She wields the latter to excellent effect in the frequently downloaded “Unstable,” a not-so-thinly veiled recollection of her days playing keytar in the dance-rock outfit Cobra Starship, with whom she toured extensively. (That track is so beloved by Jordana’s legion of online fans that a handful have gone so far as to create YouTube videos to accompany it.)
Not that Jordana is a one-note gal. “Sweet Rosalyn” is a contemporary “I lied on the stand for you, baby” torch song, and “Young Love” is a balls-out alt-rock classic in the making. Equally at home performing pop, new wave, hip-hop, rock, disco and various combinations thereof, she’s also skilled in piano, guitar, the aforementioned keytar and a host of electronic music-making tools.
And she knows how to pick collaborators. She’s recorded with up-and-comer Secondhand Serenade and written with Colby Odonis (“What You Got”), currently signed to Akon’s Konvict Music, as well as *NSYNC’s JC Chasez and The Summer Obsession’s Lucien “Luke Skywalker” Walker. Skywalker is a particularly apt partner, as evidenced by his rhyming on “Nymphomaniac” and “Unstable.” “Madonna was my idol growing up,” Jordana volunteers, “partly because she always collaborated with such great people.”
Another influence, The Beatles, inspired Jordana to add guitar to her repertoire. “I started taking piano lessons when I was four,” she says. “But then I fell in love with the Beatles. I went from singing their songs to wanting to play their songs – on guitar. I thought guitar was the cooler instrument.” She remembers seeing and being “all over” Sade, Whitney Houston and New Kids on the Block, but it was Debbie Gibson who really inspired her. “I was drawn to her,” she confirms. “I thought I was just like her because she sang pop music and she wrote her own material, and I was writing songs just like hers.”
Jordana’s first composition, written when she was seven, was about a lost dog named Chessie who was wondering around the ranch where she and her family vacationed. She recalls, tongue firmly in cheek: “It had two chords, D minor and A. It was sad but still poppy, with a monster hook. And it had that great chorus lyric: ‘I love Chessie.’”
Come middle school, Jordana tried to put together a band. “But I was the only one who took it seriously, so I was forced to become a solo artist,” she says. Her efforts paid off in high school when she was asked repeatedly to write songs for the school musical. “That was my reason to live,” she insists.
Raised in Old Bridge, N.J., Jordana lit out for New York City at 17. She fell in with Queen Latifah’s Flavor Unit crowd, and eventually found herself in a studio with Wyclef Jean, who encouraged her musical ambitions, and, of all people, Tom Jones. During these vagabond days, she occasionally found herself homeless, which she’d remedy by spending the night at Penn Station or couch-surfing, i.e. “meeting people at clubs and staying with them for as long as they’d have me.”
Clubs were also fertile ground for performing, employment and gathering ideas. A stint as a go-go dancer was particularly instructive. “I loved the music,” she says. “I’d hear it in my head after I left the club and it would inspire all these melodies. By the time I got home, songs would be pouring out of me.”
It was also at a club that she met Cobra Starship frontman Gabriel Saporta, whom she’d seen perform years before. She marched up to him and, after very little preamble, said, “I should sing in your band.” “Of course he said, ‘I’m singing,’” she relates. “So I said, ‘I can play any instrument in that band; what do you want me to play?’ And that’s how I ended up in Cobra Starship playing keytar.”
Her tenure in the band saw her sharing stages with Fall Out Boy, Panic at the Disco, Gym Class Heroes, 30 Seconds to Mars and Jack’s Mannequin, among others. She also appeared on “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” playing “Bring It,” Cobra Starship’s contribution to the Snakes on a Plane soundtrack.
In 2007 her membership in the group was revoked, about which Jordana remains philosophical. “Gabe gave me a huge break,” she says, “and he really inspired me. Being in that band was an important experience for me. I’d watch Gabe onstage every night, and it just made me want to write and sing and do my own thing.”
Her own thing took a giant leap forward after an afternoon of playing Guitar Hero with a seven-year-old. He subsequently turned her on to the recording program GarageBand. “I bought a Mac that day,” she says, “and started playing around on GarageBand. I recorded a bunch of songs” – some of which feature her dog barking in the background – “and put them up on MySpace, and all of a sudden people were contacting me and telling me how much they liked my music.” Music-industry types began sniffing around not long afterward.
Jordana, meanwhile, is well on her way to amassing enough material for an album, with “Nymphomaniac” likely its first single. This would surely please the commentator who recently opined on the music site www.threeimaginarygirls.com: “If you … have spent the last several years lamenting the dearth of upper-middle-class suburban wink-wink hip-hop song recasting, you will dance the dance of joy when your ears are massaged by the songs ‘Nymphomaniac’ and ‘Barbados.’”
Speaking of the dance of joy, Jordana declares: “A lot of people complain about where music’s going these days, but I like it. I love progressive, innovative, crazy dance music and I hear interesting stuff like that all the time. It doesn’t take itself too seriously, and neither do I.”
Be My Lighthouse
Elisa Jordana Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The waves are crashing in
Crash, Crash
The waves are crashing in
I've been dying out
And I need you to guide me
I've got nowhere to turn but it turns out
I'm hoping, I'm praying
That when you get my call
You'l be there to answer me
And light me up
Come rescue me, I'm like a ship at sea
The wind is blowing me away from where I need to
Be my lighthouse, be my lighthouse
Come rescue me, I'm like a ship at sea
The wind is blowing me away from where I need to
Be my lighthouse, be my lighthouse
You're so inspirational
I'm so vulnerable
I need you to transform
My weakness to love
Please be there to answer me
And light me up
Come rescue me, I'm like a ship at sea
The wind is blowing me away from where I need to
Be my lighthouse, be my lighthouse
Come rescue me, I'm like a ship at sea
The wind is blowing me away from where I need to
Be my lighthouse, be my lighthouse
The waves are crashing in
So wont you wade me in
The waves are crashing in
So wont you wade me in
The waves are crashing in
So wont you wade me in
The waves are crashing in
So wont you wade me in
Crash, Crash
The waves are crashing in
Crash, Crash
The waves are crashing in
Come rescue me, I'm like a ship at sea
The wind is blowing me away from where I need to
Be my lighthouse, be my lighthouse
Come rescue me, I'm like a ship at sea
The wind is blowing me away from where I need to
Be my lighthouse, be my lighthouse
Come rescue me, I'm like a ship at sea
The wind is blowing me away from where I need to
Be my lighthouse, be my lighthouse
Come rescue me, I'm like a ship at sea
The wind is blowing me away from where I need to
Be my lighthouse, be my lighthouse
Crash, Crash
The waves are crashing in
Crash, Crash
The waves are crashing in
Crash, Crash
The waves are crashing in
Crash, Crash
The waves are crashing in
Elisa Jordana's "Be My Lighthouse" is a song about seeking help in times of vulnerability and desperation. The chorus, "Come rescue me, I'm like a ship at sea, the wind is blowing me away from where I need to be, be my lighthouse," is a plea for someone to guide the singer to safety - to prevent her from drifting aimlessly with no direction or purpose. The comparison to a ship at sea emphasizes the feeling of being lost and overwhelmed, with no control over one's circumstances. The image of a lighthouse represents hope, safety, and guidance, as its light provides a fixed point of reference for lost sailors.
The verses speak to the power of the person being called upon to serve as a lighthouse. The first verse acknowledges the singer's own vulnerabilities and the fact that she has nowhere else to turn. She needs someone to "transform [her] weakness to love" and provide guidance and direction. The second verse describes the person being called upon as "so inspirational," indicating that the singer sees this individual as a positive influence in her life - someone who has the power to "light [her] up" and help guide her through difficult times.
Overall, "Be My Lighthouse" is a vulnerable and emotional plea for help and guidance. It speaks to the power of human connection and the importance of having someone in our lives who can serve as a beacon of hope and safety when we feel lost or overwhelmed.
Line by Line Meaning
Crash, Crash
The waves are continuously hitting against the shore
The waves are crashing in
The sea is becoming more turbulent and powerful
I've been dying out
I am emotionally exhausted and lost
And I need you to guide me
I require a strong source of support to lead me through my struggles
I've got nowhere to turn but it turns out
I have no other options for help
You have the power to save me
You possess qualities that are capable of aiding me
I'm hoping, I'm praying
I am putting all of my faith into the idea that you will come through
That when you get my call
When I reach out to you for assistance
You'll be there to answer me
You will respond to my call for help
And light me up
Give me hope and inspiration
Come rescue me, I'm like a ship at sea
I feel lost and need you to be my guide
The wind is blowing me away from where I need to
My obstacles are hindering me from where I need to be in life
Be my lighthouse, be my lighthouse
Be the beacon of light in my life guiding me towards safety and happiness
You're so inspirational
You have qualities that inspire me towards a better life
I'm so vulnerable
I am emotionally exposed and in need of protection
I need you to transform
I am hoping that you are capable of instilling a positive change in my life
My weakness to love
Transforming the negative aspects of my life into love and positivity
The waves are crashing in
The struggles in my life are growing larger and more difficult
So won't you wade me in
Guide me through my stormy waters and bring me to safety
Come rescue me, I'm like a ship at sea
I am lost and in need of aid
Crash, Crash
The sea is continually turbulent
Be my lighthouse, be my lighthouse
Be my pillar of hope and enlightenment
Contributed by Hudson A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Aura Glasswerks
Beeeeennnnnnnnjjjjjjjjjjjiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!!