She appeared in the September edition of Now! Magazine. She also appeared on the LOLA 2007 line-up, using her lush instrumental back-ups to accompany her reedy voice. Her first album has been hailed in the Exclaim! monthly newspaper and on several online publications.
Basia was nominated in 2010 for a Polaris Music Prize and nominated in 2011 for a Juno in the Best New Artist category.
Tall Tall Shadow
Basia Bulat Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're only fooling yourself
Open hand or not
You are holding out
But there is no light that you can't live in
Tear it apart
Your old confession made in the dark
Now every hour, change of heart
But the shadow is yours
Cover all your steps
One day I know they will be tried
No deception left
And now even you might realize
That there is no lie that you can live in
Tear it apart
Your own confession
Made in the dark
Now every hour
Change of heart
You're running away
But the shadow is your own, your own
One day when it finds you, take it to heart
You can't run away
When you know that the tall, tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
Is yours
No, there is no lie that you can live in
Tear it apart
Your own confession
Made in the dark
Now every hour, change of heart
You're running away
But the shadow is your own, your own
One day when it finds you
Take it to heart
You can't run away when you know
That the tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
You know the tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow is yours
You can't run away
If the shadow is yours
You can't run away
When the shadow is yours
You can't run away
No you can't run away
If the shadow is yours
The lyrics of Basia Bulat's song "Tall Tall Shadow" appear to be a confronting message directed towards someone who is not living truthfully. The statement "be true or be gone" sets the tone for the song and suggests that the person being addressed is not living with authenticity. The lines "no deception left, and now even you might realize" imply that this person has been living a lie for a significant period and has been deceiving themselves and possibly those around them. The message is uncompromising and intended to challenge the recipient of the lyrics into action. The line "there is no lie that you can live in" drives home the point that the only way forward is authenticity or leaving to avoid discomfort.
The phrase "tall tall shadow" is significant as it appears in the chorus, and it is repeated several times. It stands as a metaphor for the person's own internal struggle with the truth or their self-deception. The line "one day when it finds you, take it to heart" suggests that the recipient of the message cannot avoid confronting their internal struggles any longer. The song implies that the only way out of the internal turmoil the recipient is experiencing is through self-confrontation and radical truthfulness.
Overall, the lyrics of "Tall Tall Shadow" are a call to action for individuals who are grappling with living authentically, but are held back by fear, doubt or confusion, to take a hard look at themselves and tear down the wall of deception that has been holding them back.
Line by Line Meaning
Be true or be gone
You must be honest and genuine, or you will be rejected
You're only fooling yourself
If you are being fake, the only person you are hurting is yourself
Open hand or not
It doesn't matter if you are willing to share or not
You are holding out
You are keeping something back
But there is no light that you can't live in
You can overcome any darkness or difficulty
Tear it apart
Destroy what is false or harmful
Your old confession made in the dark
Your previous admission of guilt or wrongdoing that you kept hidden from others
Now every hour, change of heart
You are constantly reconsidering your actions and beliefs
You're running away
You are avoiding your problems
But the shadow is yours
The problems are your own and will follow you
Cover all your steps
Hide your tracks and mistakes
One day I know they will be tried
Eventually, your actions will have consequences
No deception left
You are no longer hiding the truth
And now even you might realize
You have come to a new understanding
That there is no lie that you can live in
You cannot continue to deceive yourself or others
One day when it finds you, take it to heart
When you finally face your problems, learn from them
You can't run away
You cannot escape your issues forever
When you know that the tall, tall shadow
When you realize that your problems are significant and cannot be ignored
Tall tall shadow
A metaphor for the problems that follow us
Is yours
The problems are your own to confront
If the shadow is yours
If the problems are your own
No you can't run away
You cannot avoid your issues
Writer(s): Basia Bulat
Contributed by Tristan W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Christiana Fe Clara
Be true or be gone
You're only fooling yourself
Open hand or not
You are holding out
But there is no light that you can't live in
Tear it apart
Your old confession made in the dark
Now every hour, change of heart
You're running away
But the shadow is yours
Cover all your steps
One day I know they will be tried
No deception left
And now even you might realize
That there is no lie that you can live in
Tear it apart
Your own confession
Made in the dark
Now every hour
Change of heart
You're running away
But the shadow is your own, your own
One day when it finds you, take it to heart
You can't run away
When you know that the tall, tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
Is yours
No, there is no lie that you can live in
Tear it apart
Your own confession
Made in the dark
Now every hour, change of heart
You're running away
But the shadow is your own, your own
One day when it finds you
Take it to heart
You can't run away when you know
That the tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
You know the tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow is yours
You can't run away
If the shadow is yours
You can't run away
When the shadow is yours
You can't run away
No you can't run away
If the shadow is yours
Thomas 80
Be true or be gone
You're only fooling yourself
Open hand or not
You are holding out
But there is no light that you can't live in
Tear it apart
Your old confession made in the dark
Now every hour, change of heart
You're running away
But the shadow is yours
Cover all your steps
One day I know they will be tried
No deception left
And now even you might realize
That there is no lie that you can live in
Tear it apart
Your own confession
Made in the dark
Now every hour
Change of heart
You're running away
But the shadow is your own, your own
One day when it finds you, take it to heart
You can't run away
When you know that the tall, tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
Is yours
No, there is no lie that you can live in
Tear it apart
Your own confession
Made in the dark
Now every hour, change of heart
You're running away
But the shadow is your own, your own
One day when it finds you
Take it to heart
You can't run away when you know
That the tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
You know the tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow is yours
You can't run away
If the shadow is yours
You can't run away
When the shadow is yours
You can't run away
No you can't run away
If the shadow is yours
Christiana Fe Clara
Be true or be gone
You're only fooling yourself
Open hand or not
You are holding out
But there is no light that you can't live in
Tear it apart
Your old confession made in the dark
Now every hour, change of heart
You're running away
But the shadow is yours
Cover all your steps
One day I know they will be tried
No deception left
And now even you might realize
That there is no lie that you can live in
Tear it apart
Your own confession
Made in the dark
Now every hour
Change of heart
You're running away
But the shadow is your own, your own
One day when it finds you, take it to heart
You can't run away
When you know that the tall, tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
Is yours
No, there is no lie that you can live in
Tear it apart
Your own confession
Made in the dark
Now every hour, change of heart
You're running away
But the shadow is your own, your own
One day when it finds you
Take it to heart
You can't run away when you know
That the tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
You know the tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow
The tall tall shadow
Tall tall shadow is yours
You can't run away
If the shadow is yours
You can't run away
When the shadow is yours
You can't run away
No you can't run away
If the shadow is yours
Big C
👊🏾
Lola Ortiz Martínez
Me encanta esta canción.. 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏
Gabrielle Askari
This song of Basia’s helps me to be brave enough to face my tall, tall shadow. I am eternally grateful ❤️
Kontaminacija
♥ your shadow. Kind regards.
RoboticDragon
Such a great voice, I love cbc radio for introducing me to so many amazing artists like her.
Joshua Akangah
One of my favourite Basia Bulat songs
quincy transval
I don't usually share my music choices with friends, but I tell everyone about Basia
Paul b
Totally amazing....Love it
Gavin McCormick
She is amazing live... Us Calgarians got her to do a double encore last night, it was absolutely breathtaking.