Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Kreviazuk is a classically trained pianist. Her first album Under These Rocks and Stones was released in 1996 to critical praise. In 1998 Kreviazuk scored her first international hit with a cover of John Denver's "Leaving on a Jet Plane" from the soundtrack to the blockbuster film Armageddon. In This Life a searing romantic track from 2002's What If It All Means Something, was her next major hit. Kreviazuk's Time was played in the credits of the movie, Uptown Girls, and featured in an episode of the MTV reality show, Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County. In 2005 two new songs written and performed by Kreviazuk were also featured on the soundtrack of the movie The Sisterhood Of The Traveling Pants.
In August 2006, her fourth album Ghost Stories was released. It was produced by her husband Raine Maida(of Our Lady Peace).
Plain Jane is the fifth studio album by Chantal. The album was released on October 13, 2009
Surrounded
Chantal Kreviazuk Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When you shone as bright as Bethlehem from afar
I was there
When you were young and strong and perverted
And everything that makes a young man a star
Oh, you were a star
I was there
On everything I have or ever will embrace
I was there
And I saw it with my own two eyes
And now it's all around me, it's all around me
I'm surrounded
And now it's all around me, it's all around me
You surround me like a circle
Do, do, do, do, do, do
I was there
Come on, tell me I wasn't worth stickin' it out for
Well, I was there
And I know I was worth it, 'cause if I wasn't worth it
That makes me worse off than you are
It's all around me, it's all around me
I'm surrounded
You know it's all around me, it's all around me
You surround me like a circle
But don't you lose
Sight of me now
Don't you lose
Sight of me now
Do, do, do, do, do, do, do
Don't lose sight of me now
'Cause I was there
When they dropped the bomb
You know I remember the bomb
And I still hear the bomb
And I still fight the bomb
You know I still fear the bomb
You know I still hate the bomb
Sometimes I still get the call
So don't you lose sight of me now
Don't you lose sight of me now
You know you're all around me (don't you lose)
You're all around me
I'm surrounded (sight of me now)
You know you're all around me (Don't you lose )
You're all around me
I'm surrounded (sight of me now)
You know you're all around me (don't you lose)
You're all around me
I'm surrounded (Sight of me now)
Now it's all around me (don't you lose)
You're all around me
You surround me like a circle
I'm surrounded, oh
Ah, ah, like a circle around me
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
All around me now
Oh
The lyrics to Chantal Kreviazuk’s song Surrounded explore the idea of being surrounded by one's past experiences and memories. The song opens with the singer reflecting on a young man's rise to stardom and how she was there to witness it all. She swears that she saw everything that made him a star, even the parts that were perverted. The chorus features the line "I'm surrounded, and now it's all around me" repeated several times, conveying the idea that the memories of the past and the people we knew then have the ability to surround us and inform who we are today.
The second verse of the song sees the singer asking the young man whether she was worth sticking it out for, and affirming that she was and still is worth it. She goes on to say that she was even present when "they dropped the bomb," referring to a traumatic event that may have impacted her and the young man's life. The final lines of the chorus, "you surround me like a circle," imply that the man's memory is not just something she can shake off, but something that has entwined itself around her and is always present.
Overall, the song Surrounded is a poignant exploration of how the past can influence and shape our present. It acknowledges the power that memories hold over us and seems to be a plea not to forget those who have been a part of our lives, even if those memories are not all positive.
Line by Line Meaning
I was there
I was present during the time being referenced
When you shone as bright as Bethlehem from afar
When you were very successful and popular to the point where you could be compared to something as bright and well-known as Bethlehem
When you were young and strong and perverted
When you were full of energy and charisma, but also reckless in your actions
And everything that makes a young man a star
All the qualities and traits that contribute to a young man becoming a popular and successful public figure
Oh, you were a star
You were someone with great power and influence, admired by many
And I swear to God and on my mother's grave
I promise with complete sincerity and conviction
On everything I have or ever will embrace
On anything that is important to me now or in the future
And I saw it with my own two eyes
I personally witnessed what happened
And now it's all around me, it's all around me
The memories and experiences of the past are still present and affecting me
I'm surrounded
I feel overwhelmed and affected by these memories
You surround me like a circle
Your presence and influence completely surround me, like a circle
Do, do, do, do, do, do
An instrumental section with no lyrics
Come on, tell me I wasn't worth stickin' it out for
Tell me that I wasn't valuable enough for you to stay committed to
And I know I was worth it, 'cause if I wasn't worth it
I am confident that I was valuable and important, because if I wasn't, it would reflect poorly on your character for being with me in the first place
That makes me worse off than you are
If I wasn't valuable and you stayed with me anyway, it would mean that I am worse off than you, which is not acceptable
But don't you lose
Don't forget or neglect
Sight of me now
Me, currently
'Cause I was there
I was present during a difficult and traumatic experience
When they dropped the bomb
When something devastating and life-changing happened
You know I remember the bomb
I still have vivid memories of what happened
And I still hear the bomb
The trauma still affects me to this day
And I still fight the bomb
I'm still trying to cope with the aftermath of what happened
You know I still fear the bomb
I'm still scared and anxious about the possibility of something similar happening again
You know I still hate the bomb
I still have negative feelings towards the event and everything it represents
Sometimes I still get the call
Sometimes I still get reminders or flashbacks about what happened
You know you're all around me
Your presence and influence is still felt by me
You're all around me
You surround me and affect me in many ways
Now it's all around me
The past events and memories continue to impact me
You surround me like a circle
Your presence continues to completely envelop and affect me, like a circle
I'm surrounded, oh
I'm feeling overwhelmed and affected by everything that's happening
Ah, ah, like a circle around me
An instrumental section with no lyrics
La, la, la, la, la, la, la, la
An instrumental section with no lyrics
All around me now
Everything that's happening is affecting me greatly
Oh
An exclamation of emotion or emphasis
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Chantal Kreviazuk
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Jeffrey Barkin
Chantal's performance of THIS Song Live on LILLITH FAIR is AMAZING...She totally Captured the Audience.
An Artist you Must SEE LIVE!
Saw her Trinity Church Toronto concert, but CHANTAL's Massey Hall Shows with Raine and their children wandering on stage "interupting" were Especially Magical, too!
Very Gifted Couple making Us Canadians Proud!!!
❤❤
k a s s a d i
I was there when you
Shone as bright as
Bethlehem from afar
I was there when
You were young and strong and perverted
And everything that makes a young man a star
Oh you were a star
I was there and i swear to god
And on my mother's grave
On everything i have
Or ever will embrace
I was there
And i saw it with my own two eyes
And now it's all around me
It's all around me
I'm surrounded
Now it's all around me
It's all around me
You surround me like a circle
I was there
C'mon and tell me i wasn't worth
Sticking it out for
Well i was there
And i know i was worth it
Cause if i wasn't worth it
That makes me worse off then you are
And now it's all around me
It's all around me
I'm surrounded
Now it's all around me
It's all around me
You surround me like a circle
But don't you lose sight of me now
Don't lose you sight of me now
Cause i was there
When they dropped the bomb
Ya' know i remember the bomb
And i still hear the bomb
And i still fight the bomb
You know i still fear the bomb
You know i still hate the bomb
Sometimes i still get the call
So don't you lose sight of me now
Don't you lose sight of me now
You know you're all around me all around me
I'm surrounded (So don't you lose sight of me now)
You know you're all around me all around me
I'm surrounded (Don't you lose sight of me now)
You know you're all around me all around me
I'm surrounded (So don't you lose sight of me now)
You're all around me all around me all around me
I'm surrounded (Don't you lose sight of me now)
You surround me like a circle
Asab
This is an incredible song. So underrated. I remember when this was getting airplay on the radio and it felt like magic every time I would catch it, I can still recall that feeling. They don't make music this magical anymore. Nothing that is made today will create the nostalgia that music from this time has created.
neuralobserver
I definietly understand what your saying, and would usually agree with that last statement, but one thing I've found over many years is that just when you think that music from past years that moved you certain special ways, music that 'pushed every button' is no more, some song comes along, some artist writes and records something that catches you offguard and puts you back in that zone that we deeply emotional music lovers can cache our memories and feelings in.
Pete Bronson
Here it is July 29, 2020 and this song still moves me to a time that seems like forever ago. A time when my wife was still alive. A time when my child was still very young. A time when all things were much easier and care free. A time when my hair was thick and full of color. My how times have changed. I long for those days, days when I was unbroken, when I had so little but so much. All the material things you can possibly buy never takes the place of loved ones and their love. When I listen to music it takes me back to those days. When I listen to this song I am Surrounded with those oh so important and meaningful memories.
Thank you Chantal for stirring those memories once again.
PS I listen to Raine and OLP's Clumsy also, it too reminds me of my late wife whom I lost 10 years ago to cancer. Both of your music is part of the soundtrack of our and now my life.
Capcoor
I’m sorry for your loss.
Shannon Takacs
pete this was so beautifully said. it does the same for me. it feels like she was one of the first concerts i went to after my brother was killed back in my 20's ... and this song moves me in the EXACT way you describe here !!!! gahhhhhh !!!!!!!! you should be a writer !!!!! ;)
Sealight23
Beautifully said ❤ I’d give anything to be 17 again, looking out my bedroom window, dreaming of an unknown future I so desperately wanted to reach; not realizing that everything I could ever want or need was right there. 😢
neuralobserver
Reading your thoughts in 2023,... I thought I was one of the very rare people who cache their emotions, depth of feeling and memories in music,which have since I was in my early youth. But it is so good to see I have camaraderie with others out there as well. I well understand the feelings of your loss and the emotion banked within those memories of earlier times in your life.
I relate to your direct, open and articulate expression here in your post, and like you, music has always been the refuge, the spiritual float that raises memories, the time machine that always returns me to those heartfelt, simpler and inspriational times of hope and an wider landscape of dreams and goals wanting to be fulfulled.
Matt Penney
Amazing song, easily one of if not the most underrated musicians to come out of Canada
GJ 77
Out of ever
TJ Wolf
I'm so proud of our country, we have so many amazing artists going back to as early as the 50's.
God bless Canada and our people.