Sultry voice, poetic lyrics and surprising harmonies are just a part of the recipe that makes Chiara's music so irresistible.
The distance she has traveled is both musical and spiritual-literally stretching across the Atlantic Ocean. Born in Rome, Chiara was encouraged to play the piano by her grandmother; she kids that her nonna's out-of-tune upright afforded the best ear training. She briefly tried the acoustic guitar, but that ended almost comically with a drive to get some gelato. "The little car only had two doors," she remembers. "When I sat down, I broke the neck of the guitar. That was it for me. No more guitar. My mother said, 'You'd better sing, girl!'"
Chiara had already been in some classical choirs, but was looking for something freer than the operatic traditions of her homeland. A friend suggested that she learn jazz; she'd never heard of it. A little investigation brought her to a private music school that she would attend through her four years of high school: the St. Louis Music Academy in Rome. When she was sixteen, Chiara began singing professionally and won a scholarship to the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston. She enrolled there from 1994-98. By the first year Chiara was a regular on the Boston club scene, performing with different bands.
But her journey didn't end with Boston or jazz. Chiara's move to New York City was inevitable. Searching for something musically closer to her Mediterranean roots, she immersed herself in Latin and Brazilian music, learning Spanish and Portuguese along the way. She also wrote her first song, "Parole Incerte" ("Uncertain Words"), about the misunderstandings that can come from the distance between a person and her loved ones.
Meanwhile, two of Chiara's bandmates - pianist Alain Mallet and drummer Jamey Haddad - had begun working with Paul Simon and invited her to a rehearsal. It was there that she met producer Russ Titelman and left him with a demo of "Parole Incerte." He called the very next day and insisted, "You are a songwriter. Forget about everything else you are doing. You have to write." Chiara began composing lyrics in English. She studied the work of Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor.
Titelman let president and CEO of Verve hear the song and the next day Chiara was offered a record deal that not only allowed her to enter the studio but made her the first Italian born to be signed by Verve Records.
From this series of encouraging and exciting encounters emerged the 10 original compositions included on her debut album LAST QUARTER MOON, Verve2005; seven written by herself and three co-writes, including the brooding ballad "Trouble" that was co-written with legend Burt Bacharach. "I had almost every song on the album," recalls Chiara, "when Russ called me to say that Burt Bacharach was interested in writing with me." "Trouble" came together during a three day session at Bacharach's Los Angeles home. Chiara arrived with an idea for the melody; they shaped and refined it as a team.
The first album granted her a first round of the world and great position in the charts of italy and Japan.
Billboard Magazine noted that, “the beauty, charm and allure of singer/pianist/songwriter Chiara Civello’s debut…makes for an auspicious beginning and marks the first revelation of the New Year.” The International Herald Tribune declared “her combination of personality, soulfulness and sophistication…striking.”
The second album The Space Between (2007 Universal Classic and Jazz) produced by Steve Addabbo , shows a more intimate and immediate side of the singer songwriter, leading us us through a journey of thirteen beautiful moments where we feel we can get really close to her.
“This is a record about ‘the space between’. The space between the notes, the silence between words, the space between me and you, me and my past, me and my future, and all the spaces between that nowadays are so difficult to stop and think about….the space between that makes you feel the reality better, the space that makes you miss someone, the space between that makes you not say everything all at once, but bit by bit, as the need of saying it gets stronger in you. The space between what I think and what I say… In Italy, we have a saying: Between saying and doing, there is the sea.”
The album entered successfully the Italian and Japanese chiarts and led her to new important artistic collaborations.
Definitely an itinerant soul, Chiara describes her life as:” My home is the world, as long as there’s a piano at the destination, my world fits in a suitcase, the rest I carry with me : my computer and my guitar.
"Jazz was the most incredible diving machine when it came to going really deep into music," says Civello, about her path of discovery, one sure to continue in the future. "But I knew I couldn't be the new Ella Fitzgerald; I couldn't be the new Shirley Horn. I learned all different kinds of music and then I said to myself, 'I need to find my own voice. Time to unlearn now, time to be free.' It's like a hot air balloon: To be able to fly you have to throw off the sandbags. I want to be as light as I can-light as a feather."
“In the first album you search, in the second you focus, in the third you find yourself…. and here I am,” says Chiara Civello in describing her third album titled “7752” of upcoming release.
7752 is the distance in Kilometers from New York City to Rio de Janeiro, the two cities that provided the inspiration for this album. New York is where Chiara lives, while Rio changed Chiara’s life…
While visiting her friend, Daniel Jobim, in Rio in February 2008, Chiara was taken to a party (known as SARAO) where artists and musicians of all kinds get together. The guitar went around and everyone sang a song. As Chiara shared, listened, and learned, a new phase of her artistic path began.
“Co-writing I was already familiar with,” says Chiara, “since those unforgettable three days spent in Santa Monica in which I wrote Trouble with Burt Bacharach for my first album…but in Brazil everyone co writes. It’s a big party, everyone shares and dares and makes it happen.”
Ana Carolina, a Brazilian pop star, is one of the main collaborators of 7752. Not only did she co-write five of the songs with Chiara, but she also played acoustic guitar on most of them. “We met at that party and she asked me if I had a melody for her, so the next day I started RESTA, a song that soon after we finished together and sang as a duet live in Sao Paulo.” Success has already accompanied the collaboration with Ana Carolina, as RESTA will be featured on the new Novela of Globo TV called “Passione,” starting on May 17, 2010.
Written between Rio, New York, and Trastevere (Rome), 7752 includes ten musical moments of which eight were recorded in NYC (and produced by the eclectic producer Andres Levin), while four were recorded in Rio and produced by Chiara herself.
“All my friends and favorite musicians merged into this record in the most natural way…it was like bringing the Rio spirit into the studio: Mauro Refosco (Thom Yorke, David Byrne, Forro’ in The Dark) and Guilherme Monteiro (Ron Carter, Forro in The Dark) had already recorded with me and I couldn’t possibly think of a record without them, Anat Cohen is one of my best friends and I have always wanted to have her on my album but we never were able to make it happen; Jaques Morelenbaum is one of the most talented and sentimental musicians I have ever met; Mark Ribot was the perfect guy for these songs, not to mention the great rhythm section that Andres brought in the studio, Gene Lake on the drums and Jonathan Maron on the bass. Ana Carolina who wrote most of the songs with me already owned them on the acoustic guitar and added her tremendous groove to them”.
Already defined as an “enticing and contagious” album, 7752 sounds lively, while portraying a new, playful and joyous aspect of Chiara’s singing and songwriting. The sound is a beautiful alchemy among the 60s, Italian melody, Brazilian harmonies, and R&B.
http://www.chiaracivello.com
Yesterday When I Was Young
Chiara Civello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The taste of life was sweet
cs rain upon my tongue
I teased at life as if
It were a foolish game
The way the evening breeze
May tease a candle flame
The thousand dreams I dreamed
The splendid things I planned
I always built to last
On weak and shifting sand
I lived by night and shunned
The naked light of the day
cnd only now I see
How the years ran away
Yesterday when I was young
So many happy songs were waiting to be sung
So many wild pleasures
Lay in store for me
cnd so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see
I ran so fast that time
cnd youth at last ran out
I never stopped to think
What life was all about
cnd every conversation
I can now recall
Concerns itself with me
cnd nothing else at all
Yesterday the moon was blue
cnd every crazy day
I used my magic age
cs if it were a wand
cnd never saw the waste
cnd emptiness beyond
The game of love I played
With arrogance and pride
cnd every flame I lit
too quickly, quickly died
The friends I made all seemed
Somehow to drift away
cnd only I am left
On stage to end the play
There are so many songs in me that won't be sung
I feel the bitter taste
Of tears upon my tongue
The time has come for me
To pay for Yesterday
When I was young
Chiara Civello's rendition of "Yesterday When I Was Young" encapsulates a poignant reflection on the passage of time and the bittersweet inevitability of aging. The lyrics draw the listener into a vivid exploration of youthful exuberance juxtaposed with the sobering realizations of adulthood. The song opens with the nostalgia of youth, where the "taste of life was sweet" and the metaphor of rain upon the tongue suggests an abundance of experiences. The singer recalls their youthful approach to life, likening it to a game of chance—"teased at life as if it were a foolish game." This playful attitude is contrasted with the delicate nature of existence, represented by the evening breeze that teasingly affects a candle flame, symbolizing both fragility and the fleeting nature of those early, carefree days.
As the song progresses, the singer confronts the illusions and aspirations of youth. The "thousand dreams" dreamed and the "splendid things" planned reflect the idealism of youth, contrasted with the harsh realization that these dreams were built “on weak and shifting sand.” This imagery invokes feelings of instability and fragility, highlighting how youthful ambitions may lack a solid foundation. The decision to "live by night" and shun the light of day suggests a tendency to avoid reality, leading to a reckless abandonment of the consequences of one's actions. In this reflection, the singer acknowledges a sense of regret for not appreciating the time spent and for the way life “ran away” without truly being understood or cherished.
The third verse deepens this sense of regret, emphasizing a wealth of untapped potential—"so many happy songs were waiting to be sung" and "wild pleasures lay in store." Yet the character also grapples with the pain they failed to acknowledge in their youth, highlighting a paradox in the experience of living fully yet turning a blind eye to the complex emotions that accompany life. The frantic pace of their youth is captured in the line "I ran so fast that time and youth at last ran out," suggesting a frantic pursuit of enjoyment without reflection. This theme of self-centeredness echoes through the implications that past conversations were shallow, mainly revolving around the self, which ultimately created a sense of isolation as friends faded away.
In the final verses, the singer reflects on the profound emptiness that comes with the realization of lost opportunities. The "blue moon" and "crazy days" symbolize a vibrant youth filled with relentless energy, yet there’s a recognition of how that magic age was misused—"as if it were a wand"—to create illusions rather than meaningful experiences. The game of love, marked by "arrogance and pride," reveals the transient nature of relationships formed haphazardly during youth. The concluding lines bring forth a heavy sense of mourning for lost potential, underscoring the tears and bitterness felt as the singer comes to terms with the realization that many songs—the deep emotional experiences and connections—remain unsung, leaving them alone on the stage of life to face the consequences of a past filled with fleeting moments and dashed dreams. This powerful ending invites listeners to reflect on their own lives, emphasizing the universal theme of time's passage and the often painful awakening to one's choices and their repercussions.
Line by Line Meaning
Yesterday when I was young
In my past, during my youth, I used to experience life with a sense of innocence and freedom.
The taste of life was sweet
Life was filled with joy and delightful moments that I relished.
As rain upon my tongue
These joyful experiences were refreshing and nourishing, much like the gentle touch of rain.
I teased at life as if
I approached life playfully and carelessly, not fully understanding its depth.
It were a foolish game
I viewed life as something trivial, not realizing its significance.
The way the evening breeze
Similar to how a gentle wind can playfully flicker a flame,
May tease a candle flame
I was playful and carefree, unaware of any dangers or consequences.
The thousand dreams I dreamed
I had countless aspirations and hopes for my future.
The splendid things I planned
I envisioned wonderful achievements and a grand life ahead.
I always built to last
I intended for my pursuits and ambitions to be durable and enduring.
On weak and shifting sand
Yet, I based my dreams on unstable foundations, risking failure.
I lived by night and shunned
I embraced a lifestyle of night-time adventures and avoided daylight responsibilities.
The naked light of the day
I was reluctant to face the reality and truths that day brings.
And only now I see
It’s only with hindsight that I recognize my past mistakes and the passage of time.
How the years ran away
The years slipped by quickly, almost unnoticed and unappreciated.
Yesterday when I was young
Reflecting again on my youth, a time filled with promise and potential.
So many happy songs were waiting to be sung
I had a wealth of joyful experiences and expressions that I missed out on sharing.
So many wild pleasures
There were countless exhilarating moments and opportunities for joy in my future.
Lay in store for me
These experiences were waiting for me, yet I was blind to them.
And so much pain my dazzled eyes refused to see
My youthful naivety prevented me from acknowledging the hardships and challenges ahead.
I ran so fast that time
I was in such a hurry to live life that I lost track of its passage.
And youth at last ran out
Eventually, my youthful days came to an end, leaving me reflecting on what I had done.
I never stopped to think
I rarely paused to contemplate my actions or their significance.
What life was all about
I failed to consider the deeper meaning and purpose of existence.
And every conversation
Looking back, I realize that my discussions were often self-centered.
I can now recall
I can remember those interactions clearly now.
Concerns itself with me
Those dialogues revolved solely around my own experiences and desires.
And nothing else at all
There was little thought for others or the broader life context.
Yesterday the moon was blue
In my past, even the natural world around me seemed to reflect my whimsicality.
And every crazy day
Each day was filled with unexpected adventures and madness.
Brought something new to do
Every day offered new activities and experiences to engage in.
I used my magic age
I took advantage of my youthfulness as though it were a source of power.
As if it were a wand
I approached life with a sense of wonder, believing my youth could create magic.
And never saw the waste
I overlooked the consequences and the fleeting nature of my actions.
And emptiness beyond
I failed to recognize the hollowness that accompanied my reckless lifestyle.
The game of love I played
My romantic pursuits were treated lightly, as if love were merely a pastime.
With arrogance and pride
I approached relationships with a sense of superiority and self-importance.
And every flame I lit
Each relationship I initiated burned bright at first,
Too quickly, quickly died
Yet, they extinguished just as swiftly, leaving me with unfulfilled connections.
The friends I made all seemed
The friendships I formed appeared to fade away over time.
Somehow to drift away
These relationships gradually slipped from my grasp without my noticing.
And only I am left
Now, I find myself alone, reflecting on my choices and the passage of time.
On stage to end the play
I feel as though I am the sole actor at the conclusion of life's performance.
There are so many songs in me that won't be sung
Within me lies a multitude of unexpressed thoughts and feelings.
I feel the bitter taste
I experience a deep sorrow and regret for what has been lost.
Of tears upon my tongue
This sorrow is like a bitter flavor, a reminder of my losses and regrets.
The time has come for me
I realize it is now necessary for me to confront the consequences of my past.
To pay for Yesterday
I must take responsibility for the choices I made during my youth.
When I was young
Reflecting on the innocence and carelessness of my earlier years.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Charles Aznavour
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind