Rae was born in Leeds, West Yorkshire to a Kittitian father and an English mother, and she was the eldest of three daughters. She began her musical career at school where she studied classical violin before she turned her attention to singing: "I started off singing in church, I suppose, but people think it must have been a gospel church because of the whole, you know, black assumption", she says in reference to her multiracial background. "But it wasn't gospel at all, it was just your regular Brethren church, very middle-class, where we would sing these harmonies every Sunday. It was always my favourite part of the service, the singing".
Rae later transferred to a Baptist church, where the choir would sing traditional hymns, and Primal Scream tunes. "We changed the words though", Rae states on her website. "We didn't want to offend the regular churchgoers, now did we?"
Performing in church broadened Rae's musical horizons, and her love affair with making music was solidified after a local youth leader offered to buy her an electric guitar. In her mid-teens, she became obsessed with rock legends Led Zeppelin, "I loved that band during my teens; I wanted, somehow, to follow in their footsteps, and to create music of my own".
Rae formed an all-female indie group called Helen, which was inspired by similar acts such as Veruca Salt and L7. "It was the first time I'd seen women with guitars. They were kinda sexy – but feminist. I wanted to be like that, at the front of something".
The group raised eyebrows on several fronts; in the white male-dominated world of indie music, they were an all-female group fronted by a mixed-race singer from Leeds. The moniker "Helen" also drew attention, albeit for not all the right reasons: "What can I say? We were 15 years old, and thought that Helen was a cheeky, indie kind of thing to do. It seemed clever at the time. Admittedly, it seems less so now".
The group played many gigs around Leeds, including a memorable performance at Joseph's Well with Leeds-based band Swift, fronted by wildman rocker Royce Dunston. Despite this, the group became the first indie act to be signed to heavy metal record label Roadrunner Records, home to acts such as Slipknot, in 1995. The venture proved to be short-lived however after the bassist became pregnant and the group disbanded. "[Was I] Disappointed? I was gutted! I had no idea what to do next".
Corinne has often stated that she is a proud Leeds United Football Club fan.
After the disappointment of Helen, Rae went on to attend the University of Leeds where she studied an English Literature degree. While at University, she began work as a hat check girl on an evening in her local jazz club. Permitted to sing on stage with the jazz band when business was slow, it was there that she discovered a different type of music that sent her on a different musical path: "I kept hearing this jazz and soul stuff and I realized I loved that music too". It was there also that she met saxophone player Jason Rae, whom she eventually married in 2001 at age twenty-two. "I was Corinne Bailey. I added on Rae, my husband's name, when I got married. There's no hyphen; stops it being posh!" Jason died in March 2008.
Career
Over the space of the next three years, Rae began working on solo material – this time steering away from her indie past and embarking on a more "soulful" path. She collaborated with Leeds-based funk group The New Mastersounds on the track "Your Love Is Mine", featured on their 2003 album Be Yourself, released via One Note Records. The following year she again worked with another Leeds-based group, Homecut Directive, on the song "Come the Revolution", which was the first single from the group's debut album.
In 2004, Rae got a breakthrough when she was signed by Global Talent Publishing and then approached by Craig David's mentor Mark Hill, from the duo The Artful Dodger, to appear on his new album better luck next time under his new alias, The stiX. The resulting collaboration, "Young and Foolish", was released in April 2005 and brought Rae to the attention of the major record label bosses. Rae released her debut single, "Like a Star", in November 2005 and her first album, Corinne Bailey Rae, in February 2006. In September 2006, Rae scooped two awards at the UK's MOBO Awards: "Best UK Newcomer" and "Best UK Female". Rae recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios in July 2006 for Live From Abbey Road.
Rae also received three nominations at the 2007 Grammy Awards: "Record of the Year", "Song of the Year" (both for "Put Your Records On"), and "Best New Artist". During the ceremony, she performed "Like a Star" and joined John Legend and John Mayer in a collaborative performance, providing accompanying vocals to Legend's "Coming Home" and Mayer's "Gravity". The poll's predictions subsequently came true, as she became only the fourth female British act in history to have her first album debut at number one. She has been nominated for Grammy Awards and BRIT Awards and won two MOBO Awards.
During an interview for the 2011 Mercury Awards, Corinne revealed she is writing a follow-up album to her critically acclaimed The Sea.
In 2013, Bailey Rae was moved from Capitol Records to Virgin Records due to corporate restructuring as a result of their parent company being purchased by Universal Music Group in 2012.
Discography
Albums
* 2006: "Corinne Bailey Rae"
* 2007: Live in London & New York
* 2010: "The Sea"
03 Feels Like The First Time
Corinne Bailey Rae Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wind around the parties, drink in hand
I could pretend when you went away
That I had changed and I no longer hear the band
I won't lie
I found a love
I had to rediscover
There are times when it breaks and I feel amazed
Feels just like the first time when you kiss me, my lover
Angels in the sky will descend on our love
And it's hard to deny what is happening
Although we talk, talk, talk on the telephone
We laugh, laugh, laugh at the things we know
I've been a soldier for much too long
I'd willingly surrender all my arms
If you decided you won't be long
I'd wait here patient for you
Look for you every morning
Had this love
There were sparks
We tried to push it on but
I was afraid of the dark
We could not get it away
Never mind what they say
I would feel the same
Feels just like the first time when you kiss me, my lover
Angels in the sky will descend on our love
And it's hard to deny what is happening
Although we talk, talk, talk on the telephone
We laugh, laugh, laugh at the things we know
If I could choose then my heart would be in it
My charms would be in it
My love would be in it
I know you heard me on the telephone
I know you knew that I was coming for you
But you still won't give me the answer
Feels just like the first time when you kiss me, my lover
Angels in the sky will descend on our love
And it's hard to deny what is happening
Although we talk, talk, talk on the telephone
We laugh, laugh, laugh at the things we know
The lyrics to Corinne Bailey Rae's song "Feels like the First Time" reflect on the process of rediscovering love and the sentiments that accompany it. The song's opening lyrics suggest that the singer has been out socializing, trying their best to pretend that everything is okay while secretly pining for lost love. The lyrics go on to describe how the singer eventually found a love they had to "rediscover," and how this emotional journey was not without its struggles and emotional scars.
In the chorus of the song, the singer talks about how the love they have now feels just like the first time they were kissed by their lover. This moment is described as being filled with angels descending on their love, and the singer acknowledges that even though they now talk on the phone and laugh together, the feeling of falling in love again is hard to deny. The song seems to be about the power of rediscovering love in its early stages and the many complicated emotions that come along with that experience.
Overall, the song tells a story of emotional healing and rediscovery of love. It emphasizes the importance of being open to new experiences and finding joy and fulfillment in the present moment. It also acknowledges the difficulties that come with these experiences and the many complicated emotions that accompany them.
Line by Line Meaning
I could pretend that I was okay
I tried to fake that everything was fine
I wind around the parties, drink in hand
I attend parties with a drink in my hand
I could pretend when you went away
I acted like I had moved on when you left
That I had changed and I no longer hear the band
I changed myself and no longer listen to the same music as before
I won't lie
I'm telling the truth
I found a love
I fell in love
I had to rediscover
I had to find my love again
I was emotionally scarred we could not get it away
I was hurt and it affected our relationship
There are times when it breaks and I feel amazed
Sometimes our love fails but I'm still amazed by it
Feels just like the first time when you kiss me, my lover
Our love feels new and exciting every time we kiss
Angels in the sky will descend on our love
Our love is heavenly and perfect
And it's hard to deny what is happening
It's impossible to ignore what's going on between us
Although we talk, talk, talk on the telephone
We talk on the phone a lot
We laugh, laugh, laugh at the things we know
We share a lot of inside jokes
I've been a soldier for much too long
I've been fighting for too long
I'd willingly surrender all my arms
I'd give up everything for you
If you decided you won't be long
If you promise to come back soon
I'd wait here patient for you
I'll wait for you patiently
Look for you every morning
I'll search for you every morning
Had this love
We had a great love
There were sparks
Our love was passionate
We tried to push it on but
We tried to keep our love going
I was afraid of the dark
I was scared of the uncertainty in our relationship
Never mind what they say
We don't care what others think
I would feel the same
I still love you the same
If I could choose then my heart would be in it
If I had a choice, I would choose to be with you
My charms would be in it
My best qualities would be present in our relationship
My love would be in it
My love for you would be present in our relationship
I know you heard me on the telephone
I'm aware that you heard me talking on the phone
I know you knew that I was coming for you
I'm aware that you knew I was coming to see you
But you still won't give me the answer
You still won't give me a straight answer
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Global Talent Publishing, SPIRIT /GLOBAL TALENT MUSIC
Written by: CORINNE BAILEY RAE, STEVE BROWN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind