“She’s a very precious artist”: Shirley Manson’s favourite PJ Harvey song
Right out of the gate, PJ Harvey established herself as a formidable figure in the alternative rock movement of the 1990s and as a lyricist with far more to say in the space of just one song than some of her contemporaries managed over the course of an album. Her debut record, Dry, was hailed as a masterpiece, and she earned favourable comparisons to the likes of Patti Smith for her brutally honest feminist storytelling.
Harvey threw everything she possibly could at her first album, but that didn’t mean she’d exhausted all of her best ideas on her first offering, as subsequent releases of hers such as Rid of Me, To Bring You My Love and Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea are also regarded as being among some of the greatest of all time, perhaps even more frequently than her still remarkable debut.
The level of influence that Harvey has continued to have over the course of her career has been steady and shows no sign of waning, as artists continue to emerge with material that cites the Dorset-born artist as a significant creative force. Her work has transcended the alternative rock sphere it originally existed in, and more recent efforts have seen her dabble with elements of folk, classical and avant-garde composition while remaining true to her lyrically impactful nature.
One band with a lot to thank PJ Harvey for in terms of influence is Garbage, not least their vocalist, Shirley Manson. As contemporaries of Harvey’s in the alternative and grunge scene, Garbage emerged from the US a few years after Dry and Rid of Me had landed, releasing their self-titled debut album in 1995 while Harvey was gearing up to release her third. While considerably poppier than anything Harvey was releasing, the vocal style and feminist themes explored by Manson across Garbage’s work invite parallels to be drawn between the two.
It’s no surprise, then, to learn that Manson was a big fan of the rawness of Harvey’s work, and in an interview with The Line of Best Fit, she revealed that the single ‘Sheela-Na-Gig’ from Dry was not only one of the first songs she heard from the singer but one of her favourites. “She had this unusual voice,” enthused Manson. “She was sexual, commanding. It just sounded furious to me”
Going on to discuss the subject matter of the song, Manson would admit that she was initially unaware of what a sheela-na-gig was, but upon learning about the title’s origins, she said that she “just fucking loved the humour behind it”.
For those wondering, the title refers to a feature found in traditional architecture, such as churches and cathedrals, depicting a woman with a prominent and exaggerated vulva. When taken into consideration, this brings a whole new layer of meaning to the lyrics, which at first glance seem to be running with the idea of forgetting about a man who has rejected her advances but is, in fact, filled with double entendres relating to the carving’s anatomy.
Referencing the sheela-na-gig’s “child-bearing hips” and “idle (idol?) hole”, Harvey takes the traditional interpretation of the figure’s association with sin and promiscuity and turns it on its head, making the song into a song about female empowerment and ownership of the feminine body.
“It felt like it was turning the patriarchy on its head,” Manson continued, “And it talked to female appetite and a lack of shame. She’s a very precious artist. It’s lovely to see her enjoy this kind of reverence that she so deserves.” While Harvey has explored many other topics in her work since, with a strong anti-war and environmental focus to some of her most recent work, this early track of hers is still one of her most full-blooded and cathartic, something very few artists have managed to do as well as she has.
