2) US ; country singer
1) Singer, writer and concertina player based in the North East of England. With a BBC Folk Award nomination for her work with harmony trio The Devil’s Interval, Emily is already an established musician on the UK folk scene, commended by Shirley Collins and annually touring with Waterson:Carthy. Emily has recently appeared at The Southbank Centre as part of their ‘Folk Roots, New Routes’ series and debuted her new songs at The Sage Gateshead. She is also fast making waves beyond the folk scene, being featured as a soloist on the BBC's adaptation of 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles' as well as appearing on alt-folk songwriter Alasdair Roberts’ forthcoming album.
Emily originally hails from Glastonbury, where, raised on a diet of fairytales and deep Somerset folklore she began songwriting at the age of six, starting out with a keyboard, a tape recorder and a thirst for blood-curdling stories. After years immersed in traditional songs, Emily's return to songwriting has already grabbed the attention of the BBC, with Radio 3’s 'Late Junction' recently previewing her new music and ‘Words and Music’ broadcasting live performances of songs from the album at their 'Free Thinking' Festival. Inspired by folktales and Ballads, Emily weaves harmony-rich narratives relaying female experience, accompanied by Viola player Lucy Farrell (fresh from touring with The Unthanks) and Harpist Rachel Newton of BBC folk Award Nominees The Shee. These visceral visions of a darker Albion conjure landscapes where mythical sirens collide in urban backstreets. Emily's debut solo album ‘The Glamoury’ was released in March 2010.
2) US ; country singer : http://www.last.fm/music/Emily+Portman/Country+Girl+Like+Me
Bones and Feathers
Emily Portman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She leaves a trail of feathers
She's carrying a suitcase
Ivory and leather
She′s rummaging the dustbins
She's looking but not finding
She holds a leather suitcase
Her eyes are like two street lights
They flicker in her furrowed face
She mutters and she murmurs
There's a rattling, a rasping
She might be singing something
But it′s lost in traffic roaring
She′s weaving up the high street
Against a tide of faces
They're looking but not seeing
People going places
She′s searching for something
She's looking but not finding
I walk home through the back street
As night turns into morning
There′s a little fire
To the eastward, burning
I turn around the corner
There's a rattling, a rasping
She′s underneath the street light
Singing while she's working
Her suitcase is wide open
It's spilling out it′s treasure
Yellow bones a-glowing
Ivory and leather
She′s looking and she's finding
She′s knitting them together
And the dawn is breaking
The ragged bones are mending
They're growing flesh and feathers
They′re breathing and they're stirring
They′re stirring and they're waking
They're rising and they′re singing
They fly into the morning
The street lights are buzzing
And the sky is full of ringing
The woman down the back street
Has vanished with her suitcase
And all the birds are singing
All the birds are singing
All the birds are singing
The song "Bones and Feathers" by Emily Portman depicts a mysterious woman who wanders the streets carrying an ivory and leather suitcase, leaving a trail of feathers behind her. The woman is seen rummaging through dustbins, muttering and murmuring to herself. She appears lost, searching for something she cannot find, and walks through the high streets unnoticed by the rushing crowds around her. The song builds up to a climactic moment when the woman reveals the contents of her suitcase, which are yellow bones that start to glow, and feathers that begin to stir and rise. As the dawn breaks, the bones start to mend, grow flesh and feathers, and are alive once more, filling the sky with their song.
Interpreting the lyrics of "Bones and Feathers," one may infer that the woman represents death, carrying the dead bones with her as she searches for a new life for them. She wanders unnoticed, unacknowledged by the busy crowd, symbolizing how death often goes unnoticed in the hustle and bustle of life. The glowing bones and feathers with a new life may represent the rebirth of something beautiful and new after death.
Line by Line Meaning
There's a woman down the back street
A woman is seen walking down a back street
She leaves a trail of feathers
Feathers are falling from her suitcase
She's carrying a suitcase
There is a suitcase in her hands
Ivory and leather
The suitcase is made of ivory and leather
She's rummaging the dustbins
The woman is searching through the trash bins
She's looking but not finding
The woman is searching for something but not having any luck
I see her at the bus stop
The singer sees the woman waiting at the bus stop
She holds a leather suitcase
The woman is still holding the leather suitcase
Her eyes are like two street lights
Her eyes are shining brightly like two street lights
They flicker in her furrowed face
Her eyes are flickering on her wrinkled face
She mutters and she murmurs
The woman is whispering to herself
There's a rattling, a rasping
There is a sound of bones and feathers being moved around
She might be singing something
The woman may be singing
But it's lost in traffic roaring
Her voice is unable to be heard over the noise of the traffic
She's weaving up the high street
She is walking up the busy street
Against a tide of faces
She is walking against a large crowd of people
They're looking but not seeing
People are not paying attention to her
People going places
People are busy going about their daily business
I walk home through the back street
The singer is walking home down the back street
As night turns into morning
It is now early morning after a long night
There's a little fire
A small fire is burning in the distance
To the eastward, burning
The fire is burning in the east
I turn around the corner
The singer turns the corner
She's underneath the street light
The woman is under a street light
Singing while she's working
The woman is singing while doing something
Her suitcase is wide open
The woman's suitcase is open
It's spilling out it's treasure
The contents of the suitcase are falling out
Yellow bones a-glowing
There are glowing yellow bones in the suitcase
She's looking and she's finding
The woman is searching and finding things
She's knitting them together
She is putting them together in a specific way
And the dawn is breaking
It is now sunrise
The ragged bones are mending
The broken bones are mending themselves
They're growing flesh and feathers
The bones are growing flesh and feathers
They're breathing and they're stirring
The creatures are breathing and moving
They're stirring and they're waking
The creatures are waking up
They're rising and they're singing
They are rising and singing
They fly into the morning
The creatures fly into the morning light
The street lights are buzzing
The street lights are making a humming sound
And the sky is full of ringing
The sky is filled with the sounds of the creatures and the street lights
The woman down the back street
The woman seen earlier on the back street
Has vanished with her suitcase
The woman and her suitcase are no longer there
And all the birds are singing
All the birds are making beautiful sounds
Contributed by Stella M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.