Andrea moved from New Orleans to Colorado in 1999, where they began attendi… Read Full Bio ↴Andrea moved from New Orleans to Colorado in 1999, where they began attending weekly poetry readings at Denver's political hub, The Mercury Café. In a years time they had rushed the scene, making their mark with the 2000 Denver Slam Team at The National Poetry Slam in Providence, Rhode Island. In the same year, Andrea joined Vox Feminista, a multi-passionate performance tribe of radical, political women bent on social change through cultural revolution. They went on to become a four-time Denver Grand Slam Champion. Andrea took 4th place out of 350 poets in the individual finals at the 2004 National Poetry Slam in St. Louis, while simultaneously leading Team Denver to a 2nd place title in the team competition.

Andrea has headlined everywhere from the Nuyorican Poet's Café, to Pride Fests and Lady Fests, to high schools and universities throughout the country. They have been showcased on Free Speech TV, Dyke TV, the documentary Slam Planet, and Independent Radio Stations nationwide. They are featured on New York City's 2004 Best of Urbana CD, and are currently a member of the prestigious Bullhorn Collective "comprised of 30 of the highest ranking slam poets and most accomplished performance poets in the world." They have shared the stage with such names as Leslie Feinberg, Amy Goodman, Dennis Kucinich and KRS1.

Andrea's poetry deconstructs the foundations of the current political machine, highlighting issues such as patriarchy, gender norms, white-supremacy, and capitalist culture. Their words are honest, humble and "oh my god, I can't believe you said that in public!" (ex-girlfriend #4).

Andrea is an independent artist who has self-released four CDs, Bullets and Windchimes (2003), Swarm (2004), When The Bough Breaks (2006), and Yellowbird (2009).

They have also self published three books, Trees That Grow in Cemeteries, Yellow Bird, and What the Yarn Knows of Sweaters.

Write Bloody Publishing published their nationally distributed collection of poems in 2008, Pole Dancing To Gospel Hymns.

Andrea uses they/them pronouns.

from: http://www.andreagibson.org/

Royal Heart
Andrea Gibson Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

but you can choose to bury your past
in the garden
beside the tulips
water it
until it's so alive
it lets go
and you belong to yourself
again
When you belong to yourself again
Remember forgiveness
is not a tidy grave
It is a ready loyal knight kneeling before your royal heart
Call in your royal heart
Tell it bravery cannot be measured by a lack of fear
It takes guts to tremble
It takes so much tremble to love
Every first date is a fucking earth quake
Sweetheart, on our first date
I showed off all my therapy
I flaunted the couch
Where I finally sweat out my history
Pulled out the photo album from the last time I wore a lie to the school dance
I smiled and said "that was never my style
Look how fixed I am
Look how there's no more drywall on my fist
Look at the stilts I've carved for my short temper
Look how my wrist is not something I have to hide" I said
Well I was hiding it
The telephone pole still down from the storm
By our third date I had fixed the line
I said listen,
I have a hard time
I mean I cry as often as most people pee and I don't shut the door behind me
I'll be up in your face screaming "SEATTLE IS TOO RAINY SEATTLE IS TOO RAINY
IM NEVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO LIVE HERE."
I sobbed on our fourth date
I can't live here
In my body, I mean
I can't live in my body all the time it feels too much
So if I ever feel far away know I am not gone
I am just underneath my grief
Adjusting the dial on my radio face so I can take this life with all of it's love and all of it's loss
See I already know that you are the place where I am finally going to sing without any static meaning
I'm never gonna wait
that extra twenty minutes
to text you back,
and I'm never gonna play
hard to get
when I know your life
has been hard enough already.
When we all know everyone's life
has been hard enough already
it's hard to watch
the game we make of love,
like everyone's playing checkers
with their scars,
saying checkmate
whenever they get out
without a broken heart.
Just to be clear
I don't want to get out
without a broken heart.
I intend to leave this life
so shattered
there's gonna have to be
a thousand separate heavens
for all of my separate parts
And none of those parts are going to be wearing the romance from the overpriced vintage rack
That is to say I am not going to get a single speed bike if I can't make it up the hill
I know exactly how many gears I'm going to need to love you well
And none of them look hip at the hot coffee shop
They all have God saying "good job you're finally not full of bullshit"
You finally met someone who's going to flatten your knee caps into skipping stones
Baby, throw me
Throw me as far as I can go
I don't want to leave this life without ever having come home

And I want to come home to you
I can figure out the rain

Overall Meaning

In "Royal Heart," Andrea Gibson explores the idea of being vulnerable in love and accepting the risk of being let down by the person you love most. The lyrics suggest that gravity and the irresistible force of falling love naturally lead to a difficult truth that's hard to express. As time passes, one accumulates more to lose, yet it's still possible to bury the pain of past relationships in the garden to grow and bloom like tulips. The song emphasizes that it's essential to belong to oneself again and not lose sight of forgiveness, which Gibson acknowledges isn't always a tidy grave. Bravery, according to the song, isn't defined by a lack of fear but rather by the courage to love and quake for it.

The song's narrative continues with the idea that love isn't easy, and it doesn't have to be. Gibson shares personal experiences of showing vulnerabilities and insecurities, as well as the importance of self-acceptance. On the first date, they flaunted their therapy and the couch where they "sweat out" their history. By the third date, they had fixed the telephone pole, admitting their difficulties with communication. On the fourth date, they cried and shared that they found it hard to live in their body all the time. The song emphasizes that it's okay to struggle and that being open about it is the first step towards healing. Through being vulnerable and showing one's true self, one can come home to themselves and to their partner.

Line by Line Meaning

You will never be let down by anyone more than you will be let down by the one you love most in the world it's how gravity works it's why they call it "falling" it's why the truth is harder to tell every year you have more to lose
The person you love the most is the one who is most likely to let you down. It's like gravity, everything that goes up falls back down. It's harder to tell the truth because you have a lot at stake and you are afraid to lose it.

but you can choose to bury your past in the garden beside the tulips water it until it's so alive it lets go and you belong to yourself again
You can bury your past and start anew. Water it and nurture it until you feel whole again, and you belong to yourself.

When you belong to yourself again Remember forgiveness is not a tidy grave It is a ready loyal knight kneeling before your royal heart Call in your royal heart Tell it bravery cannot be measured by a lack of fear It takes guts to tremble It takes so much tremble to love
Forgiveness is not easy but it is necessary for one to move on. Be brave and do not fear, remember that it takes a lot of courage to love someone with all your heart.

Every first date is a fucking earthquake Sweetheart, on our first date I showed off all my therapy I flaunted the couch Where I finally sweat out my history Pulled out the photo album from the last time I wore a lie to the school dance I smiled and said "that was never my style Look how fixed I am Look how there's no more drywall on my fist Look at the stilts I've carved for my short temper Look how my wrist is not something I have to hide" I said Well I was hiding it The telephone pole still down from the storm By our third date I had fixed the line I said listen, I have a hard time I mean I cry as often as most people pee and I don't shut the door behind me I'll be up in your face screaming "SEATTLE IS TOO RAINY SEATTLE IS TOO RAINY IM NEVER GOING TO BE ABLE TO LIVE HERE." I sobbed on our fourth date I can't live here In my body, I mean I can't live in my body all the time it feels too much So if I ever feel far away know I am not gone I am just underneath my grief Adjusting the dial on my radio face so I can take this life with all of it's love and all of it's loss
First dates are nerve-wracking and filled with anxiety. Andrea Gibson shares her experience of showing her flaws and opening up about her problems in a relationship. She talks about how she cannot live in her body all the time because of all the feelings it takes in, but she is still adjusting and learning to take in all the love and loss in life.

See I already know that you are the place where I am finally going to sing without any static I'm never gonna wait that extra twenty minutes to text you back, and I'm never gonna play hard to get when I know your life has been hard enough already.
The person she loves can bring her peace and make her feel comfortable enough to be herself. She will never play games or make the person wait unnecessarily. She understands that life can be hard and does not want to add to any more negativity.

When we all know everyone's life has been hard enough already it's hard to watch the game we make of love, like everyone's playing checkers with their scars, saying checkmate whenever they get out without a broken heart.
Everyone's life has been hard already, so it's tough to watch people play games in love. They are like playing checkers with their scars, and when they get out without getting hurt, they say checkmate.

Just to be clear I don't want to get out without a broken heart.
Andrea Gibson does not want to leave this earth without someone having broken her heart because she believes that experiencing heartbreak shows that one has truly loved.

I intend to leave this life so shattered there's gonna have to be a thousand separate heavens for all of my separate parts And none of those parts are going to be wearing the romance from the overpriced vintage rack
Andrea Gibson intends to leave this life so shattered that there will have to be a thousand different heavens to hold all of her shattered pieces. None of her broken parts will be wearing cheap love, like the overpriced vintage clothes at a thrift store.

That is to say I am not going to get a single speed bike if I can't make it up the hill I know exactly how many gears I'm going to need to love you well And none of them look hip at the hot coffee shop They all have God saying "good job you're finally not full of bullshit" You finally met someone who's going to flatten your knee caps into skipping stones Baby, throw me Throw me as far as I can go
She will not pretend to be something she is not just to impress the person she loves. She understands what kind of person she needs to be to love them well, and none of it will look cool or hip. It is all guided by divine intervention saying congratulations, you're finally moving forward. The person she loves will make her feel weightless and free, like a skipping stone.

I don't want to leave this life without ever having come home And I want to come home to you I can figure out the rain
Andrea Gibson's happiest place is home, and she does not want to leave this world without experiencing that feeling. She wants to come home to the person she loves and can figure out how to navigate life's rain with them by her side.

Contributed by Mason F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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