Diana Krall was born into a musical family in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Ca… Read Full Bio ↴Diana Krall was born into a musical family in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada (on November 16, 1964). She began learning the piano at the age of four. In high school, she started playing in a small jazz group. At the age of fifteen, she started playing regularly in several Nanaimo restaurants. She also spent some time in Toronto studying with Canadian Jazz great, Don Thompson (Bass/Piano) and with the support of the Canada Council for the Arts she moved to the U.S to continue studies and develop her career.

Her playing attracted the attention of bass player Ray Brown, who brought her into touch with influential teachers and producers. At the age of seventeen, she won a scholarship from the Vancouver Jazz Festival to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. After three terms she moved to Los Angeles to study with Jimmy Rowles, with whom she also began to sing. In 1990, Krall relocated to New York. She is married to British musician Elvis Costello.

The Girl In The Other Room
Diana Krall Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

The girl in the other room
She knows by now
There's something in all of her fears
Now she wears it threadbare
She sits on the floor
The glass pressed tight to the wall
She hears murmurs low
The paper is peeling

Her eyes staring straight at the ceiling

Maybe they're there
Or maybe it's nothing at all
As she draws lipstick smears on the wall

The girl in the other room
She powders her face
And stares hard
Into her reflection

The girl in the other room
She stifles a yawn
Adjusting the strap of her gown
She tosses her tresses
Her lover undresses
Turning the last lamp light down
What's that voice we're hearing?
We should be sleeping
Could that be someone who's weeping?

Maybe she's there
Maybe there's nothing to see
It's just a trace of what used to be

The girl in the other room
She darkens her lash

And blushes
She seems to look familiar

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "The Girl In The Other Room" are a haunting depiction of a woman who is struggling with her fears and anxieties. The girl is portrayed as someone who is perpetually afraid, and wears her fears like second skin. The phrase "she knows by now there's something in all of her fears" highlights the girl's recognition of her own vulnerability, while the image of the "threadbare" fabric suggests that her fears have become frayed and worn over time.

The song then moves into a description of the girl sitting on the floor, glass pressed to the wall, as she listens to the "murmurs low." The imagery of the "paper peeling" and "eyes staring straight at the ceiling" creates a sense of claustrophobia – the girl is trapped in her own anxieties, unable to escape.

As the song progresses, the girl puts on makeup, dresses up, and prepares for a night of passion with her lover. The descriptions of her actions are sensual and evocative, and suggest a desire to escape her own anxieties through physical pleasure. However, the haunting refrain of "maybe she's there, or maybe there's nothing to see" continues to call into question the reality of the girl's experiences.

Overall, "The Girl In The Other Room" is a powerful reflection on the ways in which fear can intrude upon our lives, and prevent us from fully connecting with others.

Line by Line Meaning

The girl in the other room
The singer is referring to a girl who is in another room

She knows by now
The girl is aware of something

There's something in all of her fears
Something is causing the girl to be afraid

Now she wears it threadbare
Whatever is causing her fear is something she's worn out from worrying about

She sits on the floor
The girl is sitting down on the floor

The glass pressed tight to the wall
She is pressing a glass against the wall to listen in on something happening in another room

She hears murmurs low
She can hear quiet conversations going on in the other room

The paper is peeling
The wallpaper is old and starting to come apart

Her eyes staring straight at the ceiling
She is looking at the ceiling while listening to what's happening in the other room

Maybe they're there
There's a possibility that people are in the other room

Or maybe it's nothing at all
The girl is unsure if anything is really happening in the other room

As she draws lipstick smears on the wall
While waiting and listening, the girl is absentmindedly drawing on the wall with her lipstick

She powders her face
The girl is putting on makeup

And stares hard
She is looking intently

Into her reflection
She's staring at her own reflection

She stifles a yawn
The girl is trying to hide a yawn

Adjusting the strap of her gown
She is fixing her dress

She tosses her tresses
The girl is flipping her hair dramatically

Her lover undresses
Her partner is taking off their clothes

Turning the last lamp light down
They are turning off the last light before going to bed

What's that voice we're hearing?
The two are wondering about a mysterious voice that they heard

We should be sleeping
The two of them should be sleeping at this time

Could that be someone who's weeping?
They are considering the possibility that the voice they heard is someone crying

Maybe she's there
There's a possibility that someone is present

Maybe there's nothing to see
The two are unsure if there's anything worth investigating

It's just a trace of what used to be
Whatever was happening before is no longer happening, and there's only a reminder left

She darkens her lash
The girl is putting on more makeup

And blushes
She is blushing, either from embarrassment or from the makeup she put on

She seems to look familiar
The girl resembles someone from the past

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Diana Jean Krall, Elvis Costello

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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