Rachael Sage
Rachael Sage’s tenth album, HAUNTED BY YOU, is a song cycle about passion. … Read Full Bio ↴Rachael Sage’s tenth album, HAUNTED BY YOU, is a song cycle about passion. As the NYC-based artist explains, “I fell recklessly in and out of love multiple times while writing this record. I broke a couple hearts…and I also had my heart broken pretty badly.” Nonetheless, the crystalline-voiced singer/songwriter says she has no regrets, revealing she was “due to feel as deeply again as when I first started making music.”
For Sage, who is also a poet, actor and visual artist as well as a longtime record label owner (she founded MPress Records in 1996), music has always been her primary form of self-expression. By the age of three she had taught herself to play the piano, and by her teens, she’d won the ASCAP Pop Songwriting Contest. Upon hearing Sage’s winning entry, legendary producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex) told her she was “extremely talented” and offered to produce her demo. While her parents pressed her to go to Stanford University instead, it was an encouraging moment that gave her the confidence to self-produce her first record, MORBID ROMANTIC.
On the milestone of her tenth album, Sage admits, “I started writing songs to make sense of being bullied in school. I never envisioned music taking me around the world, or that one day I’d play the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Being part of the indie community is humbling though…it keeps you grounded.” Sage, who has collaborated with Phil Ramone and shared stages with Judy Collins, Marc Cohn, The Animals, Shawn Colvin and Sarah McLachlan, has had a prolific career both as a musician and entrepreneur. This year Sage produced the fourth volume of MPress' annual charity compilation series, NEW ARRIVALS, benefiting homeless youth, while her label had its first Billboard charting and Grammy® nominated releases.
HAUNTED BY YOU was tracked with members of Sage’s touring band The Sequins: Quinn (drums), Dave Eggar (cello), Russ Johnson (trumpet), and also features guitarists James Mastro (Patti Smith), Mark Bosch (Ian Hunter) and Jack Petruzelli (Rufus Wainwright); bassists Todd Sickafoose (Ani DiFranco) and Mike Visceglia (Suzanne Vega); mandolin player David Immergluck (Counting Crows); and drummer Doug Yowell (Duncan Sheik). Singer-songwriters Dar Williams, Lucy Woodward, Katie Costello, Ryan Hommel and Seth Glier – as well as actor/director Joshua Leonard – also make guest appearances; John Shyloski (Johnny Winter) and Kevin Killen (Elvis Costello) engineered.
Unlike Sage’s previous albums, including 2009’s critically acclaimed DELANCEY STREET, much of HAUNTED BY YOU was composed on guitar. “I pushed myself to pick up guitar to write this record because I was scared of it and took that as a cue.” The title track, along with “Abby Would You Wait”, “Invisible Light”, “Hey Nah” and “Everything”, were all penned by Sage on a 1966 Martin acoustic inherited from an ex. “I gave myself a pass to try something brand new, and to make mistakes that would hopefully yield something more visceral.”
Sage wrote the dozen songs on the album after separating from her boyfriend of four years, whom she describes as “the kindest, most balanced person I’ve ever dated. He was much more traditional than me though…touring slowly took its toll." Alone, reflecting on her breakup, the 3-time Independent Music Award winner found herself suddenly prolific. “California”, “The Sequin Song” and “Confession” show a more vulnerable, raw side of the singer, reckoning with her newfound freedom, as well as inevitable loneliness.
“After my breakup I had an intense affair with someone I met overseas. I was swept off my feet…but it was an impossible situation.” Strained by long-distance, Sage eventually felt pressured to break off what had become a tumultuous wave of cross-continental phone calls and emails. “Soulstice”, featuring Counting Crows’ David Immergluck on mandolin, “captures that moment where I was as happy as I’ve ever been, even though it was fleeting.”
The concept of soul-mates reappears throughout the record. Sage wrote the Americana-inspired “Abby Would You Wait” about someone with whom she shared one long conversation after a gig, but with whom she “connected so strongly that I saw an entire future.” Likewise, the lush, acoustic guitar-based “Everything” celebrates the shameless joy of a new attraction, “when all you can see is shimmering possibility.”
“Invisible Light”, which both opens and closes the album in two very different musical arrangements (one featuring Dar Williams on guest vocals), is Sage’s favorite song on the record. “I wrote ‘Invisible Light’ while fantasizing about someone who just effortlessly ‘gets’ me and lets me in completely. I’m definitely ready to have my mind blown by that kind of love.”
Upcoming tour highlights include official showcases at SXSW (Austin, TX), Hotel Café (Los Angeles, CA), Joe’s Pub (New York, NY) and Lincoln Center’s ‘Meet The Artist’ series (New York, NY). In addition, Think Coffee will be presenting Sage’s first art show in a decade at their Bowery & Bleecker location, from May 6-June 3rd. HAUNTED BY YOU is due out in the U.S. in May 2012.
For Sage, who is also a poet, actor and visual artist as well as a longtime record label owner (she founded MPress Records in 1996), music has always been her primary form of self-expression. By the age of three she had taught herself to play the piano, and by her teens, she’d won the ASCAP Pop Songwriting Contest. Upon hearing Sage’s winning entry, legendary producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex) told her she was “extremely talented” and offered to produce her demo. While her parents pressed her to go to Stanford University instead, it was an encouraging moment that gave her the confidence to self-produce her first record, MORBID ROMANTIC.
On the milestone of her tenth album, Sage admits, “I started writing songs to make sense of being bullied in school. I never envisioned music taking me around the world, or that one day I’d play the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Being part of the indie community is humbling though…it keeps you grounded.” Sage, who has collaborated with Phil Ramone and shared stages with Judy Collins, Marc Cohn, The Animals, Shawn Colvin and Sarah McLachlan, has had a prolific career both as a musician and entrepreneur. This year Sage produced the fourth volume of MPress' annual charity compilation series, NEW ARRIVALS, benefiting homeless youth, while her label had its first Billboard charting and Grammy® nominated releases.
HAUNTED BY YOU was tracked with members of Sage’s touring band The Sequins: Quinn (drums), Dave Eggar (cello), Russ Johnson (trumpet), and also features guitarists James Mastro (Patti Smith), Mark Bosch (Ian Hunter) and Jack Petruzelli (Rufus Wainwright); bassists Todd Sickafoose (Ani DiFranco) and Mike Visceglia (Suzanne Vega); mandolin player David Immergluck (Counting Crows); and drummer Doug Yowell (Duncan Sheik). Singer-songwriters Dar Williams, Lucy Woodward, Katie Costello, Ryan Hommel and Seth Glier – as well as actor/director Joshua Leonard – also make guest appearances; John Shyloski (Johnny Winter) and Kevin Killen (Elvis Costello) engineered.
Unlike Sage’s previous albums, including 2009’s critically acclaimed DELANCEY STREET, much of HAUNTED BY YOU was composed on guitar. “I pushed myself to pick up guitar to write this record because I was scared of it and took that as a cue.” The title track, along with “Abby Would You Wait”, “Invisible Light”, “Hey Nah” and “Everything”, were all penned by Sage on a 1966 Martin acoustic inherited from an ex. “I gave myself a pass to try something brand new, and to make mistakes that would hopefully yield something more visceral.”
Sage wrote the dozen songs on the album after separating from her boyfriend of four years, whom she describes as “the kindest, most balanced person I’ve ever dated. He was much more traditional than me though…touring slowly took its toll." Alone, reflecting on her breakup, the 3-time Independent Music Award winner found herself suddenly prolific. “California”, “The Sequin Song” and “Confession” show a more vulnerable, raw side of the singer, reckoning with her newfound freedom, as well as inevitable loneliness.
“After my breakup I had an intense affair with someone I met overseas. I was swept off my feet…but it was an impossible situation.” Strained by long-distance, Sage eventually felt pressured to break off what had become a tumultuous wave of cross-continental phone calls and emails. “Soulstice”, featuring Counting Crows’ David Immergluck on mandolin, “captures that moment where I was as happy as I’ve ever been, even though it was fleeting.”
The concept of soul-mates reappears throughout the record. Sage wrote the Americana-inspired “Abby Would You Wait” about someone with whom she shared one long conversation after a gig, but with whom she “connected so strongly that I saw an entire future.” Likewise, the lush, acoustic guitar-based “Everything” celebrates the shameless joy of a new attraction, “when all you can see is shimmering possibility.”
“Invisible Light”, which both opens and closes the album in two very different musical arrangements (one featuring Dar Williams on guest vocals), is Sage’s favorite song on the record. “I wrote ‘Invisible Light’ while fantasizing about someone who just effortlessly ‘gets’ me and lets me in completely. I’m definitely ready to have my mind blown by that kind of love.”
Upcoming tour highlights include official showcases at SXSW (Austin, TX), Hotel Café (Los Angeles, CA), Joe’s Pub (New York, NY) and Lincoln Center’s ‘Meet The Artist’ series (New York, NY). In addition, Think Coffee will be presenting Sage’s first art show in a decade at their Bowery & Bleecker location, from May 6-June 3rd. HAUNTED BY YOU is due out in the U.S. in May 2012.
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Rachael Sage Lyrics
93 Maidens I am a maiden - one of 93 But I won't…
Abby Would You Wait Abby would you wait for me to ring your doorbell I’m…
Air We Share She is a tall tree in a long red dress…
Alive I was alive before I met you And I'm sure I'll…
Alive Before You I was alive before I met you And I'm sure I'll…
Alright OK The way that I get around the things that I'm…
Ambitious I my mind is empty, my wallet is too. I wonder…
Among All Of God's Creatures Among all of God's creatures It is only men who kill With…
Among All Of Gods Creatures Among all of God's creatures it is only men who…
Angel You come to me at night just like a dragonfly You…
Angel In My View How'm I gonna write this love-letter to you when all…
Apology I have a weak heart but I have a strong…
Arrow I bend and I sway in ways I never would’ve…
Back To Earth What kind of friend am I How do I define this…
Back To Freedom What color are your eyes? I must not really be in…
Barbed Wire This time when you came around I only wanted to break…
Beauty Fades Beauty fades Then what have you got left Fatal mistake, L…
Before It Comes I know this feeling, so inconvenient Why doesn't love ask fo…
Begin To Stop I pick up somebody like I pick up disaster only Faster…
Better From Mars History repeats itself with the venom Of the blackest widow…
Big Star Do you wanna be a big star? Well It’s okay to…
Birthday Every single birthday I promise I am gonna change but I…
Blue Light Johnny Lee comes to me when I am dreaming when I…
Blue Roses He gave her bouquets of blue roses She held them upside-down…
Brave When I look at you I think of everything I…
Brave Mistake He was alone when she walked into the room Even though…
Bravedancing You came to me like lightning upon a picket fence, Shatte…
Bravest Fear I was alone 'til I saw your face and you…
Brightness I'm waitin' for the sun to fall out o’ the…
Bruises Without Blue I am full of the light that the goddess gave…
Burning Witch The last person who I kissed Was everything I’ll ever miss A…
But I Know I don’t know how to make this happen I don’t know…
C'Mon Over You might be my ticket to Brooklyn I might be your…
California I almost lived with you I almost died with you…
Calypso You laugh so easily and I'm shivering just hearing you…
Camera If sex were illegal like most good things are Would I…
Chandelier What if I woke up tomorrow and I couldn't sing The…
Character What does it mean to lack character What does it mean…
Chasing The Girl My angel, I apologize I've been treating you just like a…
Child Where did my body go the night that my soul…
Confession I took you for granted every day of my life From…
Conversation I may never understand What it is that you have gone…
Corinne There is almost no romance in the things you gave…
Crack of Dawn I only eat candy and I hate the word nutrition Sounds…
Cultivate I think I need to cultivate my anger I think I…
Cyanide & Cinnamon My lover's sweet as sugar Because she's made of it I look…
Delancey Street Well I almost got off at Delancey Street For to see…
Down My Spine All she ever wanted in this whole world Was to dance…
Drive I’ve been living in my head my whole fucking life I…
English Tea I can't get away from you, you're tea and I'm…
Even Love Dies Eighteen hundred degrees in the palm of your hand I am…
Everything Everything about this situation’s a surprise I had almost gi…
Everything Was Red I was just a girl who fell in love with…
Featherwoman What are the things that I do best That nobody else…
Ferris Wheel There is no dark side to me You promised me that…
Footsteps I am not as strong as you But I want…
Frost The thing that burns me up the most Is how I…
Grace There are days like today where I wonder If I…
Guardians I am seventeen years old my name is tattooed on…
Hands Off The Wheel I cannot compete with the love of your life I am…
Happiness I was alone when you came along and rescued me And…
Haunted By You I am so damn tired of unrequited I have loved you…
Hey Nah You see through everything I know and I can’t hide The…
Hit Song The hit song That hit-me-hard song Hides inside me so afraid…
Hope's Outpost When I came to you I was holding on by…
How I Got By I watched you walk up the escalator like you were…
Hunger in John He was so poor that he did his own laundry…
I Am Gonna Try I am gonna try harder to believe Less in who we…
I Guess I guess I have a soul if you think I…
Invincible People look a certain way at a certain time 'o…
Invisible Light I know it’s wrong but every time you look at…
It's So Hard So you show what you know and give me heart To…
Jane's Dimitri The moment that she realized She'd already had the love of…
Language Of Flowers The language of flowers Is very much like mine The words for…
Leah She says that she loves her just like a sister Then…
Linger I never saw a love like the one I saw…
Lonely Streets I walk along in these lonely streets I walk alone so…
Look I look around at all my friends And what their hearts…
Lotus Flower How can I be the judge of something Who energy's so…
Marmelade The marmelade of your coming clean A bittersweetness I had n…
Maybe It's The Way I feel innocent I know I look different I don't want the…
Meet Me In Vegas Would you meet me in Vegas if I left right…
Memory When you have nothing to live for then it’s easier…
Mexico I won't let you go I won't let you go Not to…
Misery's Grace There are days like today where I wonder If I…
Momentary War Look into my eyes now baby Tell me the truth,…
Monlight & Fireflies Moonlight and fireflies, everything beautiful I'd be scared …
Morbid Romantic I’m a morbid romantic With skulls painted on my walls Could…
My Eliza It came to me as we were listening To each other's…
My Precious Love I look at your face Dirty as the ground And I look…
My Word History sits in a chair at the table listening to…
Newspaper I was only twelve years old When I saw you…
Not Leaving You I am slowly coming to the realization That you don't have…
Obvious I'm just a weary warrior Bandaged and bruised Just a simple …
Ode To A Sailor I've been sitting on the ground Much to everyone's surprise …
Of Blue You say that you find me intoxicating What dare I ask…
Older If I am only for myself, who will be for…
One True Thing I was your one true thing, you were my appetite I…
Painting Of A Painting Did you know that I left someone else to be…
Paperplane The way you make me feel useless The way you make…
Performance Art Today is the first day Of the rest of my time I…
Pictures They Took How come all the pictures they took of us Were happy? How…
Precious The things you give to me Are more precious than…
Proof Every moment that passes Every second that flies Life will f…
Rain So Hard In my last life upon this shore I slept my…
Ready Everybody knows where the angel lives Everybody knows where …
Rich Girl I am old and I do not know the ways…
Sacrifice There was a time when I can honestly say You were…
Sara's Song Don't know what you were thinking when you looked at me…
Satellite I am old and I do not know the ways…
Seraphim Smile Why am I so afraid of getting older I'm only twenty-seven…
Sistersong Everybody's looking over your shoulder Seems they can't wa…
Site-Seeing Site-seeing you more than I ever imagined Scream-singing mos…
Skywriting You were all I ever needed And I believed in your…
Slow Down I really love you but I really need this chance To…
Someone Save Me / The Oil & The Water Throw me a rope to climb Trying so hard not to…
Soulstice Summer of Shostakovich and you held me, held me Over by…
Souvenir Your love is like a souvenir of my Idiocy -…
Stone I could've done anything all day-to-day but Sit inside these…
Surprise There's a breeze in South Carolina always comes as a…
Swallow This Phone Hello my angel, hello my darlin' How many hours – has…
The Sequin Song I’ve got a giant piece of plastic scratching up my…
The Spirit We I could be an angel dressed in the devil's clothes…
There Is Passion There is passion in everything I do Even when that means…
Too Many Women Too many women in this big black room. Too many people…
Trouble I look around at all I see, And I see you…
Try Try Try I am gonna try harder to believe Less in who we…
Unbeauty Do you miss me at all? Do you turn off the…
Undertow I have all my things around me And this cluttler makes…
Used To Be My Girl He used to be my girl He used to be my…
Vertigo Every time I see your face I feel like I'm…
Violet Or Blue Somewhere in there you had time to fall in love Somewhere…
Wasn't It You You were younger then I was wiser when It didn’t matter and…
Wax If you play with fire you're gonna get burned Where was…
What If What if there's no one who I would put up…
Why Not Love Why not love if you have the option Why not offer…
Wildflower Are you gonna lie to me Are you gonna just keep…
William William - Rachael Sage William, you are one now And you …
Wishbone When I was a queen in another life Remember when I…
Wishing Day Look what I did to you Left the cradle way too…