I. David Wilcox i… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least two artists named David Wilcox.
I. David Wilcox is a Canadian rock and blues musician.
II. David Wilcox is an American folk musician and singer-songwriter guitarist.
I. More than three decades into his career, singer/songwriter David Wilcox continues to push himself, just as he always has. Wilcox, by so many measures, is a quintessential folk singer, telling stories full of heart, humor, and hope, substance, searching, and style. His innate sense of adventure and authenticity is why critics and colleagues, alike, have always praised not just his artistry, but his humanity, as well.
That's not by accident; it's very much by design. It's the result of a man giving himself over in gratitude and service to something bigger than himself. “I'm grateful to music,” he says. “I have a life that feels deeply good, but when I started playing music, nothing in my life felt that good. I started to write songs because I wanted to find a way to make my life feel as good as I felt when I heard a great song. I don't think I'd be alive now if it had not been for music.”
An early '80s move to Warren Wilson College in North Carolina set his wheels in motion, as he started playing guitar and writing songs, processing his own inner workings and accessing his own inner wisdom. In 1987, within a couple of years of graduating, Wilcox had released his first independent album, The Nightshift Watchman. A year later, he won the prestigious Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk Award and, in 1989, he signed with A&M Records, selling more than 100,000 copies of his A&M debut, How Did You Find Me Here.
In the 30 years and more than 20 records since — whether with a major label, an indie company, or his own imprint — Wilcox has continued to hone his craft, pairing thoughtful insights with his warm baritone, open tunings, and deft technique. He's also kept up a brisk and thorough tour itinerary, performing 80 to 100 shows a year throughout the U.S., and regularly deploying his talents by improvising a “Musical Medicine” song for an audience member in need. In recent years he’s taken that process a step further, carefully writing and recording dozens of his “Custom Songs” for long-time fans who seek his help in commemorating and explaining the key milestones in their lives.
Lest anyone think that he's lost his touch, Wilcox pulled no punches on his most recent release, 2018's The View From the Edge. Not only does the song cycle find him delving into mental health, family legacies, spiritual contemplations, and topical concerns, the song “We Make the Way By Walking" also won him the Grand Prize in the 2018 USA Songwriting Contest.
"I think the coolest thing about this kind of music is that, if you listen to a night's worth of music, you should know that person,” he explains. “If you're hearing a performer sing all these songs, you should know not only where he gets his joy and what he loves, but you should know what pisses him off and what frightens him and what runs him off the rails, what takes him apart and what puts him back together.”
To attain that level of revelatory honesty, Wilcox follows a song to its deepest truth, even when it haunts him, a practice which demands the strength of vulnerability that he has sought since his teen years. That honesty is why Rolling Stone has written that his “ongoing musical journey is compelling and richly deserving of a listen.” It's also why Blue Ridge Public Radio has noted that, “The connection people feel with David’s music is also the connection they feel with each other.”
But Wilcox's unique brand of storytelling doesn't come easily. And it doesn't come quickly. “I could always think of a lot of possible ways the song could go, but the trick was recognizing truth amidst all the cleverness,” he confesses. “The more time I took, the more my deep heart could speak to me through the process of songwriting. I could gradually craft a song that felt like it was coming from the place I was going. If you decide to trust heart over cleverness, you not only get a song that moves you, you get a song that moves you toward being who you want to be. The time you spend immersed in the emotion of a song changes you. The song shows you the world through a particular point of view. Once you have seen the world that way, you can't un-see it.”
Website: David Wilcox
II. The American David Wilcox was born in Cleveland, Ohio. His work features lyrical insight, asmooth baritone voice, virtuosic guitar chops, and creative open tunings. He released an independent album in 1987, won the Kerrville Folk Festival New Folk award in 1988, and by 1989 he had signed with A&M Records. His first release on the label, ‘How Did You Find Me Here’, sold over 100,000 copies its first year. 17 albums later his songs have been covered by artists such as k.d. lang and many others.
Jamie
David Wilcox Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One winter morning of a day last year
I heard a secret that I now can say
Concerning Jamie, who's past away
If you had known her then you'd agree
Her smiling eyes could make a blind man see
She laughed with innocence and she moved with style
She moved out West where the air is clean
To study poetry at Evergreen
I thought I'd see her in a year or two
Till we heard rumors
That I feared were true
They never found where she went that night
The man she lived with said they'd had a fight
She left that cabin to walk alone
He kept the light on
But she never came home
She must have gone by the riverside
The searchers say that's how she must have died
The winter water was cold with snow
An icy boulder
And down she'd go
Well I heard the news but I could not cry
I should be shattered but my eyes were dry
To feel no sorrow was my surprise
But the words came easy
For those last good-byes
Till I took a walk by the riverbend
Where once we lingered when she was my friend
I tried to melt the river of tears inside
The river flowed
But joy I cried
She may be gone from this life we know
She may have frozen in the ice and snow
But there's a secret that my heart can't tell
Except to say
That she's safe and well
Near river bend where the stream runs clear
One winter morning of a day last year
I heard a secret that I now can say
Concerning Jamie, who's passed away
The song "Jamie's Secret" by David Wilcox tells the heartbreaking story of a woman named Jamie who leaves her previous life to move out West and study poetry at Evergreen. Her ex-lover, the singer of the song, hears rumors that Jamie has disappeared and fears the worst. They never found out what happened to her but it's believed that she wandered by the riverside and fell in the cold, icy water.
The singer confesses that when he heard the news of Jamie's disappearance, he could not cry. He was surprised at himself for feeling no sorrow. However, when he takes a walk by the riverbend where they once lingered as friends, he tries to melt the river of tears inside and lets out a joyful cry. The singer then shares a secret that he heard one winter morning – that Jamie is safe and well. It's unclear what this secret means but it's a glimmer of hope in an otherwise tragic tale.
Line by Line Meaning
Near river bend where the stream runs clear
The singer heard the secret by the river bend on a clear winter morning.
One winter morning of a day last year
The event happened a year ago on a winter morning.
I heard a secret that I now can say
The singer is now able to reveal the secret.
Concerning Jamie, who's past away
The secret is about Jamie, who has passed away.
If you had known her then you'd agree
The artist thinks that if the listeners had known Jamie, they would agree with him.
Her smiling eyes could make a blind man see
Jamie had beautiful eyes and a joyful smile.
She laughed with innocence and she moved with style
Jamie moved gracefully and laughed with purity and simplicity.
Full grown lover with childlike smile
Jamie was a grown-up but had a childlike happiness, love, and innocence.
She moved out West where the air is clean
Jamie moved to the West to pursue her passion for poetry and enjoy the clean air.
To study poetry at Evergreen
Jamie moved to Evergreen to study and explore poetry.
I thought I'd see her in a year or two
The singer expected to see Jamie in a few years.
Till we heard rumors that I feared were true
The artist heard rumors that he feared were true about Jamie's disappearance.
They never found where she went that night
There is no trace of Jamie's whereabouts on the night of her disappearance.
The man she lived with said they'd had a fight
The man Jamie lived with mentioned that they had a fight.
She left that cabin to walk alone
Jamie left the cabin alone, probably after the fight.
He kept the light on but she never came home
Although the man tried to keep the light on, Jamie didn't return home.
She must have gone by the riverside
The searchers assume that Jamie walked by the riverside.
The searchers say that's how she must have died
According to the searchers, Jamie might have died by the riverside.
The winter water was cold with snow
The winter water was very cold due to the snow.
An icy boulder and down she'd go
Jamie may have slipped on an icy boulder and drowned.
Well I heard the news but I could not cry
The artist was not able to cry after hearing the news about Jamie's death.
I should be shattered but my eyes were dry
Although the artist expected to be shattered after Jamie's death, he was dry-eyed.
To feel no sorrow was my surprise
The singer was surprised that he did not feel any sorrow.
But the words came easy for those last good-byes
The artist was able to say goodbye to Jamie without difficulty.
Till I took a walk by the riverbend
The singer went to the riverbend.
Where once we lingered when she was my friend
The singer and Jamie used to spend time together by the riverbend.
I tried to melt the river of tears inside
The singer tried to cry and release his emotions.
The river flowed but joy I cried
Instead of crying, the artist felt joy and was relieved.
She may be gone from this life we know
Jamie may have passed away from this world.
She may have frozen in the ice and snow
Jamie may have died due to the cold weather and snow.
But there's a secret that my heart can't tell
The singer has a secret that he is not able to reveal.
Except to say that she's safe and well
The only thing the artist can say is that Jamie is safe and doing well.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DAVID PATRICK WILCOX
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind