His first album was 'The Great War of Words' followed by 'A Better Man' in 1996 which gained quadruple platinum sales in Ireland. This led to awards for 'Best Irish Male Album' and 'Best Irish Male Artist’. With the release of the album, 'Now That I Know What I Want' he found himself with 3 albums simultaneously in the top 30 of the Irish album charts.
In his varied career he has toured frequently, recorded with Ronan Keating, has acted and has performed in Riverdance and on Broadway. Brian has recently made a number of popular BBC TV programmes in which he sings traditional Irish songs. He has released albums based on the series and also a single ‘You Raise Me Up’. This famous song he originally recorded for Secret Garden and indeed he is also the vocalist on their CD ‘Earth Songs’ where he sings Always There. Secret Garden are Norwegian Rolf Lovland writer of two Eurovision winners (La Det Swinge for Bobbysocks in 1985 and Nocturne for Secret Garden in 1995) and also his Irish partner in the group is Fionnuala Sweeney.
Here I Am
Brian Kennedy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
That all the dreams I dreamed would come to be
But each promise made would masquerade
And all my fine ideas would come to nothing
I must admit to feeling that the odds
Were stacked and I could never win
And the more I tried the more I cried
But through it all I knew there would be something
Well I've got news for you
You're never gonna bring me down
Saw the door and walked right through
Here I am
There's just nothing left to prove
Here I am
And so you tried to slow me down
But I was moving much too fast for you
And it doesn't matter what you say
Or where you are today cause
I've stopped running
And if our paths should ever cross
I don't think I would even recognise you
I know they say it's in the blood
But you've got yours and I know that I've got mine
And again I say
You're never gonna bring me down
And there's nothing left to prove
Here I am
There's just nothing you can do
You're never gonna bring me down
Saw the door and walked right through
Here I am
In "Here I Am", Brian Kennedy sings about his journey through life, facing challenges and overcoming obstacles. He nostalgically recalls the days when he believed all his dreams would come true, but realized that his ideas and promises would amount to nothing. Despite feeling like the odds are stacked against him, Kennedy refused to give up, and persevered through his struggles. He declares that nobody can bring him down and that he has nothing left to prove, indicating that he has found himself and is content with who he is.
Kennedy also addresses the naysayers along the way who tried to slow him down, but he kept moving forward at his own pace, ignoring their comments. He recognizes that some may have doubted him due to his upbringing or genes, but he asserts that he has his own strengths and abilities that have brought him to where he is today. The chorus repeats the message that nothing can bring him down and that he has confidently walked through the door to success, leaving negativity behind him.
Line by Line Meaning
I remember how it used to feel
In the past, I had great aspirations and optimism.
That all the dreams I dreamed would come to be
I believed that all of my dreams and goals would come true.
But each promise made would masquerade
However, every promise made was insincere and fraudulent.
And all my fine ideas would come to nothing
My well-thought-out ideas always failed to materialize.
I must admit to feeling that the odds
I must confess that the likelihood of success was not in my favor.
Were stacked and I could never win
The probability of success was against me, and I felt doomed to fail.
And the more I tried the more I cried
Despite putting effort into it, the outcome was never as expected, and it caused me great pain.
But through it all I knew there would be something
Nevertheless, despite the failure, deep down, I still had hope and faith that things would change.
Well I've got news for you
I have an announcement to make.
You're never gonna bring me down
No matter what you do or say, you cannot discourage me.
Saw the door and walked right through
I saw an opportunity, seized it without hesitation, and moved on.
Here I am
I made it to where I am today.
There's just nothing left to prove
I have accomplished what I set out to do, and there is nothing else to prove.
And so you tried to slow me down
You attempted to hinder my progress.
But I was moving much too fast for you
But I was progressing at such a speed that you couldn't keep up.
And it doesn't matter what you say
Whatever you say or do, it doesn't make any difference.
Or where you are today cause
Regardless of your current status or position, it has no significance.
I've stopped running
I have stopped focusing on the constant pursuit of perfection and success.
And if our paths should ever cross
If we should meet in the future,
I don't think I would even recognise you
I doubt I would even recognize you as the person who tried to bring me down.
I know they say it's in the blood
I am aware that they say certain traits are passed down through genetics.
But you've got yours and I know that I've got mine
But you may have inherited certain characteristics, whereas I have inherited mine.
There's just nothing you can do
There is nothing that can halt my progress or prevent me from achieving my goals.
Contributed by Tristan R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.