Dawn Landes (born December 5, 1980 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American … Read Full Bio ↴Dawn Landes (born December 5, 1980 in Louisville, Kentucky) is an American singer-songwriter and musician currently based in New York City. She is also a sometimes-member of the band Hem, where she has lent her voice to harmony vocals, and played glockenspiel. She has worked as an audio engineer at Stratosphere Sound in New York City and at Philip Glass' own personal recording studio. She has shared the stage with artists such as Josh Ritter (to whom she was married), Suzanne Vega, Jose Gonzalez, Feist, The Weakerthans, Andrew Bird, Midlake, Alexi Murdoch and many others.

The press has likened Landes to "the grand old dames of country" and in the same breath The Black Keys and The White Stripes (Uncut). She’s also garnered comparisons to Cat Power and Pavement, an interesting mix that made even NPR’s David Dye wonder.

Raised in the fertile musical fields of Branson, Missouri and Louisville, Kentucky, Landes came to New York City in 1999 and did a cannonball into the music scene. While holding down several jobs to pay the rent, she abandoned university (NYU) and began to intern at some of the best studios in the city. "I had very little experience", she says. "I was just really, really curious. Dangerously curious in the studio… I picked heros like Tchad Blake and Brian Wilson and took a flying leap."

What started as a job getting coffee for engineers has blossomed into a truly enviable resume; among others she has worked with Phillip Glass, Ryan Adams, Hem, Joseph Arthur, The Earlies and Josh Ritter in the studio. Working late into the night, and often sleeping at the same studios she was interning in, Dawn began producing and recording her own songs after hours. "I wanted to get the sounds in my head onto tape exactly as I heard them. And that’s not an easy thing, there are a lot of sounds in there!"

After meeting the band Hem in the studio, Landes joined them on the road as an 8th band member (vocals and glockenspeil) and opening act. Her performing career started to gain speed. Her first full-length, «dawn’s music» was released in France in 2005, followed by extensive touring in Europe and two other European releases; «234» a 7-song EP released in the UK and finally «Fireproof», released worldwide in 2007. Since then her music has become the stuff of whispers and internet buzz, and her touring schedule has put her on the road with artists such as Feist, Jose Gonzales, Midlake, Suzanne Vega, Martha Wainright, The Swell Season…(the list goes on) At times solo, at times with a revolving cast of musical guests, her shows have the guileless and vibrant quality of a work of art in constant creation.

Landes penned the end-credit song for the movie «Savage Grace» starring Julianne Moore and plucked the WST Bluegrass band from a BBQ in Austin, TX to help her record her version of the Peter, Bjorn and John classic, «Young Folks.» Rumor has it, James Blunt liked it so much he covered dawns cover of the song! In 2007 Landes became the co-partner, designer and full-time dry-waller of Saltlands Studio in Brooklyn. «What if we get bored?» Dawn sings in the Fireproof gem, «Kids in a Play.»

As a solo artist, Landes has put out a number of albums:
* Dawn’s Music (self-released-US/Ocean Music-Europe) 2002
* two, three, four (Boy Scout recordings-UK) 2006
* Fireproof (Cooking Vinyl-US/Fargo Music-Europe) 2008
* Sweetheart Rodeo (Cooking Vinyl) 2010

Official Website: www.dawnlandes.com

Young Folks
Dawn Landes Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

If i told you things i did before
Told you how i used to be
Would you go along with someone like me
If you knew my story word for word
Handled all of my history
Would you go along with someone like me

I did before and had my share

It didn't lead nowhere
I would go along with someone like you
It doesn't matter what you did
Who you were hanging with
We could stick around and see this night through

And we don't care about the young folks
Talkin' bout the young style
And we don't care about the old folks
Talkin' 'bout the old style too
And we don't care about our own folks
Talkin' 'bout our own stuff
All we care about is talking
Talking only me and you

Usually when things has gone this far
People tend to disappear
No one would surprise me unless you do

I can tell there's something goin' on
Hours seem to disappear
Everyone is leaving i'm still with you

It doesn't matter what we do
Where we are going to
We can stick around and see this night through

And we don't care about the young folks
Talkin' bout the young style
And we don't care about the old folks
Talkin' 'bout the old style too
And we don't care about our own folks
Talkin' 'bout our own stuff
All we care about is talking
Talking only me and you

And we don't care about the young folks
Talkin' bout the young style
And we don't care about the old folks
Talkin' 'bout the old style too
And we don't care about our own folks
Talkin' 'bout our own stuff
All we care about is talking
Talking only me and you
(repeat)
Talking only me and you

Talking only me and you
Talking only me and you

Overall Meaning

The song "Young Folks" by Dawn Landes is about two people who are getting to know each other and are enjoying each other's company. It begins with the singer asking if the person they are interested in would accept them if they knew everything about their past. They then go on to say that they don't care about the young or old people, or even their own friends, all they want is to spend time with this person and talk to them. The song also suggests that when two people connect, they can forget everything else happening around them, and even though it's late and everyone else has gone, they still want to spend time together.

The lyrics of the song convey a sense of carefree abandon and speak to the feeling of falling in love, where everything else around you fades into the background, and all you can focus on is the person you are with. The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the idea that they don't care about anything else other than each other and their conversation. It’s a song of nostalgia for moments when people can lose themselves in the pleasure of the moment and be completely present.

Line by Line Meaning

If i told you things i did before
If I shared my past experiences with you

Told you how i used to be
If I told you how I used to behave in the past

Would you go along with someone like me
Would you still want to be with me despite knowing my past

If you knew my story word for word
If you knew the details of my past completely

Handled all of my history
Dealt with all of my past experiences and behavior

Would you go along with someone like me
Would you still want to be with me knowing my complete past

I did before and had my share
I have had my own share of experiences before

It didn't lead nowhere
But they didn't lead to anything significant

I would go along with someone like you
I would want to be with someone like you

It doesn't matter what you did
It doesn't matter what you did in the past

Who you were hanging with
Who you were associating with in the past

We could stick around and see this night through
We could stay together and enjoy the present

And we don't care about the young folks
We don't care about the opinions of the younger generation

Talkin' bout the young style
Their style and way of doing things

And we don't care about the old folks
We don't care about the opinions of the older generation

Talkin' 'bout the old style too
Their style and way of doing things

And we don't care about our own folks
We don't care about our own people's opinions

Talkin' 'bout our own stuff
Talking about our own issues and problems

All we care about is talking
All we want to do is talk to each other

Talking only me and you
Our conversations are exclusive to just you and me

Usually when things has gone this far
Typically, when things have progressed to this point

People tend to disappear
People tend to leave or distance themselves

No one would surprise me unless you do
There's nothing that could surprise me except for you

I can tell there's something goin' on
I sense that something is happening

Hours seem to disappear
Time seems to pass by quickly

Everyone is leaving i'm still with you
Everyone else is leaving, but I'm still with you

It doesn't matter what we do
It doesn't matter what we do together

Where we are going to
Where we're headed