“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.
In My Dreams
Elise LeGrow Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I wake up, I head out the door
But I just get through the day
Without you on my mind
Ooh, but at night
I still see you in my dreams
When I close my eyes
I still see you in my dreams
Don’t have to tell my heart
It’s falling apart
At the seams
Mmmm-mmm
Life goes on, I just throw out my sleeves
Love is gone, long like autumn leaves
I grieve
But I have to keep it on the inside
Ooh, but at night, I still see you in my dreams
When I close my eyes
A true to life, it seems
I still see you in my dreams
Don’t have to tell my heart
It’s falling apart
At the seams
Ooooh
Ooooh
These lyrics describe the feeling of heartbreak that one can experience after the end of a relationship. The singer acknowledges that life seems to continue on as usual, with them waking up and going through the motions of the day, but they can't help but think about their lost love. However, it's only at night when they are alone with their thoughts that they truly confront their emotions. The pain of separation pays no mind to the logical progression of time and instead takes over in the dreamlike world of their subconscious.
The chorus emphasizes this duality between daytime and nighttime emotions. During the day, the singer can try to distract themselves from their heartache, but at night, they are confronted with the reality of their loss again. Despite wanting to move on, their dreams remind them that some part of them still longs for their ex.
The second verse further emphasizes the theme of repression. The singer tries to distance themselves from their feelings of sadness during the day by simply pushing up their sleeves and carrying on with their daily activities. They acknowledge their grief, comparing it to the falling of autumn leaves, but they can't outwardly express it for fear of what may happen. The singer is bottling up their emotions, only unleashing them in the form of dreams when they are alone.
Overall, the lyrics to Elise LeGrow's "In My Dreams" are a poignant representation of the pain that comes with love and loss. The singer's experience of trying to suppress their emotions during the day, only to be confronted again at night, will be relatable to anyone who has gone through heartbreak.
Line by Line Meaning
Seems my world goes on like before
My life continues on as usual
I wake up, I head out the door
I start my day and leave my home
But I just get through the day
I manage to make it through without incident
Without you on my mind
Without thinking about you
Ooh, but at night
However, at night
I still see you in my dreams
You still appear in my dreams
When I close my eyes
Once I've closed my eyes
A true to life, it seems
It seems incredibly real
Don’t have to tell my heart
I don't need to tell myself
It’s falling apart
My heart is breaking
At the seams
At the very edges
Life goes on, I just throw out my sleeves
My life continues on, I discard what I don't need
Love is gone, long like autumn leaves
Our love is gone, it's been a long time
I grieve
I mourn
But I have to keep it on the inside
I must keep my feelings to myself
Ooooh
Contributed by Madelyn W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@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!
@richardyeo4019
@@PR-bd1ky She’s UnFUCKenBELIEVABLE!