Half Italian half British singer and guitarist Anna Calvi grew up being exp… Read Full Bio ↴Half Italian half British singer and guitarist Anna Calvi grew up being exposed to a multitude of genres of music by her music-loving father. According to the Suzanne and I Songfacts, she cites the classical composers Ravel and Debussy among her influences and her music has been described as "brooding melodramatic goth-pop."

At the age of 17 and after eschewing art school in favor of a music degree, Calvi began to learn her trade and started to assemble musical partnerships. In 2006, she met percussionist and harmonium player Mally Harpaz and later recruited drummer Daniel Maiden-Wood. Her initial gigs took place in and around London in late 2008 and 2009. The release of her debut single, "Jezebel," in the fall of 2010 was an electric cover version of the Edith Piaf standard.

The young Calvi soon captured the attention of Domino Records' boss Lawrence Bell after a glowing reference from former Coral guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones, who had witnessed one of Calvi's gigs in Manchester. Bell quickly signed her to his label. Ryder-Jones was not the only celebrity admirer of Calvi's, an acquaintance with the aforementioned Brian Eno similarly urged him to listen to this emerging talent. After hearing Calvi's raw and unplugged performances on The Attic Sessions (the early demos that she recorded on an 8-track in her parent's attic), the distinguished producer soon became her mentor and unofficial cheerleader.

Calvi entered Black Box Studios in France with the much-lauded producer Rob Ellis to record her self-titled debut album in 2010. Using vintage analog equipment, Calvi created a velvet Wall of Sound that justified the hype in the buildup to its 2011 release.

Her second album "One Breath" was released in October 2013. It was produced by John Congleton across two locations - Box Box Studios in France and Elmwood Recording Studios in Texas. The first single taken from the record was "Eliza".

Carry Me Over
Anna Calvi Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

It’s my body that I trust
Deeper than my voice
Deep to the sound of my heart
I can hear you moving on
Like the tracks of a train
Where there’s no way back to the start

Ohhhhhh

The worry that you carry me over
Ohhhhhh
The dead lie
But you carry me over

Oh we’re moving on and on
Like a pendulum swing
Where there’s no way back to the start

Ohhhhhh
The worry is that you carry me over
The dead lie but you carry me over
Over
The worry you follow deeper down
Over
The worry I follow down
To feel you I followed you down, down, down.

Ohhhhhhhhhh
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Overall Meaning

In Anna Calvi's song "Carry Me Over", she sings about the struggle of trusting oneself and moving on from past mistakes. The lyrics "It's my body that I trust, deeper than my voice" suggests that sometimes one must rely on intuition and instinct, rather than the voice of reason or others. Calvi emphasizes the importance of listening to one's heart as she compares it to the tracks of a train, which leads to a one-way trip without a return to the starting point. The chorus repeats the lines "The worry that you carry me over, the dead lie but you carry me over" which symbolizes the burden of fear and anxiety that one carries with them, but also shows the power of someone else's love to carry them through their troubles.

The rest of the lyrics follow this theme, suggesting that the singer is moving forward but still being weighed down by their past. The lines "Where there's no way back to the start" and "The worry you follow deeper down" show that this weight is a constant struggle. However, the song ends somewhat ambiguously, with the repeated "Ohhhhh" and "Ahhhh" suggesting a release from this worry and a surrender to their loved one's guidance.

Line by Line Meaning

It's my body that I trust
I rely on my instincts and physical sensations rather than my words

Deeper than my voice
My body's feelings and intuition are more important than what I say

Deep to the sound of my heart
My heart's emotions guide me and are at the core of my being

I can hear you moving on
I sense that you are leaving and moving on from our relationship

Like the tracks of a train
Your departure from our relationship is inevitable and irreversible like the path of a train

Where there's no way back to the start
Our relationship is damaged beyond repair and we cannot return to how things were before

The worry that you carry me over
The anxiety and concern that you bring with you as you leave me behind

The dead lie
The lie that our relationship is still alive and well

But you carry me over
You carry the weight and consequences of leaving me behind

Oh we're moving on and on
We are both progressing and continuing forward separately

Like a pendulum swing
Our movements mimic the back-and-forth motion of a pendulum

The worry is that you carry me over
The fear and anxiety that your decision to leave causes me

The dead lie but you carry me over
Although our relationship appears dead, you still bear responsibility for the effects of your departure

The worry you follow deeper down
The anxiety you instill in me only grows stronger as time passes

The worry I follow down
I am consumed with worry and become more anxious as a result

To feel you I followed you down, down, down
To experience your presence again, I have lowered myself and become more deeply entrenched in my anxious state

Ohhhhhhhhhh
A prolonged expression of strong emotion

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh
A sound of exhaustion and exasperation

Writer(s): Anna Margaret Michelle Calvi Copyright: Domino Publishing Co. Ltd.

Contributed by Alexander M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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