“I would love to have girls everywhere dancing and singing along to this song in their bedrooms,” says Toronto-based vocal powerhouse LeGrow about her single “No Good Woman.” “I think women of all ages can connect with this song.”
And she’s right. While the five songs that comprise her 2012 EP have a lot in common with some of today’s biggest pop tracks, her voice in particular carries hints of highly-revered female singers who’ve emerged each decade since the ‘50s – from Ella Fitzgerald and Nina Simone through to current contemporaries like Mariah Carey and Adele.
Her development as a music fan has largely informed her development as a vocalist. Since clinging to the sticky pop sounds of Paula Abdul and Whitney Houston during her childhood years, her tastes have slowly travelled back in time, first to ‘60s and ‘70s classic rock as a pre-teen and later to classic jazz and early soul and R&B in her teen years, the latter of which she says had a very strong influence on her current musical mindset. “I started hearing the things I loved about Mariah and Whitney in the music from decades before,” she shares. “That was a big moment in my development.”
She began honing her talents singing in popular clubs in and around her home city, performing classic selections from the American songbook. It was during this formative period that her own voice really started to emerge: a happy marriage of all of her influences with a distinctive, modern twist all her own. Her evolution continued as she fine-tuned her songwriting abilities and poetic voice, netting her a deal with Sony/ATV Music Publishing Canada and allowing her to elicit a wider array of emotions through her own material.
Tracks like the aforementioned single or the bouncy “RedHotFire” find LeGrow easily weaving her powerful and soulful singing through tastefully arranged melodies that’ll have hands clapping and toes tapping with ease; on the other hand, the laid-back, nice-and-slow groove of “Weed & Wine” or stripped-down ballad “In My Dreams,” co-written with Ron Sexsmith, offer a perfect complement to showcase what this born performer can do.
Aside from her collaboration with Sexsmith, the EP benefits from the Midas touch of songwriter/producer/engineer Tawgs Salter (Josh Groban, LIGHTS, The Midway State), who brought the lavishly layered arrangements to LeGrow’s vocal melodies. Other present and upcoming collaborators include Andre “Dre” Harris (Usher, Michael Jackson), Jon Levine (K’naan, Anjulie), Dave Thomson (LIGHTS, Jake Matthews) and Stefan Skarbek (Amy Winehouse). The final result is a collection of fun, accessible pop songs with relatable lyrics and plenty of substance.
The songs explore issues and emotions relevant to today’s world – love lost and found, friendship, and simply learning to navigate life. “No Good Woman,” for example, is an empowering anthem for women who’ve been on the bad end of a relationship with an emotionally immature partner – a story LeGrow’s heard “dozens of times from close girl friends,” while “23 Ways To Love Me,” on the other hand, explores the more passionate and positive parts of the ever-familiar emotion with some fun and fancy wordplay.
With a silk-laden and strong voice that’s both forceful and fragile coupled with the seemingly ideal formula for fun, accessible songs that so perfectly suit it, it’ll be exciting to see Elise LeGrow further expand her signature blend of past and present that’ll appeal to people across the board. “It took me a while to find my voice and get to where I am now,” the young singer says, “but it feels fantastic.”
The music may be in the same universe as some of today’s biggest pop stars, but she mixes her influences into something truly her own, and any one of these songs could be the next favorite for in-the-shower divas and closed-door dancers everywhere.
Drinking in the Day
Elise LeGrow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't hide yourself away
With something on your mind
You're drinking in the day
Crumbling from the weight
Sometimes it's good to cry, cry, cry, cry, cry
This life's a fickle friend indeed
Knocks you off your feet
Who can really say
Where he went that day
That's why you've got to cry, cry, cry, cry, cry
And I wait and hope
But I don't know
But I don't know
Where you are
Oh babe, don't say that it's alright
Stop fighting like a man
Just because you can
You're drinking in the day
Shaking from the weight
Sometimes it's good to cry, baby cry, cry, cry
And I wait and hope
But I don't know, no
I don't know
Where you are
Oh babe, don't say you're doin fine
Don't hide yourself away
With something on your mind
You're drinking in the day
Crumbling from the weight
Sometimes it's good to cry, cry, cry, cry, cry
The song "Drinking in the Day" by Elise LeGrow is a melancholic tune that talks about the pain and struggles of life. The lyrics try to console a person who is going through a tough time, trying to hide their suffering behind their apparently optimistic exterior. The opening lines "Oh babe, don't say you're doin fine, Don't hide yourself away, With something on your mind" portray the message that it's important to express your emotions and not act complacent.
The phrase "You're drinking in the day" is an implication that the person is trying to escape or numb their pain with alcohol or any other substance. But sooner or later, the weight of the struggles will become unbearable, and that’s the moment when you need to let your emotions out. A grim reminder: “This life's a fickle friend indeed, And when it comes to end, Knocks you off your feet Who can really say, Where he went that day” tells us that we all need to be strong in tough times as no one knows what fate may bring.
The overall theme of the song highlights the importance of expressing emotions, sobbing, and how sometimes it's good to let tears flow because they can be cathartic, letting us release some of our pain. Emotions will lessen, and we will see things more clearly afterward. We can lean on others and support each other to get through the tough spots. Self-medication is not the answer. It's okay to not be okay.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh babe, don't say you're doin fine
Don't pretend like everything's okay
Don't hide yourself away
Don't isolate yourself from the world
With something on your mind
With something that's troubling you
You're drinking in the day
You're drinking alcohol during the day
Crumbling from the weight
Being weighed down by your emotions
Sometimes it's good to cry, cry, cry, cry, cry
Sometimes it's healthy to express your feelings and cry
This life's a fickle friend indeed
Life can be unpredictable and unreliable
And when it comes to end
And when it's all over
Knocks you off your feet
It can be difficult to deal with
Who can really say
No one really knows for sure
Where he went that day
Where someone went when they passed away
That's why you've got to cry, cry, cry, cry, cry
It's important to let yourself grieve
And I wait and hope
I am waiting and hoping
But I don't know
But I have no way of knowing
Where you are
Where you are physically, emotionally, or mentally
Stop fighting like a man
Stop being tough and trying to handle everything alone
Just because you can
Just because you have the ability to
Shaking from the weight
Trembling from the emotional burden
Sometimes it's good to cry, baby cry, cry, cry
Sometimes it's healthy to express your feelings and cry
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MIKE FOX, ELISE LEGROW, JAMES ROBERTSON, Elsie LeGrow
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sue
Drinking in the Day means you can' t stand the pain at all, it's so bad.
@ekarumba929
Oh babe, don't say you're doin fine
Don't hide yourself away
With something on your mind
You're drinking in the day
Crumbling from the weight
Sometimes it's good to cry, cry, cry, cry, cry
This life's a fickle friend indeed
And when it comes to end
Knocks you off your feet
Who can really say
Where he went that day
That's why you've got to cry, cry, cry, cry, cry
And I wait and hope
But I don't know
But I don't know
Where you are
Oh babe, don't say that it's alright
Stop fighting like a man
Just because you can
You're drinking in the day
Shaking from the weight
Sometimes it's good to cry, baby cry, cry, cry
And I wait and hope
But I don't know, no
I don't know
Where you are
Oh babe, don't say you're doin fine
Don't hide yourself away
With something on your mind
You're drinking in the day
Crumbling from the weight
Sometimes it's good to cry, cry, cry, cry, cry
@akimoto8626
oh babe, don't say I'm doing fine
don't how just self away
something on your mind
you're drinking in the day
crumbling from the weight
sometimes it's good the cry
cry, cry, cry
this life's a fickle friend indeed
and when it comes to in, knocks you off your feet
who can really say, when she with the date
that's why you gotta cry
cry, cry, cry
and I wait and hold, but I don't know
but I don't know, where you are
oh babe, don't say that it's alright
stop fighting like a man, just because you can
you're drinking in the day
shaking from the weight
sometimes it's good the cry
cry, cry, cry
and I wait and hold, but I don't know
but I don't know, where you are
oh babe, don't say I'm doing fine
don't how just self away
something on your mind
you're drinking in the day
crumbling from the weight
sometimes it's good the cry
cry, cry, cry
@berndhase4399
This woman's voice is amazing.
@moonyeclipse4281
Amazing
@gerardglass3717
coz its real
@lucymot2010
Indeed ❤😊
@satchman1965
I love it when I click on a video that looks like it would be good and it ends up being fucking incredible. Wow.
@crookdeezy
I tried to like this comment twice
@billmiller9448
Life is better that way.
@PR-bd1ky
Language! It may be trendy, cool, etc, to be foul-mouthed...but it's really not. Disrespectful; to the musicians, and all.
@richardyeo4019
Well said!