Quiet, mesmerizing and anything but comforting, the song lingers in memory.
Nic Harcourt, respected music guru at NPR flagship KCRW-FM/Los Angeles, has called Bird, “a songwriter of extraordinary depth with a voice to match.” Billboard’s Chris Morris has written--citing her “melodic grace” and affecting honesty”--that, “Bird York's songs subtly reveal those things that rise out of the corners of the night: Memory, reverie, desire, and the emotions that lie cloaked when the sun is high.” York began writing songs in her teens, after both her parents died, and her resonant compositions reflect hard-won life experience and a survivor’s mettle. “I’m fifteen, homeless, and some older ex-hippie guy gives me a beat-up guitar,” she says. “When most girls are worried about what to wear, I am wondering about where I am going to sleep. But I have this guitar and decided I was going to write myself a song to ride out of the freak show called TOO MUCH TOO SOON”
“In The Deep” is just one in a sensual and intoxicatingly hypnotic collection of songs on York’s Narada/EMI major label album debut, Wicked Little High. Elegantly delivered and emotionally stirring, the disc subliminally slips, slowly but inevitably, deep into your consciousness with a sound that Music Biz Magazine called “torch trip hop.” The album opens with the richly textured and subtly psychedelic “Had A Dream,” produced by GRAMMY®-winning engineer/mixer Thom Russo (Macy Gray, Audioslave). The song swirls around the thoughts, “where logic ends, faith begins,” and, “wondering if we just try and risk everything for love/how can we ever go wrong.”
Other stand-outs include the title track, an ironic meditation on the downside of a physical attraction that counters logic and wisdom but persists nevertheless—“Desire is such a wicked little high when the one you want is blind to you.” York’s insightful lyrics and seductive, smoky vocals make the notion of “the fifth drink before a long drive home” palpable. Wicked Little High also includes collaborations with GRAMMY®-winning producer Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell, Madeline Peyroux), and songs from the album have already aired on the network television shows House, CSI:NY, Everwood, Jake 2.0 and In Justice, as well as in the John Cusack-produced film Never Get Outta The Boat and the New line feature Peaceful Warrior. Songs from her critically acclaimed debut cd have been featured on Nip/Tuck as well as other film and tv projects.
Possessed by a “driving desire to make things,” Bird York’s artistry is manifested across multiple disciplines. Her extensive acting credits include an ongoing role on NBC’s The West Wing, appearing in over sixteen episodes of the EMMY and Golden Globe winning show as Andy Wyatt. York has also appeared on Curb Your Enthusiasm as well as played the starring role in the NBC bio pic mini series LOVE CAN BUILD A BRIDGE portraying Naomi Judd from 25-45. On the big screen, she’s performed in features with Dennis Hopper, Diane Keaton, Julianna Margulies and Tom Waits, currently completing filming on SUBLIME opposite Tom Cavanaugh for Warner Bros?Raw Feed and is about to begin filming on the indie FOOTSTEPS this July.
On the writing side, beyond composing, York has just compeleted a screenplay for John Wells /Warner Bros. Television, and a music-based series that she developed has been sold to Sony.
With everything she’s accomplished, York notes that over the years, she’s often taken the road less traveled and turned down opportunities that didn’t allow her to follow her heart or that reigned in her creativity. “I live for that tingly moment,” she says. “Even if something doesn’t work out, I could die knowing that I listened to my heart. My life really is about passion, my passion for humanity and I don’t think you should have to compartmentalize passion--I want to sing about it, write about it, and embody it in acting roles. I’m a storyteller, and my intention is to tell stories that elevate the human condition.”
“I am interested in how music can change the molecules in a room,” she says, “and how music can make you want to slip out of your clothes and kiss someone. " Right now, that passion is transcendent through Bird York’s music via the Academy Award-nominated song “In The Deep” and her new album Wicked Little High.
Remedy
Bird York Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Waiting for the dark to burn away
Counting on your heartbeat's constant rhythm
To carry me back to myself
All of my thoughts, like junkyard dogs, guarding scraps of nothing
Filling my head with senseless things that keep me from you
But I found the remedy
I found the cure for everything
Help me love a world that I don't understand
Lying in the grass I listened
Underneath a black sky soaked in stars
Til I heard the sound of my heart spinning
All my panic into love
Out of the fire of false desire
Beat up but I'm breathing
Trying to stay wide awake
While all the world's asleep
Chorus
And you're taught to want
All of life's shiny trinkets
And you're hoping that they will save you
But when it's all over
None of these things will matter
And you'll ask yourself "did I love?"
Chorus
The lyrics of Bird York's song Remedy depict the relationship between the singer and their lover. The singer is represented by the metaphorical image of a diamond, wrapped inside the lover, waiting for the dark, which symbolizes the troubles of the world and the struggles of the singer, to burn away. The constant rhythm of the lover's heartbeat is what brings the singer back to their own self. However, the singer still battles with their own thoughts, which are portrayed as junkyard dogs, guarding scraps of nothing, and filling their head with senseless things. The singer found the remedy, or the cure for everything, in the form of the lover. They ask the lover to take them into their hands and help them love a world that they don't understand.
In the second verse, the singer lies in the grass, listening to the sound of their heart spinning all their panic into love. They realize the fire of false desire, yet they're beat up but still breathing, trying to stay wide awake while the world is asleep. The chorus emphasizes that people are taught to want all of life's shiny trinkets and hope that they will save them, but when it's all over, none of these things will matter. The ultimate question that one will ask themselves is, "did I love?" Essentially, the song Remedy is about love's ability to heal and a reminder that love is ultimately important.
Line by Line Meaning
Wrapped inside you like a diamond
I feel safe and protected with you, like a precious gem
Waiting for the dark to burn away
I am waiting for my problems to disappear
Counting on your heartbeat's constant rhythm
I rely on your steady love to guide me
To carry me back to myself
To help me find my true self again
All of my thoughts, like junkyard dogs, guarding scraps of nothing
My thoughts make me anxious and paranoid, even though they're meaningless
Filling my head with senseless things that keep me from you
My worries distract me from being with you
But I found the remedy
I found a solution to my problems
I found the cure for everything
I found a way to solve all my issues
Take me into your hands
Hold me tight and comfort me
Help me love a world that I don't understand
Assist me in appreciating a world that confuses me
Lying in the grass I listened
I am lying down, peaceful and listening
Underneath a black sky soaked in stars
The beautiful sky is full of stars and I'm enjoying its radiance
Til I heard the sound of my heart spinning
Until I heard my heartbeat, reminding me of my life's purpose
All my panic into love
I turn my anxiety and fear into love
Out of the fire of false desire
I'm coming out of a destructive and pointless cycle
Beat up but I'm breathing
I'm struggling but at least I'm still alive
Trying to stay wide awake
I am fighting to stay alert and conscious
While all the world's asleep
When nobody else is awake and conscious
Chorus
Refrain of the song
And you're taught to want
Society teaches you to crave material possessions
All of life's shiny trinkets
All of the objects that seem desirable
And you're hoping that they will save you
You are hoping that these trinkets will bring you happiness and fulfillment
But when it's all over
When your life comes to an end
None of these things will matter
All of your possessions will no longer hold any value
And you'll ask yourself "did I love?"
In the end, you will only be concerned with whether you truly loved or not
Chorus
Refrain of the song
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BIRD YORK, LARRY KLEIN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind