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".
Piece by Piece
Anna Calvi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the black and white keys falling
And the colour, the shape of your hand
As you point at the paintings you don’t hang
I will forget, piece by piece
I will forget, piece by piece
Into the dark piece by piece
Sun and moon
I waited here
For you to rise
And disappear now
I will forget piece by piece
I will forget piece by piece
Into the air piece by piece
I will forget piece by piece
Love you can stay
Your scent on my collar
The colour will fade
I know that it's worthless
The chase and decay
It leaves me with worthless love
I will forget piece by piece
I will forget piece by piece
I will forget you piece by piece
I will forget you piece by piece
Anna Calvi’s “Piece by Piece” is a hauntingly evocative song that grapples with the struggle of forgetting someone. The song focusses on the feelings and thoughts of a person who is trying to move on and forget their past love. The opening lines of the song set the mood with the imagery of a silver ring falling on the black and white keys of a piano. The singer recalls how she remembered the shape of the hand, the color of the skin, and the point with which the person gestured towards the un-hung paintings in the room. All these details have now become the relics of the past, and the singer wants to forget them.
The chorus of the song repeats, “I will forget piece by piece, Into the dark piece by piece, Into the air piece by piece.” The singer is making a deliberate effort to let go of the feelings and memories, bit by bit. The song is tinged with sadness and resignation, and it is clear that the person is giving up on something that they once cherished. The final lines of the song, “I will forget you piece by piece,” are a sobering reminder that sometimes the only way to move forward is by letting go of the past.
Line by Line Meaning
I remember your silver ring
I vividly recall your silver ring
On the black and white keys falling
It was during a piano performance when I noticed your silver ring.
And the colour, the shape of your hand
I was fascinated by the colour and shape of your hand.
As you point at the paintings you don’t hang
I watched you point at paintings that you do not hang in your home.
I will forget, piece by piece
I am determined to forget you gradually.
Into the dark piece by piece
I hope to forget you slowly, without it causing too much pain.
Into the air piece by piece
I want to forget you completely and let you go.
Sun and moon
Time passes.
I waited here
I remained in the same place.
For you to rise
I waited for you to arrive, to come into my life.
And disappear now
And now, I am ready for you to leave my life forever.
Love you can stay
Love has the potential to linger.
Your scent on my collar
I can still smell your perfume on my shirt collar.
The colour will fade
Eventually, the memories and experiences of our love will fade away.
I know that it's worthless
I realize that holding onto the idea of our love is worth nothing.
The chase and decay
Our pursuit of each other has ended in decay.
It leaves me with worthless love
All that's left is love that has no value or meaning to me.
I will forget you piece by piece
I will forget everything about you bit by bit.
I will forget you piece by piece
I will focus on erasing you from my memory completely.
Contributed by Bailey D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
AnnaCalviVEVO
Anna Calvi’s new album ‘Hunter’ will be released 31st August 2018 on Domino Record Co. Pre-order here: http://smarturl.it/HunterMart
More from Anna Calvi on YouTube: http://smarturl.it/BestOfAnnaCalvi
Belle Of Kilronan
YES.
Grace Willey
Every day since discovering her music and her videos I wake up every morning and wonder how she gets her hair slicked back into such a shiny tight bun/chignon thing so perfectly.
Peter Kroll
Thank you, Mrs. Calvi, for your wonderful music and guitar playing. This is so enjoyable, simple and complicated, sad and bright, subtle and loud all at the same time.
Peter Kroll
@Tim Long
... and I still love it.
Peter Kroll
@Tim Long
Thanks, corrected.
Tim Long
Subtle
NIGEL HANMORE
My new favourite artist;awesome live!!!
trinisun
This song is so freaking cool :-)
Correo sin uso
I love it <3