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.”
I Can't Believe That He's Gone
Elisa Jordana Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't believe that he's gone, oh no
I can't believe that he's gone, oh
I can't believe that he's gone, oh no
He stole my keys, I lost my dreams
I don't believe in anything that I see, yeah
I can be what I choose to be, yeah
He always want to make me feel unsure, yeah
I can be whatever I wanna be, yeah
I can't believe that he's gone, oh
I can't believe that he's gone, oh no
I can't believe that he's gone, oh
I can't believe that he's gone, oh no
He's kinda crazy, gets me off and pulls me down
But I'm still myself, yeah
I can be who I wish to be, yeah
In the end I know I'll win
In the end I'm gonna swallow him, yeah, yeah
I can't believe that he's gone, oh
I can't believe that he's gone, oh no
I can't believe that he's gone, oh
I can't believe that he's gone, oh no
You broke my heart, I lost my dreams
And you've got everything
I know you didn't mean to leave me alone
(I can't believe that he's gone)
You cut me down, but I'm alright
Cuz I'm doing much better now
Even though there's something that I need you to know
(I can't believe that he's gone)
He's kinda crazy, get's me off and pulls me down
But I'm still myself, yeah
I can be who I wish to be, yeah
(I can't believe that he's gone)
In the end I know I'll win
In the end I'm gonna swallow him, yeah, yeah
I can't believe that he's gone, oh
I can't believe that he's gone, oh no
I can't believe that he's gone, oh
I can't believe that he's gone, oh no
I can't believe that he's gone, oh (I can be who I wish to be)
I can't believe that he's gone, oh no (I can be who I wish to be)
I can't believe that he's gone, oh (I can be who I wish to be)
I can't believe that he's gone, oh no (I can be who I wish to be)
I can be who I wish to be, yeah
Elisa Jordana's "I Can't Believe That He's Gone" is a compelling song about moving on from a broken relationship. The chorus, which is repeated throughout the song, is simple yet poignant: "I can't believe that he's gone, oh/I can't believe that he's gone, oh no." The repetition underscores the sense of disbelief and shock that comes when a relationship ends.
In the verses, Elisa explores the aftermath of the breakup. She sings about how her ex-partner stole her keys and made her feel unsure of herself. She also talks about losing her dreams and feeling like she doesn't believe in anything she sees. However, she refuses to ask for more and instead affirms that she can be whatever she wants to be. She acknowledges that her ex was kind of crazy and pulled her down, but ultimately she's still herself and will win in the end.
The bridge of the song is particularly powerful. Elisa sings about how her ex broke her heart and left her alone, but she's doing much better now. She declares that she can be who she wishes to be and will ultimately swallow her ex and come out on top. The song is ultimately empowering, the ultimate message being that even though a relationship may end, the person who's left behind can still thrive and become anything they want to be.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't believe that he's gone, oh
Expressing disbelief that a person who was important in her life is no longer there and possibly struggling to process the loss
I can't believe that he's gone, oh no
Repeating the disbelief and emphasizing the sense of loss
He stole my keys, I lost my dreams
Referring to a past experience where someone close to her has caused her harm and damaged her belief in her future
I don't believe in anything that I see, yeah
Feeling disillusioned and questioning her perception of the world after the traumatic experience
I can be what I choose to be, yeah
Asserting her independence and ability to define herself despite the challenges she has faced
But I refuse to ask for more
Resisting the temptation to become dependent on someone else after being hurt before
He always want to make me feel unsure, yeah
Describing a pattern of behavior where someone has caused her to doubt herself and her abilities
I can be whatever I wanna be, yeah
Reiterating her belief in her potential and her determination to achieve it
He's kinda crazy, gets me off and pulls me down
Acknowledging the complexity of her relationship with this person who has hurt her, describing their ability to both excite and harm her
But I'm still myself, yeah
Asserting her identity and sense of self in the face of adversity
In the end I know I'll win
Expressing confidence in her ability to overcome challenges and emerge victorious
In the end I'm gonna swallow him, yeah, yeah
Using a metaphor to illustrate her determination to triumph over the person who has caused her pain
You broke my heart, I lost my dreams
Directly addressing the person who has hurt her and describing the emotional fallout of their actions
And you've got everything
Bitterly noting that despite the harm they've caused her, the other person appears to be flourishing
I know you didn't mean to leave me alone
On some level understanding that the other person may not have intended to hurt her, but still feeling the impact of their actions
(I can't believe that he's gone)
Repeating the refrain to express ongoing disbelief and grief
You cut me down, but I'm alright
Acknowledging the pain caused by the other person, but also drawing strength from her resilience
Cuz I'm doing much better now
Asserting that she has moved on and is in a better place now
Even though there's something that I need you to know
Suggesting that despite her progress, there are unresolved issues and feelings she wants to address
I can be who I wish to be, yeah
Returning to the theme of self-determination and autonomy, indicating that she is not defined by the other person or their actions
(I can't believe that he's gone)
Reiterating disbelief and grief
I can be who I wish to be, yeah
Final affirmation of her identity, strength, and resilience
Contributed by Scarlett P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
XENA
Wait until he sues for all his money back for diminished repsonsibilities due to his medications steroids etc
Dr. Richard Leaky
😅
Barry Mezey
Yes she is nuts