Spilt Milk was recorded in London with Jimmy Hogarth, the sought-after British producer whose recent credits include Duffy, Corinne Bailey Rae and James Blunt. Powerhouse songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and arranger Eg White – Grammy Awards Record of the Year nominee for Adele’s “Chasing Pavements” – co-wrote most of this material. Singer and pianist Ed Harcourt also co-wrote two, including the climactic “Far From the Country,” an especially poignant and personal conclusion to the disc, about the physical and emotional distances one must bridge to keep love alive
For inspiration, Train turns to Aretha Franklin – “There is not a song that Aretha has sung or will ever sing that doesn’t just melt me” – along with blues/R&B cult figures like former Stax star/Raelette Mable John and Bob Dylan-favorite Karen Dalton. Says Train, “I wanted my album to offer glimpses of my influences, not sound like my influences. Jimmy, Eg and I are of similar backgrounds, we appreciate the same music; we have similar tastes. The arrangements are just what we felt the songs needed, they give the songs flavor but don’t try to steal anybody else’s style. I hope the album is a nod to the music I love, while still being modern.”
Music has been at the center of Train’s world since she was a toddler, when her mother encouraged her to play the violin. Train took to the instrument, but, more importantly, she also discovered an innate aptitude as a singer, with unerring pitch and a preternaturally mature delivery from a very young age. Says Train, “There’s depth to my voice and I think it comes from a lot of different places. But the way I sound today is the way I always sounded -- except in a tinier body.”
As an artist, Train could never simply be described as a product of her times and that has allowed her, on Spilt Milk, to create music that can arguably be called timeless. Her mom, who raised Train alone, fashioned what some might view as a sheltered existence for the young Train, keeping her away from television and pop radio. But what she really did was provide a fertile laboratory for Train to freely grow as a young woman and a singer, apart from the vagaries of trends. Train took music and ballet lessons and listened to classical music and opera, along with jazz and blues. Her violin training definitely came in handy: Train has arranging credits on three of her tracks and overdubbed strings on two of them.
Though born in New York City, Train was raised in Savannah, Georgia, and southern soul and gospel, which she sang in church and school choirs growing up, has had the most profound effect on her work. Almost as significant was the moment when, as a teenager, she unearthed her mom’s tucked-away stash of vinyl albums from the sixties and seventies: Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin. Say Train,” I remember hearing Janis Joplin’s records and thinking, what is that all about? We lived in downtown Savannah, in a house kind of like a New York City brownstone. When we had thunderstorms I would go up to the roof and scream at the top of my lungs because I wanted to make my voice raspier. God only knows what that’s done to me!”
By the time Train was 19, she was already singing professionally, albeit locally. A producer based in the south who’d spotted Train arranged to bring her up to New York City to showcase for Blue Note. The label chiefs offered Train a development deal – but her mom had other ideas. She insisted her daughter go to college first. Many a confident and headstrong young artist would rebel and go it alone, accept the deal and take their chances. But Train – reluctantly, she now admits – listened to her mom. She agreed to attend college in Athens, Ga., keeping her hand in music by joining a band and spending far more time rehearsing and gigging than hitting the books. And when she was ready to return to her career full-time, Blue Note was still waiting.
It was time well-spent, Train now realizes: “I know that at 19, I would not have made this record, which is the record I always wanted to make. This is the album that defines who I am. At 19, I don’t know what I would have put out. I believe everything happened for a reason. It took this amount of time for me to get here and to make this record. I always knew it would happen. “
Train made several trips to London over the course of two years, to write with Hogarth and White, but the actual recording moved quickly. In fact, Train was such a natural that some of the vocal performances they chose came straight from the song demos they’d originally done. Right before they were about to embark on their final sessions, though, a disastrous computer glitch during file back-up resulted in the loss of much of what they’d already completed. As Train recalls, “It was the perfect electronic storm.” Undaunted, she and her cohorts went back in and re-cut the vanished material with even more passion and determination, the setback turning out to be far more inspiration than challenge. Looking back, Train says, “I don’t think anything was lost. I don’t think there was this one magic moment that we could never recapture. I love what it is today.” And the experience provided her with an album title. “Don’t cry over spilt milk.”
Train’s confidence and faith in what she has created is part of what makes Spilt Milk so thrilling: “There’s just this magic thing that happens sometimes and you think, I want to sing this song for the rest of my life – I want to live in it, I want to bury myself in it, I want to wriggle around in it.. Every time I finished one, it was like, I can’t believe that, at this point in my life I finally have a song I would fight for, that I believe in 100% percent. And now I have all these songs together on an entire album that I feel this way about. For me, that’s my college degree.”
Dark Black
Kristina Train Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning | Line by Line Meaning
Green was for the springtime, blue the summer skies
And now the skies have darken, the white clouds turn to grey
What a way to break a heart, you took all the colors away
Dark black is the color of my life
Since you’ve been gone
Since you’ve been gone
Oh if you come back
Make my whole world bright
Since you’ve been gone
Dark black is the color of my life
I remember visions, you taught me how to see
The world of your colors was right there in front of me
Oh but what good is a rainbow, if the picture’s in black and in white
Oh what good is a future when there’s not a color inside
Since you’ve been gone
Since you’ve been gone
Oh if you come back
Make my whole world bright
Since you’ve been gone
Dark black is the color of my life
Dark black
Dark black
The song "Dark Black" by Kristina Train is an emotional ballad about the aftermath of a devastating breakup. The opening verses set the stage for the song's central metaphor - the loss of color in the narrator's life. The use of color in the lyrics serves as a powerful reflection of the narrator's inner emotional state. Previously, they saw the world as full of vibrant colors; green in spring, blue in summer, but since the breakup, the skies have darkened, the clouds have turned grey, and all the colors have been taken away. The chorus repeats the phrase "dark black is the color of my life" twice, emphasizing how stuck the narrator feels in a state of despair without their lover.
The second verse speaks about the positive influence the lover had on the narrator's life, teaching them how to see the world in a different way, through their eyes as seen with visions. But their absence has rendered everything in black and white, and the future feels bleak and colorless without them in it. The repeated phrase "since you've been gone" punctuates the chorus, emphasizing the fact that the narrator's life has been drastically altered since the departure of their lover, and they long for them to return and bring color back into their life.
Overall, this heart-wrenching song highlights the power that a single person can have on our lives and how their presence or absence can affect us in profound ways.
Line by Line Meaning
I remember colors painted in my eyes
I have vivid memories of the beautiful colors that used to be a part of my life.
Green was for the springtime, blue the summer skies
Each color had a special significance, like green for spring and blue for summer skies.
And now the skies have darken, the white clouds turn to grey
Since you left me, everything has lost its brightness, and the world seems dull and gray.
What a way to break a heart, you took all the colors away
Your leaving has shattered my heart and taken away all the joy and color from my life.
Dark black is the color of my life
Without you, everything in my life is dark, bleak and devoid of any color.
Since you’ve been gone
Ever since you left me, everything in my life has turned empty and hopeless.
Oh if you come back
My life would be complete and filled with joy, if only you would return.
Make my whole world bright
Your return would bring light and color back into my world and make everything vibrant again.
I remember visions, you taught me how to see
You taught me to see the beauty in everything, the colors and the vibrancy of life.
The world of your colors was right there in front of me
You showed me a world full of colors, brightness and vitality, and I loved every moment of it.
Oh but what good is a rainbow, if the picture’s in black and in white
Without you, my world is just like a colorless rainbow, with no vibrancy, no life and no beauty.
Oh what good is a future when there’s not a color inside
Without you in my life, my future is bleak and colorless, with no joy or light to look forward to.
Dark black is the color of my life
Without you, my life is a dark, colorless and empty void.
Dark black
Everything in my life, since you left, is dark, hopeless and bleak.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: KRISTINA TRAIN, MARTIN JAMES F CRAFT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Alexandr S.
I remember colors painted in my eyes
Green was for the springtime, blue the summer skies
And now the skies have darken, the white clouds turn to grey
What a way to break a heart, you took all the colors away
Dark black is the color of my life
Since you’ve been gone
Since you’ve been gone
Oh if you come back
Make my whole world bright
Since you’ve been gone
Dark black is the color of my life
I remember visions, you taught me how to see
The world of your colors was right there in front of me
Oh but what good is a rainbow, if the picture’s in black and in white
Oh what good is a future when there’s not a color inside
Since you’ve been gone
Since you’ve been gone
Oh if you come back
Make my whole world bright
Since you’ve been gone
Dark black is the color of my life
Dark black
Dark black
edu florez
recuerdo los colores
lo pintaste en mis ojos
el verde era para la primavera
azul los veranos skys
pero ahora los skys se han oscurecido
las nubes blancas se volvieron grises
qué manera de romper un corazón
le quitó todos los colores
negro oscuro
es el color de mi vida
desde que te fuiste 2
oooh si vuelves
hacer mi mundo brillante
desde que te fuiste
el negro oscuro es el color de mi vida
recuerdo visiones
me dijiste cómo ves
mundo de los colores
estaba justo enfrente de mí oooh pero lo que podría ser un ranibow
si las imágenes en negro y en blanco
oooh lo que podría ser un futuro
cuando no hay un color en el interior
desde que te fuiste 2
oooh si vuelves
hacer mi mundo brillante
desde que te fuiste
el negro oscuro es el color de mi vida
negro oscuro 2
mmmmmmm
Stephen Mills
I've had this video on my Bookmarks bar for a few years, and had another look today. Even more amazing than I first thought. I have no idea why Kristina is not as famous as many of the artists she has worked with and supported. I also wonder why some of these 'name artists' have not given her the opportunities that someone probably gave them. In this video, she looks like a very beautiful female Elvis Presley singing ballads. I also agree with the comments regarding Kristina being as talented as Roy Orbison as well. However, anyone who has performed at the major venues that she has is successful by any measure, even though she is less well known than many. This is my first YouTube comment, and I'm pleased that it is in support of such a talented singer-somgwriter.
ialwtttiywtrar
This is a beautiful song that will be listened to in 50 years time, an absolute classic. For me on a par with Etta James.
Nancy D
I LOVE her voice! I love the melody, the lyrics, everything. Beautiful song.
Alexandr S.
I remember colors painted in my eyes
Green was for the springtime, blue the summer skies
And now the skies have darken, the white clouds turn to grey
What a way to break a heart, you took all the colors away
Dark black is the color of my life
Since you’ve been gone
Since you’ve been gone
Oh if you come back
Make my whole world bright
Since you’ve been gone
Dark black is the color of my life
I remember visions, you taught me how to see
The world of your colors was right there in front of me
Oh but what good is a rainbow, if the picture’s in black and in white
Oh what good is a future when there’s not a color inside
Since you’ve been gone
Since you’ve been gone
Oh if you come back
Make my whole world bright
Since you’ve been gone
Dark black is the color of my life
Dark black
Dark black
edu florez
recuerdo los colores
lo pintaste en mis ojos
el verde era para la primavera
azul los veranos skys
pero ahora los skys se han oscurecido
las nubes blancas se volvieron grises
qué manera de romper un corazón
le quitó todos los colores
negro oscuro
es el color de mi vida
desde que te fuiste 2
oooh si vuelves
hacer mi mundo brillante
desde que te fuiste
el negro oscuro es el color de mi vida
recuerdo visiones
me dijiste cómo ves
mundo de los colores
estaba justo enfrente de mí oooh pero lo que podría ser un ranibow
si las imágenes en negro y en blanco
oooh lo que podría ser un futuro
cuando no hay un color en el interior
desde que te fuiste 2
oooh si vuelves
hacer mi mundo brillante
desde que te fuiste
el negro oscuro es el color de mi vida
negro oscuro 2
mmmmmmm
BÖRTEÇİNE KÖKBÖRI
Her Voice and her Song, seems in my ears like a Melody from Heaven .
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC...
OrangeHumming
I love finding songs that take me to places in my mind I've never been. Great song.
JDhappy81
Saddens me that an amazingly beautiful song like this is virtually unheard of... it's a sign of the changing times in music, had it have been released 20 years earlier it would have been a huge hit.
Короновирус
Какой голос, какое исполнение, какая песня. Кристина Треин в этой композиции прекрасна во всех ипостасях!
Ivana Pleština
Eternal masterpiece!!! 🔥💖