Signing with Capitol Records out of L.A. when she was 17, her self-titled debut album in 1977, produced by David Foster, won her a Juno Award for Most Promising Female Vocalist. She was nominated for the same award a second time, for her 1978 sophomore release Pretty Girls, although she did not win.
After Lisa Dalbello's third album, in 1981, she took a break from recording to re-evaluate her creative and personal priorities. However, David Bowie's former Spiders From Mars guitarist Mick Ronson saw a CBC documentary on her while working at a recording studio in Toronto and convinced her to record another album.
That album, whomanfoursays (a homophone for "human forces"), was co-produced by Dalbello and Ronson. It was also her first album recorded as Dalbello, and marked her transformation into an edgy rock artist. The transformation worked -- the album was even more successful on the Canadian pop charts than her earlier albums had been. The album spawned the hit singles "Gonna Get Close To You" and "Animal".
Ronson and Dalbello planned to record a second album, however, over Dalbello's strong objections, Ronson was passed over by both her record label, and her manager at that time, Roger Davies. Disappointed, and in an attempt to ensure the creative integrity of the Ronson/Dalbello production follow up, Dalbello submitted 4 self-produced song demos to her U.S. label and manager, only to have them rejected because they wanted a "real" producer.
Partly out of frustration and partly as a practical joke, Dalbello re-submitted the song demos under a pseudonym, "Bill Da Salleo", which was nothing more than a simple anagram of her name. To her surprise, her label and manager excitedly called her up saying that they loved the "new" demos and believed "Bill" was the perfect producer for the project.
Dalbello continued to produce the album under the pseudonym, managing to keep both her label and manager from visiting the sessions by booking the studio time late at night, and only broke the "news" of "Bill's premature death" to her Canadian A&R person Deane Cameron, just prior to delivering the album to the label, and shortly after Cameron called her out of concern that the label had no signed production agreement between Bill Da Salleo and themselves. Cameron, a maverick in Canadian music circles who was the first record label A & R person to have signing autonomy from his U.S. label counterpart out of L.A., reportedly laughed out loud, proclaiming that Dalbello had truly kicked the L.A. A&R offices' asses.
EMI released the album She in 1987. That album's singles, "Tango" and "Black on Black", were Dalbello's biggest hits. A version of "Black on Black" was also featured on the 9½ Weeks soundtrack. The success of She allowed her to tour extensively, particularly throughout Europe.
In 1991, not long after she moved from Toronto to L.A., Ronson and Dalbello discussed collaborating again. However, everything was put on hold because of a downturn in Ronson's health. Sadly, Ronson died of liver failure in 1993.
Three years later, Dalbello released whore in 1996 for EMI in Europe where she returned to tour for the rest of that year. She has not released another album since then and has instead focused on producing and writing for other artists such as Heart, Patti LaBelle -- whom she also produced, as well as Julian Lennon and Nena; some of the artists and writers she has co-written with are her friends Bryan Adams, Julian Lennon and Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson of Heart, as well as David Foster, Carole Bayer-Sager, Holly Knight, Chaka Khan, Branford Marsalis, Damhnait Doyle and Dan Hill.
In addition to having appeared on Rush guitarist Alex Lifeson's solo album Victor, contributing the lead vocal to the song "Start Today", and having recorded a duet with Duran Duran’s John Taylor, her vocals have appeared on records for Cher, Heart, Alice Cooper, Patti LaBelle, Toto, Nena, The FIXX, Rupert Hine's "Thinkman" project and Canadians Rough Trade, Kim Mitchell, Corey Hart and Glass Tiger.
Heart have covered "Black on Black", and Queensrÿche have covered "Gonna Get Close to You".
From the age of 14 and throughout the span of her recording career, Dalbello has performed vocals and voiceovers on some of the most well known TV and radio commercials in North America, for which she now also writes and arranges music. Her voice work also expanded into areas of documentary work as well as character voices for the Television anime series Sailor Moon. She performed the song "Always" for a popular Cheer detergent commercial that aired in the United States in 2003. Her song, "Faith In You (With All Your Heart)", was used to promote the launch of the Ford Focus automobile in North America; commercials featuring it played in movie theaters and on television.
Since 2002, she has been the brand announcer voice for the Canadian cable news network, CBC Newsworld. Additionally, her voice can be heard introducing CBC News anchor Peter Mansbridge on the network's flagship nightly news and current affairs program, "The National".
Falling Down
Dalbello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
like the wine that i poured
like a blinding fact
you can't ignore
like the motion
that delivers you forward
'til you can't go back
can't dive into an ocean
and not leave the ground
can't trade in your devotion
for what you haven't found
can't go beyond the limit without falling down
can't go beyond the limit without falling down
and it's not what i say
it's alot what i do
'cause you can't go back
not on you word
it's the moment
when you're riding on fear
that you can't look back
you live and learn
can't start at the beginning
when you're in-between
can't know if where you're going's
where you haven't been
can't give away the centre
without spinnin' 'round
can't go beyond the limit
without falling down
like the signs that i feared
and the lines in the mirror
like a haunting ghost
that will return
like the moment
when its suddenly all clear
what i needed most
to live and learn
what a lovely day it is for falling down
(mmm..what a lovely day it is for f-f-allin')
what a lovely day it is for falling down
(mmm..what a lovely day it is for f-f-allin')
can't go beyond the limit without falling down
can't go beyond the limit without falling down
can't ruise below the surface
what's not above the skin
can't lose the war on purpose
and not breathe to win
you can't throw away the minutes
you can't go beyond the limit
you can't tell the tale to live it ......
.....without fallin down
and it's not what i say
it's alot what i do
what a lovely day for falling down
what a lovely day it is for falling down
what a lovely day it is for falling down
The song Falling Down by Dalbello is a reflection on the limitations we face in life and the inevitability of failure. The metaphor of falling down is used throughout the song to represent the moments when we are confronted by our limitations and must learn to accept them. The lyrics speak to the idea that we cannot escape our own human nature, no matter how much we might wish we could. Instead, we must learn to live within our limits and accept the consequences of our actions.
The song begins with a series of images that represent the things we use to distract ourselves from our limitations: "like the times that I swore, like the wine that I poured, like a blinding fact you can't ignore." These are the things that we use to try and feel in control even though we know deep down that we are not. The refrain "can't go beyond the limit without falling down" reminds us that we cannot escape our limitations and must learn to accept them.
As the song progresses, the lyrics become more introspective. The line "and it's not what I say, it's a lot what I do" speaks to the idea that our actions are what define us, not just our words. The repeated refrain of "what a lovely day it is for falling down" suggests that there is something liberating about accepting our limitations and learning to live within them.
Overall, Falling Down is a powerful song about the human condition and the struggle we all face to accept our own limitations.
Line by Line Meaning
like the times that i swore
Similar to how I made promises in the past
like the wine that i poured
Similar to how I indulged in bad habits
like a blinding fact
Similar to a truth that is hard to ignore
you can't ignore
That cannot be ignored
like the motion
Similar to how movement propels us
that delivers you forward
It moves you forward
'til you can't go back
Until you cannot return
not anymore
No longer possible to return
can't dive into an ocean
Not possible to delve into the unknown
and not leave the ground
Without leaving behind what is known
can't trade in your devotion
Cannot replace your loyalty
for what you haven't found
For something unknown or uncertain
can't go beyond the limit without falling down
Cannot exceed your limits without failure
and it's not what i say
It's not just words that matter
it's alot what i do
But also your actions
not on your word
Not just based on promises
the moment
A critical point in time
when you're riding on fear
When fear is driving you
that you can't look back
When it's too late to turn around
you live and learn
Learning from the experience
can't start at the beginning
Unable to start afresh
when you're in-between
When you are already in the midst of something
can't know if where you're going's
Uncertain where you are heading
where you haven't been
Somewhere unfamiliar
can't give away the centre
Cannot give away the core
without spinnin' 'round
Without losing direction
like the signs that i feared
Similar to warnings of things to come
and the lines in the mirror
The reflection of past mistakes
like a haunting ghost
Like a persistent memory
that will return
That continues to haunt you
like the moment
Similar to a critical point in time
when its suddenly all clear
When everything becomes clear
what i needed most
Identifying the most important things
to live and learn
Learning and growing from experiences
what a lovely day it is for falling down
Sarcastic statement on how failure can feel
can't ruise below the surface
Can't dwell on what's beneath the surface
what's not above the skin
What is hidden underneath
can't lose the war on purpose
Can't intentionally lose a battle for a greater victory
and not breathe to win
And not strive for success
you can't throw away the minutes
You cannot waste time
cannot go beyond the limit
Cannot exceed your limits
you can't tell the tale to live it
You can't just tell others how to live
without fallin down
Without experiencing lows or failures
Contributed by James E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Heavy Metal Hippie
Lisa, where are you ? Make the world better by giving us new music, please.