Moss was born in Hong Kong to an English father and a Chinese mother and was into music from a young age. She emigrated with her family to London at the age of 12.
Moss started performing in 2005 and her first release was the Secret Circus EP the following year.
In 2007 Moss performed with Lightspeed Champion, alongside Florence Welch (of Florence and the Machine) . She has also played with Noah and the Whale. She has not been a permanent member of either line up.
After a series of further singles and EPs, Moss' début full album First Love (Close Harbour) was released in February 2009. The album was ranked by The New York Times at #7 in their list of "Best Albums of the Year 2009."
Moss' band has included Euan Hinshelwood (of Younghusband) and Tom Rogerson (of Three Trapped Tigers).
Moss' second album, Virtue, was released on 13 June 2011. It started out as a third person project, however, the religious conversion of her fiancé and their subsequent break-up inspired her to take a personal approach towards her song-writing.
City Song
Emmy the Great Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It isn't mine to question what it said
I sleep until the point when I'm awake
I walk until there's nothing left to trek
And everyone is looking for an answer
And everyone is waiting for a break
I came and I was bored of it soon after
But I had nowhere to go and so I stayed
It seemed an awful thing to waste
Well the morning fills my mouth up with decay
I like it, it reminds me how you taste
Sometimes I feel you rising up behind me like the wind
But I still try to look away
What will you look like when you're old?
(What will you look like when you're old?)
What will I do if I don't know you?
(What will I do if I don't know you?)
I guess that I decided not to ask the day I took the road
Down to the city as it called
Sun making silhouettes of gauze
I don't remember you at all
The city called me and I came
It isn't mine to question why
Sometimes the clouds will rise ahead, I hear your name
It's like a choir in the sky
What will you look like when you're old?
(What will you look like when you're old?)
What will I do if I don't know you?
(What will I do if I don't know you?)
I guess that I decided not to know the day I took the road
Down to the city as it called
Sun making silhouettes of gauze
I don't remember you at all
They pulled a human from my waist
It had your mouth, it had your face
I would have kept it if I'd stayed.
Emmy the Great's song City Song explores the theme of being drawn into a city and how that decision is irreversible. The singer tells us that they came to the city because it called them and they did not question why. They walk and explore the city until there is nothing left to discover. While everyone around them is searching for answers, the singer is bored of the city soon after arriving, but they stay because they have nowhere else to go. The singer dreams of the city for a lifetime, believing it to be a waste of time. The morning fills their mouth with decay which they like as it reminds them of how someone else tastes. The singer talks about feeling someone rising up behind them like the wind but still choosing to look away. They question whether they will recognise this person when they are old and what they will do if they don't know them.
The repetition of the questions, "What will you look like when you're old? What will I do if I don't know you?" highlights the singer's fear of the unknown and the irreversible nature of the decision to come to the city that can lead to losing connections from the past. The haunting choir-like voice in the background echoes a sense of longing for what the singer left behind, and makes them question if the decision to come to the city was worth it. The last lines of the song reveal that someone had a child who had the same mouth and face as the person who the singer wanted to look away from, and the singer would have kept the child if they had stayed in the city. This event points towards a sense of regret, as the singer was not ready for the possibility of losing connections while navigating through the city.
Line by Line Meaning
The city called me so I came
I felt a pull towards the city and decided to go
It isn't mine to question what it said
I don't know why I felt the pull, but I didn't question it
I sleep until the point when I'm awake
I sleep so deeply that I feel awake when I wake up
I walk until there's nothing left to trek
I keep walking until I can't anymore
And everyone is looking for an answer
Everyone in the city is searching for something
And everyone is waiting for a break
Everyone is hoping for a chance to succeed
I came and I was bored of it soon after
I quickly became bored of the city
But I had nowhere to go and so I stayed
I didn't have anywhere else to go, so I stayed in the city
I dreamed a lifetime of this place
I had daydreamed frequently about the city before arriving
It seemed an awful thing to waste
I didn't want my dreams of the city to go to waste
Well the morning fills my mouth up with decay
The air in the city is unpleasant and reminds me of decay
I like it, it reminds me how you taste
I enjoy the decay-like air because it reminds me of someone I miss
Sometimes I feel you rising up behind me like the wind
Sometimes I feel like the person I miss is near, despite being far away
But I still try to look away
Even though I feel the person's presence, I try to avoid thinking about them
What will you look like when you're old?
I wonder what the person I miss will look like when they're older
(What will you look like when you're old?)
Repeating the same question, wondering the same thing again
What will I do if I don't know you?
I worry about not recognizing the person I miss if too much time passes
(What will I do if I don't know you?)
Repeating the same worry, wondering the same thing again
I guess that I decided not to ask the day I took the road
I had decided not to ask about the person I miss from the day I left
Down to the city as it called
I came to the city because it felt like it was pulling me
Sun making silhouettes of gauze
The sun creates beautiful images, but they're not always clear
I don't remember you at all
I can't remember the last time I saw the person I miss
They pulled a human from my waist
Someone took a baby out of me
It had your mouth, it had your face
The baby looked like the person I miss
I would have kept it if I'd stayed.
If I had stayed in the city, I would have kept the baby
Contributed by Josiah H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
arubybluebird
I read in an interview article once that this song, and a few songs off of this album, are about an abortion she had. Her way of dealing, coping through it, and it sort of makes my heart sad but it also makes me want to listen, like a friend listening to another friend, a woman understanding, or trying to understand another woman. I know it's a bit of a controversial topic, but I really appreciate Emma for putting it and herself out there. Vulnerability takes a lot of courage. She truly is great.
Erin Froehlich
Thank you so much for uploading this precious work of art. Everyone should be able to hear it. <3
geokrax
this song is better live! but still is great ;)
Adrian
Glad I stumbled into this.
ttully
Much love from long time USA fan, it's been 10