Savage Garden, Darren Hayes, and “Two Beds and a Coffee Machine”

Not knowing a whole lot about the Australian group, Savage Garden, I decided to look up a little bit about them. After all, I have many happy memories of listening to Savage Garden songs in the past. “Affirmation” used to be one of my favorite songs – and the lyrics still bring a smile to my face. So many truths in just a few minutes of song…it boggles my mind! “Truly Madly Deeply” and “I Knew I Loved You” had me holding on to romantic ideals and kept me dreaming of finding “Mr. Right”. “Crash and Burn” made me feel better when I was feeling down. Each of these songs could make me smile, but there was one Savage Garden song I would listen to and sometimes feel sad… “Two Beds and a Coffee Machine”. This particular song made me feel lucky for my personal situation – my amazing family and great friends – but want to cry out for everyone who didn’t have it as good as I did growing up.

When I stumbled upon a biography of Savage Garden’s singer, Darren Hayes, I was shocked by what it had to say. From the biography, I have developed the unfortunate theory that “Two Beds and a Coffee Machine” is actually an account of his childhood. I looked and couldn’t find any concrete evidence to back up my theory…which is why I am calling it a theory and not stating it as a fact. However, the things I read in his biography match up too perfectly with the lyrics for it to be an accident.

In the biography, Paul Flynn tells of Hayes’ past. One line in particular caught my attention – “In the early 80s, on the run from his Father’s violence and alcoholism he was just 10 when his Mother took him and his siblings to live in a caravan to escape regular scenes of violence.”

Flynn also describes a revelation Hayes had in 2004, “My whole career as a big commercial pop artist was fed through self-hatred, basically. It was all about escapism in a fraudulent way. I became a pop star because I knew I had to become something extraordinary to escape”.

Already taken aback by what I had read, Paul Flynn then pointed out that, “If you trace a line through the work of both Savage Garden and Darren Hayes solo, there is a recurring theme of being unloved and unlovable.” Surely that can’t be true! Savage Garden songs always make me smile – they must be happy and romantic, right? Not subtly depressing! But sure enough, listening closely to the lyrics again made me realize that the undertones of insecurity and pain were definitely there. It seems, though, that in some cases, the person Hayes is “singing to” is the one who is lonely, pained, and needing love. In these songs, he offers up love, comfort, and security in his words. Perhaps some of the lyrics he sings are actually things he wishes people would say to him.

After reading up a little bit on Darren Hayes and comparing what I had read to lyrics from some of the songs, I feel it’s safe to say he communicates some of his past through his music. The lyrics of “Two Beds and a Coffee Machine” tell a sad story about domestic abuse.

Two Beds and a Coffee Machine

And she takes another step
Slowly she opens the door
Check that he is sleeping
Pick up all the broken glass
And furniture on the floor
Been up half the night screaming
Now it’s time to get away
Pack up the kids in the car
Another bruise to try and hide
Another alibi to write

Another ditch in the road You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Wonder how I ever made it through

And there are children to think of
Baby’s asleep in the back seat
Wonder how they’ll ever make it
Through this living nightmare
But the mind is an amazing thing
Full of candy dreams and new toys
And another cheap hotel
Two beds and a coffee machine
But there are groceries to buy
And she knows she’ll have to go home

Another ditch in the road
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Wonder how I ever made it through

Another bruise to try and hide

Another alibi to write

Another lonely highway in the black of night

There’s hope in the darkness

You know you’re gonna make it

Another ditch in the road
You keep moving
Another stop sign
You keep moving on
And the years go by so fast
Silent fortress built to last
Wonder how I ever made it

Comparing the lyrics to the fact that Hayes’ mother left her violent and alcoholic husband with Darren and his siblings to escape “regular scenes of violence” shows what I believe is an obvious relationship. In this song, there is the clear notion of sadness that goes along with domestic abuse and a mother having to take her children and escape. However, one line – “there’s hope in the darkness” – shines through. After dealing with the effects of domestic abuse, suppressing homosexuality, and being ridiculed as a child, Darren Hayes has made it. No one can just forget about a terrible childhood, but Hayes found his way in the dark and made his way to the top.

posted by Cassidy