Born with Asperger's Syndrome, Pip Brown came from a musical family, with her mother being a singer-guitarist and her stepfather, a jazz drummer. During her childhood, various illnesses and allergies kept her in and out of the hospital. At age 10 she contracted erysipeloid, a disease that is common in seagulls but had not been seen in humans in New Zealand for 20 years. Her allergies to antibiotics, penicillin, and antihistamines greatly complicated treatment efforts and had put her in a coma and she came close to dying.
While attending Chanel College, she played in several grunge bands. After high school, Brown moved from Masterton to Wellington and formed in 2001 the hard rock band Two Lane Blacktop with some friends, playing lead guitar. Brown relocated to Melbourne, Australia after Two Lane Blacktop parted ways in late 2003, when their lead singer and drummer quit the band.
In Melbourne she met Nick Littlemore of Pnau (and later Empire of the Sun), formed the duo Teenager and moved together to Sydney. In 2006 Brown decided to leave Teenager to focus on a personal project she had been developing for sometime, a persona she had dubbed "Ladyhawke", inspired by the Richard Donner film from 1985 with the same name.
In 20 September 2008, her debut album Ladyhawke was released on Modular and gained mostly positive reviews. The album peaked at #16 at UK Albums Chart, #16 Australian Albums Chart, #41 at U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers, #62 at European Top 100 Albums, #1 at New Zealand Albums Chart. Ladyhawke ranked #23 on MusicOMH Best Albums of 2008.
She released five singles from the debut album: "Back of the Van" (1 April 2008, re-released in 18 May 2009; #93 UK), "Paris Is Burning" (6 July 2008, re-released in 2 March 2009; #47 UK, #52 AUS, #40 NZ), "Dusk Till Dawn" (8 September 2008; #78 UK), "My Delirium" (8 December 2008; #33 UK, #8 AUS, #9 NZ) and "Magic" (28 September 2009; #31 NZ).
In 2008 Pip Brown collaborated with the Australian band Pnau on the song "Embrace".
In 2009 Ladyhawke won five awards (Album of the Year, Best Dance/Electronica album, Single of the Year for "My Delirium", International Achievement Award, Best Female Solo Artist, Breakthrough Artist of the Year) and was nominated for People's Choice Award at New Zealand Music Awards. In the same year she was nominated for Best Solo Artist at NME Awards, Best Kiwi & Independent Spirit at MTV Australia Awards and for six categories on ARIA Music Awards 2009 (she won two of them: Breakthrough Artist – album for "Ladyhawke" and Breakthrough Artist – single for "My Delirium"). Ladyhawke was also nominated for International Female Solo Artist at Brit Awards 2010.
In 4 May 2010, Ladyhawke released a digital live EP entitled iTunes Live from SoHo. Currently she is writing material for a second album.
Official site: http://www.ladyhawkemusic.com
My Delirium
Ladyhawke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tonight waiting for an answer
Heartbeat drumming double time
I need one more chance to be near you
Still hanging on
(For what)
Can't operate
(Fired up)
I won't eat and I won't sleep for you, yeah
No rest till I
(Get through)
'Cause I'm holding out
(For you)
Am I the only one who's insane?
Hey, you're playing with my delirium
And the longer I wait the harder I'm gonna fall
Stop playing with my delirium
'Cause I'm outta my head and outta my self-control
Still here in this quiet room
Deep in delusion sending me over
Outside watch the world go by
Inside time stands still as I wonder
Still hanging on
(For what?)
Can't operate
(Fired up)
I won't eat and I won't sleep for you, yeah
No rest till I
(Get through)
'Cause I'm holding out
(For you)
Am I the only one who's insane
Hey, you're playing with my delirium
And the longer I wait the harder I'm gonna fall
Stop playing with my delirium
'Cause I'm outta my head and outta my self-control
(I won't eat and I won't sleep for you, yeah)
Hey, you're playing with my delirium
And the longer I wait the harder I'm gonna fall
Stop playing with my delirium
'Cause I'm outta my head and outta my self-control
Hey, you're playing with my delirium
And the longer I wait the harder I'm gonna fall
Stop playing with my delirium
'Cause I'm outta my head and outta my self-control
In "My Delirium," Ladyhawke sings about the intense feelings of a lovesick person waiting for an answer from someone they desperately want to be with. The singer is hanging onto the hope of being with this person, despite the fact that they are making her feel delusional, insane, and out of control. She is consumed by the thought of this person, unable to eat, sleep, or function normally because of her all-consuming love. She pleads for them to stop "playing with [her] delirium" because the longer she waits, the harder she will fall.
Ladyhawke’s lyrics capture the intense feelings of someone who is consumed by their infatuation with another person, to the point that they become delusional and unable to control their thoughts and actions. The singer can’t let go of the hope of being with this person, even though it’s making her question her sanity. The eerie electronic instrumentation further conveys the sense of delirium and obsession that the singer is experiencing.
Line by Line Meaning
Late night, waiting by the phone
It's late and I'm anxiously waiting for a phone call
Tonight waiting for an answer
Tonight I'm hoping to finally receive the answer I've been waiting for
Heartbeat drumming double time
My heart is racing with excitement and anticipation
I need one more chance to be near you
I long to be close to you one more time
Still hanging on (For what)
I'm still holding on, but I'm not sure why
Can't operate (Fired up)
I'm so consumed by my emotions that I can't function normally
I won't eat and I won't sleep for you, yeah
I'm so in love with you that I'm willing to sacrifice basic needs
No rest till I (Get through)
I won't rest until I get what I want
'Cause I'm holding out (For you)
I'm still waiting and hoping for you
Am I the only one who's insane?
Is it crazy that I feel this strongly about you?
Hey, you're playing with my delirium
You're messing with my head and emotions
And the longer I wait the harder I'm gonna fall
The more I wait, the more I'm setting myself up for pain
Stop playing with my delirium
Please stop toying with my emotions
'Cause I'm outta my head and outta my self-control
I'm so overwhelmed by my feelings that I've lost control
Still here in this quiet room
I'm alone in a silent space
Deep in delusion sending me over
Lost in my own thoughts and imagination, driving me to the edge
Outside watch the world go by
The world outside keeps moving even though I feel stuck
Inside time stands still as I wonder
Inside, time seems to have stopped as I contemplate and wait
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PASCAL RICHARD MARCEL GHISLAIN GABRIEL, HANNAH ROBINSON, PIP BROWN, ALEX GRAY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind