After being dropped by the label in 1999, she released several more records under the Dead Daisy banner: Science Fair in 1999, Dead Relatives in 2000, Girl Versions in 2001, and Asianblue in 2002. She toured extensively in David Bowie's backup band during 2000 and 2001. She also toured with Swedish band The Cardigans in 2004 on the Chicks With Attitude tour.
Gryner has since released a DVD called Videochrome in 2003, featuring all four of her independent music videos and three previously unreleased songs. She released an album of Irish cover songs, Songs of Love and Death, featuring a guest contribution from Gryner's neighbour Kate McGarrigle, in January 2005.
On September 27, 2005, she released a limited edition homemade album called The Great Lakes which she wrote, recorded, mixed, printed, hand-stamped, stapled, embossed, cut, burned, packaged, and signed specially for her fans.
Gryner married visual artist Sean Odell in 2004. The couple currently lives in rural Ontario.
In 2005, she started a new band, Hot One, where she performs bass and vocals. Other Hot One members include Nathan Larson (guitar and vocals), film-score composer and guitarist with of Shudder to Think and Guided by Voices. Larson is married to the Cardigans' front-woman Nina Pearson. Kevin March is Hot One's drummer and Jordan Kern plays guitar. Hot One will be released in late August 2006.
Emm's latest studio album, The Summer of High Hopes was released in Ireland on May 12, 2006 and in North America on September 26, 2006. In the November 2006 issue of Q Magazine, celebrating the magazine's 20th anniversary, U2 frontman Bono recognized the track "Almighty Love" from Emm's new album as one of six songs that he wished he had written from the last 20 years of music.
Gryner also contributed vocals to the song "It's Always Raining in Dublin" on vitaminsforyou's 2006 album The Legend of Bird's Hill. She contributed on the 2006 Oxfam album by The Cake Sale.
North
Emm Gryner Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A little bit wiser a little bit more tongue-tied
You got your girls and I got my boys
I don't think I'll ever make a better noise
I still remember the rain coming down like a eulogy
The last day we were together and the way you looked at me
But I got my wits and you got the cash
In my heart you're north of the border
Shining down like the aurora
I still dream of you like a restless explorer
The road to here's been a hail of empty bullet shells
I wonder if you hear the answers in your father's church bells
Echoing off of a mountainside
Vanishing like all the songs I write
In the chalice I see me in white
Giving up all the fights
One by one
In the name of love
In my heart you're back in Canada
With four seasons here to bandage ya
I still think of you
I know you might not understand it now
I drop the piano lid and let the sound go out
You got your thorn in my like a secret hideout
But you got your girls and I got my boys
I don't think I'll ever make a better noise.
The lyrics to Emm Gryner's song "North" are poignant and reflective. The song begins with the singer acknowledging that life has moved on and they have grown a little wiser but feel more tongue-tied about expressing their feelings. They reflect on the past relationship with someone and how they've both moved on, with the other person having found someone new. The memories and emotions of their last day together are described with vivid imagery of rain falling like a eulogy and the way the other person looked at them. Even with the passing of time, the singer still dreams of them like a restless explorer and sees them as shining down like the aurora, forever north of the border.
As the song progresses, the singer reflects on their own journey, a "hail of empty bullet shells." They wonder if the other person hears answers in their father's church bells, a symbol of the religion and traditions they may hold dear. The singer sees themselves in a chalice, giving up fights in the name of love. Even though they have moved on, they still think of the other person, imagining them back in Canada with four seasons to bandage them. The song ends with the singer closing the piano lid, unable to fully express their feelings, but acknowledging that they don't think they'll ever make a better noise than they did with this person.
Line by Line Meaning
The record's all done and life's moved on and I'm
The album is completed and my life has progressed, but I feel a bit older and unable to articulate my thoughts.
A little bit wiser a little bit more tongue-tied
I have gained experience, but I am still struggling to express myself.
You got your girls and I got my boys
You have your own life and friends, and so do I.
I don't think I'll ever make a better noise
I doubt I will create something better than what I have already produced.
I still remember the rain coming down like a eulogy
I recall the last time we were together, and how the rain felt like a funeral for our relationship.
The last day we were together and the way you looked at me
I cannot forget the final time we spent together and the way you gazed at me.
But I got my wits and you got the cash
I have my intelligence, while you have financial wealth.
I don't need to be reliving all that
I do not wish to revisit the past and dwell on it any longer.
In my heart you're north of the border
Deep inside me, you reside in Canada.
Shining down like the aurora
You glow in my mind like the Northern Lights.
I still dream of you like a restless explorer
My longing for you persists like that of an adventurer without a destination.
The road to here's been a hail of empty bullet shells
The journey so far has been a chaotic and harmful one, leaving me with nothing but emptiness.
I wonder if you hear the answers in your father's church bells
I contemplate if you find the answers to life in the chimes of your father's church's bells.
Echoing off of a mountainside
The sound bounces off the mountainside and resonates within me.
Vanishing like all the songs I write
It disappears soon after, much like all the songs I write.
In the chalice I see me in white
I envision myself in a white gown while looking inside the chalice.
Giving up all the fights
I am surrendering all the battles and conflicts within me.
One by one
One issue at a time.
In the name of love
For the sake of love.
In my heart you're back in Canada
In my heart, you are still in Canada with me.
With four seasons here to bandage ya
The changing seasons can help heal your wounds.
I still think of you
Even though we are not together, I still have you in mind.
I know you might not understand it now
I realize you may have difficulty comprehending my feelings at the moment.
I drop the piano lid and let the sound go out
I close the piano and allow the final notes to fade away.
You got your thorn in my like a secret hideout
Your hold on me feels like a constant prickly thorn.
But you got your girls and I got my boys
We both have our lives and friendship groups even though it's not together anymore.
I don't think I'll ever make a better noise.
I find it unlikely that I will create something better than what I have already produced.
Contributed by Keira M. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Erin Janus
Great lyrics.
shesACE
I was one of the four girls in her video for 'Julia'. I remember how awesome and down to earth she was when my sister (also in the video)and I met her on set. Glad to see she's still doing music, her voice is beautifully it's own.
jeffthewhiff
I really like this girl. To be honest, I had never heard of her until hearing some of her songs on CBC Radio over the past few months and she is very talented, for sure. She is also pretty cute:)
Catherine M Thompson
I met Emm awhile back at SongStudio - she is fabulous! I love this song.
Ron Miller
So Happy to have Emm's music in my life
Mark Gregory
She's great, wish I could sing with her, great voice.
OSCAR GABRIEL GONZALEZ GONZALEZ
La sigo desde la presentación de David Bowie en BBC.. me encanta!!
TheFriendofcarlotta
Emm is wonderful I found her through David Bowie live at the BBC she and Holly Palmer(she is also Wonderful) are the both back up singers/musicians.
Kristie2ful
Wow, me too! Watched Bowie at the BBC and looked her up. The power of the internet 😊
Alan Kelly
I watched the full David Bowie set from Glastonbury recorded in 2000,the camera kept panning these two girls together, providing backing vocals and Emm keyboards and Holly percussion, when David Bowie introduced them I thought wow!!, got to look them up, they both sounded great then in 2000,been listening to there material on you tube this morning, they are both just absolutely fantastic!!!