Brooklyn-based indie artist Bess Rogers has had a lifetime fascination with… Read Full Bio ↴Brooklyn-based indie artist Bess Rogers has had a lifetime fascination with evolution. But it wasn't until 4 years of nonstop touring and three independent releases that the science of life began to creep its way into her songs. Her new record, aptly titled Out Of The Ocean, is a bold step forward for Rogers, and one that she has been eager to take.

Raised in a musical family (her mother played harpsichords that her father built), Rogers has been living and breathing music since she was 6 years old. After earning a bachelors and masters degree in music composition from SUNY Purchase, she began a steady routine of recording and touring in support of her own music and as a back up singer and lead guitarist for indie-pop artist, Ingrid Michaelson.

During a rare few months off this winter, she decided to hibernate in her Brooklyn home and write a new record. In between working on the songs, she picked up a book called "Your Inner Fish" by Neil Shubin. "The book is about our evolution from life as far back as pre-historic fish and microbes and how that has affected our bodies and our lives now. It really grabbed me and I found myself a bit obsessed. I started to look at everything we do in life as a product of evolution, and many of the songs on this record were inspired by that idea," says Rogers.

Produced by Chris Kuffner (Ingrid Michaelson's Girls and Boys) and recorded partly in a Maine farmhouse studio owned by Sam Kassirer (producer of Josh Ritter and Erin McEown) and partly in Rogers’ home studio in Brooklyn, Out Of The Ocean features a host of talented friends including Ingrid Michaelson, Allie Moss, Ian Axel, Saul Simon-MacWilliams, Elliot Jacobson and Dave Eggar (Train, Beyonce). Like Rogers' live shows, the songs themselves have a huge dynamic range. From the haunting underwater mermaid ballad "In the Waves," to the synth-laden robot love song "Math and Science," to the driving pop-rock sing-along "Water and Dirt," Out Of The Ocean mirrors our understanding of life and love through time while maintaining a pop sensibility that Rogers is known for.

Like her previous releases, Bess Rogers Presents Bess Rogers (2010), Travel Back EP (2009) and Decisions Based On Information (2007), Out Of The Ocean was made and released independently. Knowing that this new record would require a more substantial budget, Rogers put out the call to her fans through Kickstarter. Within two days of launching the campaign, the initial goal of $10,000 was met; and by the end she had raised $26,000 with over 500 backers. "It was amazing." says Rogers. "The amount of support it got was mind-blowing and made me even more excited to make this record and get it out there into the world."

Bess' music has been featured on such television shows as One Tree Hill, Pretty Little Liars, Raising The Bar, and Switched At Birth, and a national Motts for Tots commercial. She has shared the stage with Ingrid Michaelson, Loudon Wainwright, Ari Hest, Ian Axel, Allie Moss and more. Out Of The Ocean was released on October 4, 2011, and was supported by a extensive tour in the US and the UK.

Undone
Bess Rogers Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Can it be, the book is on your side
You read it left to right,
It writes itself in your eyes...

49 million on your mark,
Ready and set to fight
Faster than you could run.
Well if I knew the kind of situation,

then I would be underground
And if I could change the world around me,
then I wouldn't be so down.
Baby can't you see I'm the kind of girl that could easily come undone?

Parking lot, you're parking in your spot,
writing your feelings down,
and checking them off with pride.
49 million on the couch
watching the walls collide,
watching their freedom die.

Well if I knew the kind of situation,
then I would be underground
And if I could change the world around me,
then I wouldn't be so down.
Baby can't you see I'm the kind of girl that could easily come undone?

Now what else can I do?

Do do do...

Now what else can I do?

Well if I knew the kind of situation,
then I would be underground
And if I could change the world around me,
then I wouldn't be so down.
Baby can't you see I'm the kind of girl that could easily come undone?

Now what else can I do?
x2

Overall Meaning

Undone by Bess Rogers is a song about feeling powerless against the larger forces around us. The first verse suggests that the singer is feeling overwhelmed by a situation that is beyond her control. The book on her side represents knowledge that she has, but it is not enough to change her circumstances. This is shown through the lyrics "Well if I knew the kind of situation, then I would be underground / And if I could change the world around me, then I wouldn't be so down." The second verse shows another character who is feeling similarly helpless, expressed through the imagery of watching "their freedom die." The song ends with a repeated line asking "Now what else can I do?" which echoes the feeling of being stuck in an impossible situation.

The song touches on themes of frustration, powerlessness, and the desire for change. It is a commentary on the current state of the world and the individual's role in it. The lyrics suggest that the problems are larger than any one person, but the desire for change is still present.

Line by Line Meaning

Can it be, the book is on your side
You seem to have everything going for you

You read it left to right,
You have it all figured out

It writes itself in your eyes...
Which is apparent in everything you do.

49 million on your mark,
Everyone else is racing ahead of you

Ready and set to fight
But you're left behind feeling helpless

Faster than you could run.
And it feels impossible to catch up

Well if I knew the kind of situation,
If only I was aware of what's really happening

then I would be underground
I would hide away from it all

And if I could change the world around me,
Or I could fix everything on my own

then I wouldn't be so down.
Then maybe I wouldn't feel so low

Baby can't you see I'm the kind of girl that could easily come undone?
But the reality is, it's easy for someone like me to fall apart