Her independent approach to her music has given the singer-songwriter a creative confidence that shines through in her captivating vocals and stripped back music. Having developed her bluesy, folk sound busking on the streets of Berlin, she has caught the ears of a community of music lovers the world over with her honest storytelling and raw, beautiful voice.
She grew up on a mountainside in South Africa listening to her parent's records and indulging her love of theatre, arts and music at a local Waldorf school; a formative time that nurtured her independence and desire to experience music of all styles. This multi-faceted creative upbringing mixed with Alice's natural wanderlust and in 2010, 16-year-old Alice made her first journey to Europe during her summer break from school. Inspired by watching fire dancers in Paris, she began to perform likewise to get enough money to fund her travelling.
That summer she roamed between Paris and Amsterdam; experiencing the highs and lows of street performances' underbelly. This vagabond lifestyle was a creative inspiration and gave her an enduring taste for the immediacy of street crowds. After returning to South Africa to complete her studies, her path led her back to Europe and she made her way to the German capital - Berlin. The freedom of the city was intoxicating and she immersed herself in the creative world there.
She began busking across Berlin with just her guitar, a small amplifier on a trolley and her mesmerising voice. Her natural talent and captivating delivery started to garner a cult street following with people coming to see her busk and buy her records. The uncompromising creative community of Berlin also helped Alice grow musically and she collaborated with acoustic, jazz and electronic musicians; including multi-instrumentalist Matteo who quickly became Alice's live performance companion. Soon she self-released her first body of work - the Momentum EP - her first collaborative effort recorded between Berlin and Cape Town with five different producers. Although by now interest was sparked with several major labels, her desire to maintain the creative freedom she had fostered kept her focus on growing her digital community of loyal fans and imagining ever more interesting settings for her intimate live shows
Now having spent two years playing intimate gigs across Europe and South Africa, and supporting established like-minded artists like Rodriguez, 2016 saw her releasing her first full length studio album. Orbit comprises nine jazz-influenced, eclectic tracks recorded between Cape Town and Berlin that encapsulate the freshness of her live style, vagabond spirit and showcase her distinctive, soprano voice. Produced by Matteo and Kyson, the album is a testament to Alice's collaborative way of writing and features musicians from South Africa and Europe lending their musical skills and different visual artists producing art works to match each track. The result is an intricately woven pattern of soul, blues and jazz: scattered with retro, beatnik melodies; soothing vocal harmonies and sleazy brass flourishes.
Society
Alice Phoebe Lou Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And he's staring manically
Screaming
Oh society, what have you done to me?
The ground I've tread so many years
All this blood and sweat and tears
Just to be inside your mould
And do just what I'm told
But now my body's getting old
And time is oh so golden
If only it could be frozen
But you took it away from me
Oh society
You took it away from me
Oh my liberty
Oh you took it away from me
Oh society
You took it away from me
When you brainwashed me with formulas of how I should be
Shaped me and raped me of my individuality
Schooled me and fooled me
Told me what I could and could not see
Took me and shook me
Of my urges to be free
The Alice Phoebe Lou's song "Society" is a powerful and emotional critique of the societal structures that constrain and control individuals, preventing them from expressing their true selves. The lyrics tell the story of a man who is frustrated and deeply unhappy with the conformist nature of society. He stands in front of the singer, staring manically and screaming. He laments the fact that he has spent years following the rules and trying to fit into society's mold, only to find that his body is getting old, time is passing him by, and his liberty has been taken away.
As the song progresses, the singer highlights how society brainwashes individuals and destroys their individuality through schooling and other forms of socialization. The man in the song has been "shaped and raped" of his individuality and has been told what he can and cannot see. Society has taken away his urge to be free, and he is left feeling trapped and powerless.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, he stands in front of me
The singer sees someone before them
And he's staring manically
The person before the singer has a crazed look on their face
Screaming
The person is yelling loudly and intensely
Oh society, what have you done to me?
The person blames society for how they have been affected
The ground I've tread so many years
The artist has been in this situation for a long time
All this blood and sweat and tears
The singer has put in a lot of effort and emotions into conforming
Just to be inside your mould
The singer has been trying to fit the expectations of society
And do just what I'm told
The artist has been following societal rules
If only I had been so bold
The artist wishes they had been brave enough to go against societal norms
But now my body's getting old
The artist is aging and realizing they have wasted their time conforming
And time is oh so golden
The singer recognizes the value of time
If only it could be frozen
The artist wishes they could have more time to live their life freely
But you took it away from me
The singer blames society for taking away their freedom
Oh society
The singer is addressing society
You took it away from me
The singer's liberty was taken by society
When you brainwashed me with formulas of how I should be
Society forced the artist to conform to specific expectations
Shaped me and raped me of my individuality
The artist was stripped of their unique qualities and identity
Schooled me and fooled me
Education only taught the singer to follow the rules and not how to live freely
Told me what I could and could not see
Society limited the singer's perspective and didn't allow them to see things differently
Took me and shook me
Society had a strong influence on the artist's life
Of my urges to be free
The artist had a natural desire to live freely, but this was suppressed by societal norms
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Alice Lou
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@rolleroficial5268
SOCIETY
Oh, he stands in front of me
And he’s staring manically
Screaming oh society
What have you done to me?
The ground I’ve tread so many years
All this blood and sweat and tears
Just to be inside your mould
And do just what I’m told
If only I had been so bold
But now my body’s getting old
And time is oh so golden
If only it could be frozen
But you took it away from me
Oh society
You took it away from me
Oh, my liberty
Oh you took it away from me
Oh, society
You took it away from me
When you brainwashed me with formulas of how I should be
Shaped me and raped me of my individuality
Schooled me and fooled me
Told me what I could and could not see
Took me and shook me
Of my urges to be free
@lucashakumata5984
I love this song, so i wrote the lyrics. If something is wrong correct me:
Oh he's standing in front of me
and he's starring maniacally,
screaming oh! society! what have you done to me?
The ground i've treat so many years,
all this blood and sweat and tears,
just to be inside your mold
and do just what i'm told.
If only i've been so bold (?),
but now my body is getting old
and time is oh! so golden!
if only it could be frozen.
But you took it away from me
oh! society!
you took it away from me
all my liberty!
oh! you took it away from me
oh! society!
you took it away from me
when you brainwashed me with formalism(?) i should be,
shaped me and raped me in my individuality
schooled me and fooled me,
told me what i could and could not see
took me and shook me
oh! in my ages to be free
@user-om9ub9ud1j
Oh, he stands in front of me
And he's staring manically
Screaming "Oh society, what have you done to me?"
The ground I've tread so many years
All this blood and sweat and tears
Just to be inside your mold
And do just what I'm told if only I had been so bold
But now my body's getting old
And time is all so golden if only it could be frozen
But you took it away from me
Oh society, you took it away from me
All my liberty
Oh, you took it away from me
Oh society, you took it away from me
When you brainwashed me with formulas of how I should be
Shaped me and raped me of my individuality
Schooled me and fooled me
Told me what I could and could not see
Took me and shook me of my urges to be free
Traducir al español
@thesambosch
How is she so soft and so powerful all at the same time?!?!?!?!
@petar1008
It is because she does it from The Heart. That is the nature and one of the characteristics of Human Heart, being subtle and very very powerful at the same time.
@Hung895
I love the way people listen to her...
@Hung895
+Hung895 yES, again I feel this girl touches deeply the people's soul...I've never seen such a beautiful,simple and narural 'video clip'!
@petar1008
+Hung895 Well I must say that is one really nice compliment ;). Thanks for watching and enjoying.
@aleksanderbskarstein3507
@@petar1008"
@casteltv8536
She’s the only one who could sing the vowel “e” for eight bars & it be so beautiful 😭❤️
@aava757
now here is a person who can honestly be called a musician. her voice is one of a kind. so clear and powerful. full of emotion
@austinsumner3768
I really love how you captured the people in this one. Some of the folks you can see how deep the lyrics are seemingly striking them.
@tednorberto3086
People always cuttin onions here on Youtube.