the British Isles over the last 60 years.
It really is
just realysed it is so!!
You’re welcome 😉
🇺🇸 ⚡️ DeeTroit Techno City ✨ ;D 🇬🇧 🇮🇪
Grabs your comment.
I had a little girl almost 2 years ago. Things didnt work out between her mom and I, now I go see her when I have time off work. I dont get to see her as much as I would like. I miss her. I come to places like this when I miss her more than I normally do. I adore her. I imagine sometimes when she is older we might listen to this song together, and some of my other favourite songs. Music has always been my solace, my safe place and my saviour. To all the single dads out there- keep strong, and keep your head level. Much love.
Make her a mixtape of your favourite tunes that you want to share with her.
She’ll always have a Daddy💜Daughter soundtrack to listen to.
Hey BROTHER...sorry to hear tings didnt work out..
I REALLY hope you n ya baby girl are doin brill...
I'm a singke dad to a daughter an now have 2 g'daughters
Who i love more than i love music ( only just tho JOKE )..
TAKE CARE STAY STRONG
YA A FANTASTIC DAD
❤ n ✌
Phil LIVERPOOL uk
Single dad fistbump, mate 👊
I feel U man. You're comment, alcohol and this song hit me so hard.
I was 15 when this song came out, 29 years later I am still listening to this. This song is timeless.
Same, I was 15 when this came out. At 17 I would smoke a spliff, my fleece hoodie on, fall to sleep with this playing. I felt so lost and alone. Now I feel alone but not lonely and not lost. I have so much love and so much strength in me now.
Tracey Thorn has one hell of a voice.
15 year old here now. Had no idea this was twice as old as I am. Time is weird. 😵💫
you mean came out on youtube? this song came out 1994.
Rip Bradley. Hope you're hearing this in heaven.
CLASSIC
Tracey Thorn, one of the greatest female voices in pop music ever!
Sublime voice and presence
The girl had everything
Absolutely! Totally and criminally underrated!
She don't get no respect
Magic ☮️👍
After 1000 years this will be still timeless
This is one of the best songs ever made.
Soul music is found every now and then :)
Hell yeah homies😎🙌🙌🙌
Justin Dawson ...and music videos.
@@Marv_0815 Gondry. Always brilliant!
Tracey Thom! absolutely sheer underestimated class vocals, instantly recognisable voice!
My dad used to play this . Rest in peace . You opened up my ears to some amazing music x
I'd love to have met your father. Greetings from Mexico.
I lived in Bristol for a year.
I never met him but I love your dad
Lost my dad two months ago. I can relate to this. He also loved Massive Attack x
My condolences listening to this song is like your father were protecting you
🙏🙏Like Mine played Guitar...... Your Dad May be with mine somewhere playing Music......... 😔🌠🌠🌠🌠🌠
This song is fucking immortal.
Why wouldn’t it be?
Indeed
Word.
yes it is.
just wanted to share my memory: Berlin, about 1998, going back home by S-Bahn from night shift. in my walkman (!) THIS song. never forget.
I could listen to any Massive Attack song for 24 hours and I'd still not get tired of it.
Spectacular band.
At first I thought this song was about romantic love, but actually this song is about all sorts of love. Romantic, parent-child, friendship. It's about sticking up for someone, protecting them and making them stronger, but also accepting them for who they are, flaws and all. We protect the ones we love, and we love the ones who protect us. Parents, siblings, friends, partners.
Perfect!!
Yep!
yep!
I love her voice. This song is a trip without drugs. Thanks.
Who needs drugs when you can really connect to music?
Amanda H Exactly!
I remember that time in the mid 90s when this CD dropped. After all those years it never got old.
Three things I like the most about this song:
1 - Tracey Thorn's voice!
2 - The beats!
3 - The part where the piano starts till the very end!
4 - everything
@@caleron0 Yup!
the rain drops at the end :)
@@audioamateur I forgot about the rain, dude!
but also the theme, the lyrics, the video. It all works together to paint a very specific feeling, that has no name, but Massive Attack orchestrated a song, for us to put our finger on it. That's the genius of Massive Attack.
you can't change the way she feels
But you could put your arms around her... Amazing and powerful lyrics ❤️❤️
You should always be able to put your arm around her xx
@@scrimblenib *Ánd hIs?!!!*
The singer is the lead singer from Everything but the Girl
Yes
Massive Attack's best track since Unfinished Sympathy
the planet has fallen off it's spindle. Protection is what we all need. thanks Massive Attack
No matter how time will pass, this track will remain one of the best ever. It's so deep...
Genius track and still as fresh 22 years on. Tracey's voice is like a healing medicine.
Still is now ❤
Word Bro Sounds goes in the Soul ❣️
Quarter of a century now!
to M
Tracey Thorn........... drum and bass a marriage in heaven
This song hits hard, reminding me of a world and place than no longer exists.
Agree 🙌
Same here.
Only discovered this track recently. Unbelieveable. It bypasses your ears and goes straight into your soul.
Live with me too
Heard this song once - missed the title as the car I was in went through a tunnel - many years later in a store in Liverpool the girl on the counter play this - the same tremor went through me as the first time - luckily she gave me the title. Know nothing about music - but this is tremendous and so wonderful to hear each time !
You know enough to know this is a great track. This is from Massive Attack's second album Protection. Their next album is their most well known album and my personal favorite. Mezzanine.
The vocals you hear in this song belong to Tracey Thorn. You've most likely heard her voice before. She's a part of a duo called Everything But the Girl. They had a really big hit song called Missing. The song was famous but there is a remix of the song that is even more famous.
@@MrWeezeloner She also had a stint with Paul Weller's Band Style Council, everything her voice touches turns to gold literally!
@@thefairyqueen369 She's a treasure. And Everything But The Girl put out an album recently. There's a video on TH-cam.
I love all intellectual, intelligent, spiritual and honest human beings... Sure there are many of you watching this....
*How 'bout the crazy, Lazy ones who've got norhing to give? From **#Karmacoma** X :-)*
So nice and refreshing to hear of someone with such positive vibration , karen morris 😇😄
@@Dayda-7 *emoji's are ~ in a way ~ dangerous things :-) I now wonder if / how Karen & Robert are related ...Will you free me from curiosity?*
We r one of the same karen is my night name and Rob my day 🤣😇
@@Dayda-7 *wishing Rob a good day, and ~ for Later ~ Karen, have a good night*
One of the greatest musical compositions ever made. Period.
Hands down one of the best tracks I’ve ever heard. The youth today will never have anything memorable to reflect on the past like our generation did. Was a great time to be alive. Peace and love
As much as I love this song and I loved the music of my generation I completely disagree with you. The youth of today will remember their music just as fondly as we remember ours, just as our parents remember the music from their youth as 'the best'.
There's still loads of great music being made today, by the way...
all they have is tiktok and instagram..
@@mindlessthought3296 That's such an unintelligent comment.
@@jaredburgess8381 There is indeed a load of good new music, but the listening audience is fragmented, and too little opportunity for the artists making the music to gain any real financial reward
💯👌🎉❤
Decades of her voice. Very calming. Something so simple that adds to one's life. A stranger's voice. Crazy.
I will always remember Massive Attack for the beauty of their lyrics, the sweetness of the vocalist's voice and the innovative sound and videoclips.
Just been reading Tracy Thorns biography, she says she wrote the lyrics in 10 minutes !
30 years after..who’s listening? Me!
Yo Yo Yo !!!!
Long live the 90's
Gen X 4Eva !!!!!!!!!!!!
And me as well
I just played this song for my 9-year-old for the first time. I think he really liked it.
I
I listen now, the time is only one impression
A perfect song. Astonishing still, almost 27 years later.
@@wonkyal3097 Why does less informed necessarily equate to Blur and Oasis ? Bit of an uneccesssarily subjective overgeneralisation that isn't it ?
Strange, isn't it? When I grew up, I did not at all understand the 50's and 60's music my parents had listened to 10 or 20 years earlier (like Stones, Beatles and Elvis) And although I can appreciate all of the the three today , I'd never put them up on a Spotify playlist. I totally agree with you, though. This song will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Make that 30
@@mortisxx5712
Timeless song, don't even want to call it a classic, it is a masterpiece I get goosebumps every time I hear it, 2024.
Will always be my favourite MA track, and that's no easy feat. There is an intelligence to Massive's music. The spirituality and depth of emotion through the lyrics and chords, that relentless, elongated bass beat and beautiful, simple piano melody...it's timeless and gives me ultra-frisson every time I listen to it (which must be going on 10,000 times since 1995)!
Same here 😊✌️✌️
all i want in this life (besides inner peace) is a man who will do just what this song says. be my protection. shield me from the blow. even if shit won't be ok, just make me FEEL like it will be.
that's all.
Still gives me chills. As a parent it reaches me so much more than it did when I first heard and loved it.
I know exactly what you mean.
Massive Attack have done so many brilliant tunes, but this is the best. Tracey Thorn's vocals are sublime.
Never turn your back on anyone who is struggling with life and needs a wingman we are all part of something way greater than ourselves! Live to love! Love to live.
This is a covering velvet for any fragile human soul. Protection. Masterpiece in every sense.
Tracey Thorn is one of greatest singers the UK has ever produced (:
Thank you Massive Attack for your music ❤
Thank you Michel Gondry for this amazing video ❤
What Massive Attack, EBTG and Portishead (and probably others) did during that period was groundbreaking, no less.
Add faithless,evanescence,cypress hill
I was there at their peak...heady days...pure nostalgia
So true. Massive Attack and Portishead literally changed my mind during the 90´s. I just can thank them.
The whole movement was just incredibly creative. Not forgetting Tricky, Mo Wax, James Lavelle, DJ Shadow etc. All that music against the back drop of britpop and the club scene too. So much music to choose from. :)
Bristol.
"Stand in front of you...
Take the force of the blow...
Protection."
I never knew what it was like to have someone to be there for me in this way. There was one person in my life that did. I was young, we went our separate ways, but to this day... he was the one. That person who would "stand in front of me". After that... well, I learnt that very few if any will stand in front of you & take the force of the blow.
The world needs this song more than ever in 2020-21 !
*How now if you'd want to embrace someone, or the other way 'round?*
@@enricovankeeken9503 or maybe likewise sideways ?
@@mondoflambe8522 *you, or ~ actually ~ the person Órdering you to write to me will have to be more specific .. Í am not the one using all kinds of $hittY fake names here.._*
England has been and still is the GOAT when it comes to MUSIC. ENGLISHMEN & ENGLISHWOMEN. ... Not Americans, Not Scots, Irish, Swedes, Aussies .. but English. The sheer amount of SUBLIME bands to come from that country overweighs any other country. They've got the numbers.
Still sounds utterly brilliant..Tracey Thorn is such an underrated singer and the way the music builds is genius..
I'm so glad to see here so many of you appreciating this masterpiece like I do. This song speaks volumes in times like these and the importance of the human soul, and the fact that we are all connected. This has to be one of the most important songs ever composed! Bravo Massive Attack and Tracy Thorn!
Mentally I would play this track over and over in my mind tending to all the people I cared for as a nurse...gave me strength
Helped me through some dark times
That's really nice 🙂
I once met an old buddhist monk that was giving a buddhist talk on arresting the 5 poisons ( AKA 5 destructive emotions) in us as we go through life to created good karma and cessation of negative karma.
He instructed the attendees on reciting some buddhist MANTRA, which is a phrase, rhythmic or musical, again and again, until the negative feeling ceases.
I'd like to think that this song is your beautiful mantra for patience and compassion and care for your patients as you help them.
The monk also said that one day when we all leave this realm and we reach rhe afterlife, no matter where our negative karmas might impede us, mantras recited with sincerity and positivity would transport us to a place or state of being that is reflective of the mantra's purpose and purity.
When i read what you wrote, i'd like to imagine sometime in the future when you move beyond this world, it is this, your beautiful mantra that will bring you a place of protection too.
That's beautiful!
Thank you...
I love this comment! My mother Roberta(RIP)was a nurse .. she was such a caring and beautiful person.. much peace and love to all the nurses out there! The ones that truly care!! You are appreciated!
Starting in the mid to late 90s, I would periodically catch a few seconds of this song while watching episodes of the first few seasons of the real world, but I was never able to find out any information about this track. No internet, mid 90s, you know the rest. It wasn’t until 2005, and completely by chance that I finally found this gem. Words could scarcely convey the absolute fucking elation and gratification I experienced when the case of the magical mystery song was finally brought to justice. Surely, everyone has had mystery songs that took a short eternity for them to find. What an experience to have.
The same happened to me a couple of times. Fellow 90ies kid, here.😊
I had that same situation with Unfinished Symphony. Just kept catching bits of it, couldn't quite remember the lyrics. Then boom - full track (and the internet existed). Immediately bought Blue Lines.
Luv your comment.
Two come to mind.
Pulstar by Vangelis. Heard it as a kid in the UK. in the mid 70's as the theme tune for a tv show on the BBC but never knew what it was called. Took seventeen years to find out that one when a mate at college stuck on a random tape one night and started blaring it out.
Even better though was Unsquare Dance by Dave Brubeck. Same basic start to the story but it only concluded when the yt algorithm shoved it under my nose about four years ago.
A world before Shazam..
I remember : in France i was 15 years old, walk in the street after school in winter. This song in m'y walk man! A Big moment in m'y life
The world is mad. I go out the back and put the music on. I play this all the time. I will love it forever.
There's something soothing about this song.
In case you want to hear what a perfect song sounds like.....Please hit replay! Peace from Detroit MI.
Always wanted this as the first dance at my wedding. My ex didn't. Really glad now as I can still listen to it without a bad memory.
Massive Attack have this amazing way of transporting you somewhere else with their music. When you lie down, meditating to them through headphones, taking in every little layer with your eyes closed, its close to ecstasy.
twat
This is the best kind of music for downtime from work
neosoundstv Tracey’s voice just adds to it very much!
absolutely right!
You should try some with ecstasy
Tracey Thorne is just amazing on this track. Love Massive attack ❤️
MASSIVE MASTERPIECE OF MEDICINAL MUSIC!!!!
Thank you Tracey Thorn for singing like a bird. Bless you girl.
my wife walked down the aisle to this. gives me butterflies everytime
This masterpiece is definitely in the top 5 best trip hop songs ever.
If only people could understand the feeling i get when i hear this....indescribable perfection!
The movie "One Day" brought me here. Beautiful song.❤
Me too. I forgot it and was so thankful to hear it again. ❤️
Food for the soul - a true classic masterpiece that I'll never grow tired of listening to ❤
I want to share a little story that just happened a few days ago, relating to this song. Living in a place where English is not the first language, and K-pop becomes a major part for the local music radio stations, I kind of wonder who still remember this song here. But, a few days ago, in a thunder stormed summer afternoon with sudden heavy rain, I went into a bakery store for a job interview. I sat on a chair waiting for the interviewer/shop manager to be ready. At the moment I was worried because I kind of regretted making this appointment with the HR person after thinking twice about the position I applied and I had no idea what to say to the interviewer. Then, amid in my worries, watching the big heavy rain falling outside the shop windows, somehow I started hearing "Protection"--from its very first beat--and then, the voice of Tracey Thorn. The interviewer was still very busy with the things in her store, so I kept on sitting there and listening to the whole song playing. I had no idea why it was played but I was happy to hear it. It sounded like a warm greetings from an old friend, arriving at the time you just needed some support.
The interview started after the song ended. I was never well-spoken at this kind of occasion, but the interviewer was quite friendly and she said it's okay if I felt this job was not for me. So I left the store and went back home. I will never forget this mysterious encounter with "Protection"--amid a sub-tropical summer afternoon thunder storm, before a job interview, when I felt worried and needed support. "Protection" also ended with some heavy rain sounds...this coincidence is so amazing!
That 303 bass is like butter!
yeah definitively :)
Exactly 30 years ago. Thank you from the bottom of our heart.
My first time hearing this; boarding a flight on Virgin Atlantic from Los Angeles to London in August 1996. This was playing over the speakers on the plane. Amazing times.
Глаз не оторвать - шикарный клип! Таких сейчас не делают, тут уметь надо. Спасибо!
So proud to be part of that late 80's, full 90's and early 2000's generation.
Genius track and still as fresh 22 years on. Tracey's voice is like a healing medicine.
Thank you Tracey Thorn for singing like a bird. Bless you girl.
why just late 80`s ? 82 - 85 are greatest!
This song is so deep. I've always loved this song but as I get older it's lyrics have become more meaningful.
WHAT A GREAT SONG !!
Great song, Great Music, Great Band, Great Tracey Thorn. "Protection" is a musical diamond. Massive Attack has been horribly missed since "Heligoland." Please, guys, a new album will bring so much happiness in this sad world.
This song literally makes me cry when I hear it; the lyrics are so powerful and beautiful. I want someone to love me like this . . . I stand in front of you, take the force of the blow . . . protection . . . wow.
+Bruhh Yeah, it has been a few months for me. Being lonely helped me find Portishead then Trip Hop.
totally agreed.
It reminds me in my Techno Club Times Drugs Crazy life today i Protectet myself Im older but Crazy beautyfull Times .....
I dont know you but i will love you like that
Never quite thought about it until i read this comment
So proud to be part of that late 80's, full 90's and early 2000's generation.
Same Here.
Great isn't it? 😁
Best music era for sure
Same here man. We r old now but we were part of something amazing. Nowadays ppl don't know some many good vibes and values. Just fucking social media and shity non worthy plastic music in media.
You mean the last generation to not have its soul completely stolen by the Internet?
Yes, I wish I was younger. Being in your early 40s ain't cute. But so grateful that I got to experience the world when it was real and not just this digital crap.
I'm going on 57...all I can say right now, is "daayamn'! Not forgotten emotions of my youth...and classic musical interest. Both heard. TY
The moment I heard this song for the first time, it completely changed my idea of what kind of music was out there. I was already starting to explore electronic music but more on the Orbital, Underworld, Daft Punk Homework side of things. This showed me a chiller, more gentle side of electronic music. Still an all time favorite of mine.
God the 90s had some good music.
16 years without alcohol.
NEVER stop trying to get sober.
DON'T GIVE UP.
I THOUGHT I'd never succeed, but I did.
I believe that YOU can do what I did.
JUST DON'T GIVE UP- EVER.
This is art...AND music.
Piece of art
Protection. Beautiful piece of the sacred chalice.The holy grail you’d do anything for
Great band, great music, great writers and producers.
God, I love this song. I love the way it drifts along, really sad and melancholy and the empty chair at the end after he's given his daughter back does me in. :(
My favorite Massive Attack song, such a dope beat and that voice over it.
This is one of the most powerful songs ever made, Love it to this day
Song of the siren is damm sweet
Tracey thorn is magic. This simply is an excellent example of brilliant music from the 90s.
Make them like this anymore, I doubt it
Defo. The 90's was a top era for music, Massive Attack played their part. I won't bother telling you my views on current 'music' haha ;-)
Shout out to all trauma survivors who feel this in their soul. Believe you can heal, know you are loved. You are here for a special purpose, hang on 💖💖💖
Love what u said there definitely struck a chord in my heart.
God bless xx
Thank you💖
Likewise shout out to all of the empathetic people out there that have seen people hurting or suffering and decided that though walking away could be easiest, that they couldn't forgive themselves if they left that person there just the way they found them.
Love to live, live to love especially if it didn’t happen to you 💚
I rediscovered this song 10 years ago. I was going through a time of positive change while being in dark. With hindsight I was getting some relief from trauma. One girl had a special influende on me and had a handle on my musical world. I would go on youtube and rediscover music from the past and hear things I had never heard before.
Her influence is deep and special. I know when I am dying she will be with me when I am close to the exit; it makes me more at ease with the prospect that life ends at one point. Before I get to that point I will talk about her when I am high as a kite on pain relief and nobody except for one friend will know who I am talking about.
This song caught a dark and calm place; it allowed me to hold something fragile in the dark. I played it multiple times a day. The calm and dark was in the interval between the beats of the snare drum like the other aspects of the song were of lesser importance giving it a slow pacing.
I never read the comments. The song strikes various chords with people. Listening to the song and reading some of the comments allows me to cry some realizing surviving takes up so much that you forget to come down.
I have always marveled about the combination of Tracey Thorn and Massive Attack. Tracey Thorn bringing vulnerability as we have come to expect from her and that worked strangely yet marvelously with the hard hitting guys from MA. They toned down while still maintaing strong and dark with a physical presence tending to, adding layer of gentleness and protecting the vulnerability and strength that Tracey Thorn voices.
There is so much to say about this song as all the posts are reflecting and I hand the comment batton to others.
Haunting, daring and moving. This makes me cry. There is so much talent involved, in my humble opinion one of the best ever - so underrated.
Couldnt have said it better
Just hit 2025. 31 years later and still one of the greatest songs of all time.
You will never know what your music means to me. Thank you.
❤
Massive Attack is always smooth, and this song just is the perfect example of why I would pay to go see them again and again.
love my wife, want to protect her from harm. wrap myself around her to protect her from all the harm she is doing to herself.
One of the most beautiful things ever made.
This masterpiece is definitely in the top 5 best trip hop songs ever.
Mark Zane Number One without any doubt for me.
Mark Zane #1 trip hop song of all time. It doesn't get any better. Tracey's vocals are absolutely brilliant. It's perfection!
Mark Zane Whats in your top five?
Nada Kurdi For me:
1.- This one. Protection - Massive Attack
2.- Portishead - Cowboys
3.- Telepopmusik - Breathe
4.- Thievery Corporation - Any song you could pick here LOL them are perfection always.
5.- Koop - Modal Mile (2 banks of 4 rmx)
Nothng better that that LOL.
DnPoe Good choice. :-)
This song is more Sunday than Sunday itself.
Fo real
lived 2 month in Bristol for a aviation maintenance assignment.
walking in that city streets everyday i could feel deep in my guts why massive attack music has that dark and depressing tone which stay with you forever
I was in the city time ago for business.. I perfectly understand what you mean..the city "plays" in that way.
11 months in my case. Portishead were still big, although the place was a bit of a let-down. Massive Attack just were in everything ...
Many hours spent at Temple Meads, the balloon festival over Hotwells, the Aussies got hammered in the Ashes for the first time in forever, the Airbus 380 made its maiden flight over the RR works, I watched it from down at the Cumberland Basin. Breakfasting at North Street diners, watching the worst Star Wars film ever up in Cribbs Causeway (never saw the Clown Wars or whatever it is called), walking the Downs at night, Coffee in Gloucester Road, waiting for my car to get fixed ... Good days, weird days.
Then I moved to the East Midlands and a new chapter started.
Huh..I'm an A & P for United Airlines at LAX..
These experiences are deep
astro farhi I’m Bristol born and bred. It’s a fantastic city to live in.
James Brown sample, Tracey Thorns’ voice!
Excellent excavated snippet, alongside a lovely vocal give!. It just does not get tired!
It’ll never get tired!
The Payback JB 👏👍
A rare combination of both a perfect music video and a perfect song. I just watched this on my smart phone on my windshield mount while looking at the skyline of San Francisco at night. Amazing.
Truly amazing!
Jealous
Natasha JordanB I'm sure you have cool places to see. SF is also terrible in many way : )
Não, nada haver, essa música é pra se escutar em uma tarde chuvosa de outono.
Ian Brown F.E.A.R is a good tune if you have not found it yet .
how can we put a thumbs down on this wonderful music video, this excellent song and sung by Tracey Thorn, besides .. the best English singer for a very long time ...
Love the atmosphere of this song. The sequence from minute 4:38 till the end is glorious.
Love this vibe sitting watching people go by ❤