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".
Touching the Ground
Brandi Carlile Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I swear when we touched I saw heaven in your eyes
Jewel studded clouds floating in your skies
Seas of blue and fields of green
Looking like you fell out of someone's dreams
Why do my troubles turn true
Why must my heartache be found
Wherever your feet are touching the ground?
Mm
You could sing an army of angels to sleep
Songs that could cause, ah, the devil to weep
You hold me so sweet when the day is done
Enough to make you wonder where we all came from
Why do my troubles turn true
Whenever I rest my eyes on you?
Why must my heartache be found
Wherever your feet are touching the ground?
A heartache can be found
Wherever your feet are touching the ground
And now those eyes are filling with rain
Bringing me misery, giving me pain
Curse these shackles that you put on me
And blessed be the day when you set me free
Why do my troubles turn true
Whenever I rest my eyes on you?
Why must my heartache be found
Wherever your feet are touching the ground?
A heartache can be found
Wherever your feet are touching the ground
A heartache can be found
Wherever your feet are touching the ground
(Ooh) ooh
In "Touching the Ground," Brandi Carlile describes a feeling akin to heaven when she touches the person she loves. She compares their eyes to jewel-studded clouds floating in the sky and sings of feeling surrounded by seas of blue and fields of green that look like they fell out of someone's dreams. At the same time, however, she expresses an emotional struggle that arises whenever she is around this person. Her troubles turn true when she rests her eyes on them, and her heartache seems to follow them wherever they go.
The second verse offers a further glimpse into the person's power over her. Carlile imagines that they could sing an army of angels to sleep or cause the devil to weep with their songs. When the day is done, they hold her sweetly, making her wonder about the origins of human existence. Yet, despite all these positive qualities, Carlile still feels the weight of emotional pain emanating from the person's gaze. They bring her rain and misery, and she curses the shackles they seem to have put on her.
Line by Line Meaning
I swear when we touched I saw heaven in your eyes
The singer felt overwhelmed with emotion when she made physical contact with the subject and was struck by how beautiful she thought their eyes were in that moment.
Jewel studded clouds floating in your skies
The subject's eyes were described to be breathtakingly beautiful, like clouds full of jewels, appearing to float endlessly far away.
Seas of blue and fields of green
The vivid blue and green colors surrounding the singer caused by the subject's eyes were similar to sights seen in nature such as oceans and fields.
Looking like you fell out of someone's dreams
The artist thinks the subject looks too stunning to be real, as though she came from a dream.
Why do my troubles turn true
Whenever I rest my eyes on you
Why must my heartache be found
Wherever your feet are touching the ground
The artist feels an intense emotion whenever she looks at the subject, but regardless of what scenario or place this may be, the artist only feels sadness and heartbreak whenever the subject is in the vicinity.
You could sing an army of angels to sleep
Songs that could cause the devil to weep
The singer thinks the subject possesses a rare talent when it comes to singing and that they could soothe an army of angels or even bring the devil to tears through their music.
You hold me so sweet when the day is done
Enough to make you wonder where we all came from
The singer is grateful for being held by the subject after a long day, and wonders about the mysteries of the world and where they came from while experiencing this sense of warmth.
And out of those eyes I'm feeling rain
Bringing me misery and giving me pain
Curse these shackles that you put on me
Blessed be the day when you set me free
The artist feels miserable and pained whenever the subject is present, thinking that she is the cause of this melancholy. Whether being literal or metaphorical, the artist feels as though the subject has put shackles on her and is eager to become free of them.
My heartache can be found
Wherever your feet are touching the ground
The artist expresses the idea that the cause of her heartache is solely due to the presence of the subject, and it doesn't matter where she goes or what she does, as long as she is around, her pain will persist.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Brandi M. Carlile, Phillip John Hanseroth, Timothy Jay Hanseroth
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind