In the beginning, Columbia Records signed Carlile in late 2004 on the strength of songs she'd been recording periodically at home. Released in 2005, Brandi Carlile showcased those early songs along with several newly recorded tracks. Shortly after the release of Brandi Carlile, she left her home in Seattle and set out with the Hanseroth brothers, with whom she'd worked on her earliest recordings and independent regional tours. The tightly knit trio, which forms the core of her band today, spent the better part of two years on the road honing the songs that would later become part of her album "The Story".
In 2005, she was featured on Rolling Stone's "10 Artists to Watch in 2005" list. By the end of 2006, Carlile had embarked on several headlining tours and supported a variety of artists including Ray LaMontagne, The Fray, Chris Isaak, Tori Amos, and Shawn Colvin.
Her second album, The Story, was released in April 2007. It was produced by T Bone Burnett and includes a collaboration with the Indigo Girls on "Cannonball." The album was recorded in an eleven-day-long session with Carlile , the twins (Tim and Phil Hanseroth) and drummer Matt Chamberlain to capture the raw intensity of Carlile's live performances. The crack in Carlile's vocals during the title track, "The Story", came out by accident and was a direct result of the way the album was recorded. Carlile herself describes the vocals as "technically wrong but emotionally right."
Carlile was exposed to a wider audience when ABC's Grey's Anatomy showcased three of her songs: "Tragedy," "What Can I Say," and "Throw It All Away". In April 2007, Grey's Anatomy debuted a version of the video for the single The Story interspersed with footage from the show. On May 3, 2007, a special two-hour episode of "Grey's Anatomy" featured Carlile's song "Turpentine" during footage of the "Grey's Anatomy" spin-off, "Private Practice".
Pride and Joy
Brandi Carlile Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The kind of thing that takes it's toll
Over years and over time
Over smiles and over wine
All in all it wasn't bad
All in all it wasn't good
But I still care
That's the problem with the days
What it is you never said
All the books you never read
I throw myself into the wind
Hoping somebody will pick me up
And carry me again
Where are you now
Do you let me down
Do you make me grieve for you
Do I make you proud
Do you get me now
Am I your pride and joy
I believe this to be true
Nothing sacred nothing new
No one tells you when its time
There are no warnings only signs
And you know that you're alone
You're not a child anymore
But you're still scared
All your mountains turn to rocks
All your oceans turn to drops
They are nothing like you thought
Can't be something you are not
Life is not a looking glass
Don't get tangled in your past
Like I am learning not to
Where are you now
Do you let me down
Do you make me grieve for you
Do I make you proud
Do you get me now
Am I your pride joy
The lyrics to Brandi Carlile's "Pride and Joy" express a longing for connection and validation from someone who may be absent or distant. The first verse describes a sense of time slipping away and missed opportunities. The singer looks back on their life and acknowledges that the overall experience was not necessarily good or bad, but it still matters to them. They express the frustration of not being able to fully articulate or express what they feel, whether it's the books they never had time to read, or the words left unsaid. The metaphor of throwing oneself into the wind represents the hope of being caught and carried by someone, anyone.
The second verse delves deeper into the feeling of being alone and scared, despite the experience of growing older and being more competent. The mountains and oceans, which once seemed insurmountable, now appear small and insignificant. The singer recognizes that life is not a fairytale - there are no guarantees or warnings, only signs that may or may not be followed. The closing stanza repeats the questions from the chorus, pleading for acknowledgement and approval from a specific person who may or may not be listening.
Overall, "Pride and Joy" speaks to the universal desire for love and recognition, even in the face of disappointment or loss. The lyrics suggest that time moves quickly and opportunities are fleeting, so it's important to appreciate and connect with others while we can.
Line by Line Meaning
Time of day I can't recall
I can't remember what time of day it was when this memory took place
The kind of thing that takes it's toll
This memory is something that has been weighing on me heavily
Over years and over time
This memory has persisted through the passing of years and the march of time
Over smiles and over wine
Even in moments of happiness and celebration, this memory haunts me
All in all it wasn't bad
Despite the weight of this memory, overall it wasn't a terrible experience
All in all it wasn't good
However, it also wasn't a positive experience
But I still care
Despite the mixed emotions surrounding this memory, I still care about it deeply
That's the problem with the days
One of the issues with life is that time is limited and not always sufficient to adequately express ourselves
They're never long enough to say
We often find that there simply isn't enough time in a day to say all that we need to say
What it is you never said
Sometimes we miss out on the opportunity to express ourselves and say the things that we always meant to say
All the books you never read
Similarly, there are books we meant to read but never got around to doing so
I throw myself into the wind
In this moment, I am metaphorically throwing myself into the uncertainty and unpredictability of life
Hoping somebody will pick me up
I hold out hope that there will be someone there to support me
And carry me again
Like someone has done before when I needed them
Where are you now
I am wondering where you are in this moment
Do you let me down
Did you disappoint me in some way?
Do you make me grieve for you
Do I feel pain or sorrow because of something you have done?
Do I make you proud
Am I someone who makes you proud?
Do you get me now
Do you understand who I am now?
Am I your pride and joy
Do you consider me to be something that brings you joy and makes you proud?
I believe this to be true
I have faith that this is the case
Nothing sacred nothing new
There is nothing particularly special or novel about this situation
No one tells you when its time
There is no one to tell you when the time has come to make certain decisions
There are no warnings only signs
There may not be explicit warnings, but there are often clues or signals to guide us
And you know that you're alone
You understand that, ultimately, you are alone in your experiences
You're not a child anymore
You have grown up and cannot rely on others to take care of you like a child
But you're still scared
Despite being an adult, fear can still grip us in important moments
All your mountains turn to rocks
Things that once seemed insurmountable can become much more manageable
All your oceans turn to drops
Challenges or obstacles that once seemed expansive and daunting can become much smaller
They are nothing like you thought
Our experiences don't always line up with our expectations or predictions
Can't be something you are not
We must be true to ourselves and not try to be someone we're not
Life is not a looking glass
We cannot always view life through a narrow perspective, but must be open to new ways of seeing things
Don't get tangled in your past
We mustn't get bogged down by what has happened in the past; we must continue to move forward
Like I am learning not to
I, too, am still learning this lesson
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Brandi M. Carlile, Timothy Jay Hanseroth, Phillip John Hanseroth
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind