1) a Br… Read Full Bio ↴There are multiple artists by the name of David Gray, including:
1) a British singer-songwriter
2) an Italian disco musician
3) an American singer-songwriter
4) drummer for the British blackened death metal band Akercocke
5) a musician from South Africa
6) a British classical hornist
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1) David Gray is a British singer-songwriter born on June 13, 1968 in Sale, United Kingdom. He released his first studio album in 1993 and received worldwide attention after the release of White Ladder six years later in 1999.
Gray moved to Wales at age 9 and later returned to the north-west of England to attend the University of Liverpool. His musical career got early support from a dedicated Irish fan base. After a few marginally-successful releases through the 1990s, Gray's breakthrough came with the worldwide release in 1999 of his fourth album, White Ladder; this was a critical and commercial success and included his best-known songs, "This Years Love" and "Babylon". In the United States, the album received a boost from jam-band leader Dave Matthews, who made it the first release by the record company he co-founded, ATO Records.
On August 11, 2001 White Ladder at last reached the top of the UK charts, having been selling steadily since its reissue the previous May, thereby setting a new record for the longest uninterrupted climb to No. 1. The follow-up, A New Day At Midnight, also hit No. 1, and Gray's seventh album, Life in Slow Motion was released on September 12, 2005.
Gray's early music was in a contemporary folk-rock, singer-songwriter mode; his primary instrument was acoustic guitar, with occasional piano. 1996's Sell Sell Sell featured some rock arrangements and electric instrumentation. Starting with the release of White Ladder in 1999, Gray began to make significant use of computer-generated music to accompany his voice and acoustic instrumentation, a technique which differentiates him from many of his peers. Despite the move to more complex music, Gray has used small-scale, often home-based, recording methods and equipment and espoused a "do it yourself" approach to music production. However, Life in Slow Motion is a collaboration with noted producer Marius De Vries.
David Gray's brothers-in-law are Paul and Phillip Hartnoll, formerly of the Techno/Rave band Orbital. Because of this relationship, Gray performed guest vocals on the Orbital single Illuminate, while Paul Hartnoll produced a breakbeat remix of Gray's song "Please Forgive Me".
His successful single "January Rain" was included in the original soundtrack of the movie Serendipity, starring John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale.
Pictures and additional information can be found on his website, www.DavidGray.com.
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2) David Gray was an Italian disco musician who had a hit with "Dead in the Water"
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3) David Gray is an American singer-songwriter
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4) David Gray is drummer for the British blackened death metal band Akercocke
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5) David Gray is a musician from South Africa
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6) British classical hornist, originally from London, England, UK, residing in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Studied at the Curtis Institute Of Music. Former Principal Horn with The London Symphony Orchestra (1964-1972). Member of The Newfoundland Symphony Orchestra.
Back in the World
David Gray Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It feels like a Saturday
Taking down from the shelf
All the parts of myself
That I packed away
If it's love put the joy in my heart
Is it God by another name
Who's to say how it goes
All I know is
I'm back in the world again
Like the lift of a curse
Got a whole different person
Inside my head
No more trudging around
Stony eyed through the town
Like the living dead no
It's love that lifts us from the dark
Is it God by another name
Who's to say how it goes
All I know is
I'm back in the world again
Back in the world again
It's the only way to be
It's the only way to be
I'm naked like a tree
It's the only way to be
I'm naked like a tree
It's the only way to be
Less than sand on the beach
Staring into the reaches of space and time
I'm singing out words
But the voice that I hear
It seems barely mine
If it's love put the song in my heart
Is it God by another name
Who's to say how it goes
All I know is
I'm back in the world again
Who's to say how it goes
All I know is
I'm back in the world again
Back in the world again
It's the only way to be
It's the only way to be
I'm naked like a tree
It's the only way to be
I'm naked like a tree
It's the only way to be, the only way to be, the only to be, the only way to be, the only
Every day when I open my eyes
Yeah yeah
Every day when I open my eyes
Yeah yeah [x2]
David Gray’s song, “Back in the world”, is about coming out of a dark place and feeling alive again. The song describes the feeling of being trapped inside oneself, like a curse, and finally breaking free from it. The lyrics suggest that this liberation comes from love or perhaps from God, implying that either way, love and spirituality are the catalysts for renewal.
The song’s first verse describes waking up and feeling alive as if it’s a Saturday. Gray then describes taking all the parts of himself out from where they were kept, indicating a sense of rediscovery. The second verse talks about feeling like a different person and no longer trudging around like the living dead. Gray sings that love is the force that lifts us from the dark, which could be interpreted as a reference to depression or a negative state of being.
In the bridge, Gray sings about feeling insignificant, like less than sand on the beach, and that he is no longer sure whose voice is singing inside his head. However, love is again mentioned as the force that puts the song in his heart. The chorus repeats the phrase, “It’s the only way to be” while comparing himself to a naked tree. This could suggest that he’s bare, vulnerable, and with nothing to hide, implying a level of openness and honesty.
Line by Line Meaning
Every day when I open my eyes now
I wake up feeling alive and refreshed as though it were the weekend
It feels like a Saturday
I wake up feeling alive and refreshed as though it were the weekend
Taking down from the shelf
I'm rediscovering the different aspects of my personality
All the parts of myself
I'm rediscovering the different aspects of my personality
That I packed away
I'm rediscovering the different aspects of my personality
If it's love put the joy in my heart
Love brings happiness into my life
Is it God by another name
Is this feeling truly divine, or something else?
Who's to say how it goes
Nobody can truly understand this feeling
All I know is
The only thing I'm certain of is
I'm back in the world again
I'm rediscovering my place in the world
Like the lift of a curse
I feel like a weight has been lifted from my shoulders
Got a whole different person
I feel like a completely different person
Inside my head
Mentally, I've transformed
No more trudging around
I've stopped aimlessly wandering through life
Stony eyed through the town
I've stopped aimlessly wandering through life
Like the living dead no
I'm not going through life like a zombie anymore
It's love that lifts us from the dark
Love can help us overcome difficult times and circumstances
It's the only way to be
Being myself is the only way to live
I'm naked like a tree
I'm vulnerable and open like a tree without leaves
Less than sand on the beach
I understand how small and insignificant we are in the grand scheme of things
Staring into the reaches of space and time
I'm contemplating the vastness of the universe and infinity
I'm singing out words
I'm expressing myself through music
But the voice that I hear
The voice I hear when I sing is different, it's more authentic
It seems barely mine
The voice I hear when I sing is different, it's more authentic
Back in the world again
I'm rediscovering my place in the world
It's the only way to be
Being myself is the only way to live
Every day when I open my eyes
I wake up feeling alive and refreshed
Yeah yeah
An affirmation of the preceding line
Yeah yeah [x2]
An affirmation of the preceding line repeated twice
Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: ANDREW BARLOW, DAVID GRAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind