Agnes Obel was born Agnes Caroline Thaarup Obel in 1981. Living in Copenhagen, and coming from a musician family, Agnes Obel learned piano at a very young age. Her mother used to play Bartók and Chopin at the piano. During her childhood, Agnes Obel found inspiration in Jan Johansson's work. Johansson's songs, European folk tunes done in a jazzy style, have influenced the young musician a lot.
She attended high school at Det frie Gymnasium and university at Roskilde University.
At the age of seven, Agnes Obel worked in a little band where she used to sing and play bass guitar. The group appeared in a festival and even recorded some titles.
Later, and with the help of Danish musician and producer Elton Theander, Obel founded the Copenhagen based band Sohio. After few years of collaboration, Obel debuted as a solo singer with her first album Philharmonics (2010).
Agnes Obel writes, plays, sings, records and produces all her material herself.
She is influenced by artists such as Roy Orbison, Joni Mitchell, PJ Harvey and also by the French composers Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Eric Satie.
Obel lives in Berlin.
Website: http://agnesobel.com
Citizen Of Glass
Agnes Obel Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With the weight of days
The end of time has just begun
I hear it call your name
And no straining of the string
Can reverse what will begin
There is no mistake
If I could wash all ill away
Tell me would you stay?
And no lovers sin
Can reverse what will begin
The lyrics to the song "Citizen of Glass" by Agnes Obel are poignant and evoke a sense of longing and desperation. The opening line - "Rend a black drop from my heart" - speaks to the breaking of one's heart and the pain that comes with it. The weight of heartbreak can feel like it lasts forever, and the end of a relationship can mark the beginning of a new chapter in someone's life, as the lyrics state: "The end of time has just begun."
The next lines, "I hear it call your name" suggest that even though the relationship may be over, there are still feelings that remain. The chorus of the song talks about the inevitability of change and how some people are able to let go while others hold on. There is no mistake in letting go, and the singer seems to be asking if she could wash away all ill and start anew, would her lover stay? The final line, "And no lovers sin can reverse what will begin" is a sobering reminder that moving on is the natural course of life, and that some things cannot be undone.
Line by Line Meaning
Rend a black drop from my heart
Extract the sadness and sorrow from within me
With the weight of days
Feeling the burden of time and its passing
The end of time has just begun
The end of something has started, signaling change
I hear it call your name
I sense that you are part of this transformation
And no straining of the string
No matter how hard we try to hold onto things, change is inevitable
Can reverse what will begin
We cannot undo what has already started to change
Some let go and some hold on
People respond to change differently
There is no mistake
Change is predetermined and necessary
If I could wash all ill away
If I could remove all pain and suffering
Tell me would you stay?
Would you still want to be a part of this new reality?
And no lovers sin
Even the strongest bond cannot stop change
Can reverse what will begin
Once change starts, it cannot be stopped
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: AGNES CAROLINE THAARUP OBEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind