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.
First Love
Emmy the Great Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But your name I forget
Like the door that I have kept unopened
I remember it was wet
And the swelt and the sweat
And the shelter of the bed we cloaked in
You were stroking me like a pet
But you didn't own me yet
And the tape in the cassette deck was choking
Spat out a broken hallelujah
But I've seen the way the earth
Throws its aces with a curve
You were waiting for the words
To come to yer.
Just to say that you prefer to be lonely
To be cursed
And to do the very worst you can do.
Yeah I remember you like a verse
That I didn't want to learn
I just looked into your eyes
And I knew yer.
Now the thought of you is burnt
On my body from the first time you did rewind that line
From Hallelujah.
The original Leonard Cohen version.
Well I wish that I never met you that day
You said I have a room, I have music to play
I have a room let me show you the way
I wish that I'd never come
But now that I have, I would do it again
And I would forget that I'd piss on a grave
I would forget that I'd piss on a grave
And the words as they came to my tongue were
hallelujah. Hallelujah!
And the sky was so much bluer
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
And the world was so much newer.
You said I have a room
At the top of the stairs
I have a room with a view
I know we all have a cross that we bear
And I'd like to show it to you.
And you left me in the light
And you met me in the light
And we only had a night between the two.
You were waiting for the worst
You were listening for a curse
But the only thing I heard was hallelujah.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
And the sky was so much bluer
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
And the world was so much newer.
you said I have a room
At the top of the stairs.
I have a room with a view.
I know we all have a cross that we bear
And I'd like to give it to you.
And I won't forget how the sky was set
I said I have a place to go back to.
La La La I will have you yet
I will carry you there if I have to.
No I won't forget no I won't.
No I won't forget no I won't
No I won't forget no I won't
No I won't forget no.
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. W-o-o-o-ah.
First love.
The lyrics of Emmy the Great's song "First Love" narrate a tale of a past romance that is now just a memory. The singer reminisces on the first encounter with an unknown person, who they met on a rainy day. The singer can't recall the name of the person, but they remember that they didn't own them yet. The duo shared an intimate moment, but the cassette tape choked and spat out a broken "Hallelujah," a reference to the famous song by Leonard Cohen. The singer notes that they have seen how the earth throws its aces with a curve, a metaphor for unexpected twists and turns in life. The unknown person was waiting for the singer to say that they prefer to be lonely, to be cursed, and to do the worst.
The singer then recalls that they wished they had never met this person at first, but now that they have, they would do it all over again. The lyrics suggest that the duo had an intense physical connection, which is clear from lines such as "And the sky was so much bluer" and "And the world was so much newer." However, the singer can't forget the past and all the moments spent with this person. They promise to carry the memories with them and ultimately won't forget the person who was their first love.
Line by Line Meaning
I remember how we met
I recall the circumstances of our first meeting
But your name I forget
I don't remember your name
Like the door that I have kept unopened
You are like a door I have never opened
I remember it was wet
I recall that it was raining
And the swelt and the sweat
The humidity and sweat were noticeable
And the shelter of the bed we cloaked in
We took refuge under the bed sheets
You were stroking me like a pet
You were caressing me like a pet animal
But you didn't own me yet
We weren't in a committed relationship yet
And the tape in the cassette deck was choking
The cassette tape was malfunctioning
Spat out a broken hallelujah
The tape produced a distorted sound
But I've seen the way the earth
I have observed how the natural world works
Throws its aces with a curve
Things don't always happen as expected
You were waiting for the words
You were anticipating something from me
To come to yer.
To come to you
Just to say that you prefer to be lonely
You want to be alone
To be cursed
You'd rather suffer than compromise
And to do the very worst you can do.
You're willing to act out in destructive ways
Yeah I remember you like a verse
I remember you like a song verse
That I didn't want to learn
That I didn't want to become familiar with
I just looked into your eyes
I just stared into your eyes
And I knew yer.
And I knew you
Now the thought of you is burnt
Now I can't get you out of my head
On my body from the first time you did rewind that line
I associate you with the first time I heard a line from a specific song
From Hallelujah.
From the song Hallelujah
Well I wish that I never met you that day
I regret meeting you that day
You said I have a room, I have music to play
You invited me to listen to music in your room
I have a room let me show you the way
You offered to guide me to your room
I wish that I'd never come
I wish I didn't go with you
But now that I have, I would do it again
Despite my regret, I would still go with you again
And I would forget that I'd piss on a grave
I would ignore my disrespectful behavior
And the words as they came to my tongue were hallelujah.
I exclaimed 'hallelujah' without thinking
And the sky was so much bluer
The world seemed better
And the world was so much newer.
Everything seemed refreshed
You said I have a room
You invited me to your room
At the top of the stairs.
The room was located on an upper floor
I have a room with a view.
The room had a nice view
I know we all have a cross that we bear
I understand that everyone has their own problems
And I'd like to show it to you.
And I'd like to share it with you
And you left me in the light
And you abandoned me when things were going well
And you met me in the light
And you came back to me when things were good
And we only had a night between the two.
We only had a limited time to spend together
You were waiting for the worst
You were expecting something bad to happen
You were listening for a curse
You were anticipating me to say something negative
But the only thing I heard was hallelujah.
But instead, I exulted in the moment
No I won't forget no I won't.
I won't forget what happened
Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. W-o-o-o-ah.
Interjection expressing intensity of emotion
First love.
Referring to the experience of falling in love for the first time
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: EMMA MOSS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
xxCorinnaxx
Of course she doesn't HAVE to quote another song and I'm sure she knows that! She is playing with the themes in Hallelujah, explaining what influence it had on her etc. It's also pretty funny: "The original Leonard Cohen version" - that made me laugh, I think she's poking fun at people who rail against any of the covers of the song and think they're sophisticated for preferring Cohen's versiom, whilst also agreeing that his version's best. I really like her and this song.
Lygem
To think her ambition was to be a back-up singer. She's captivated me with her voice, her lyrics, her shifting eyes to make sure she doesn't miss a queue... I can't even express how taken I am with her.
johnnyultimate
I adore this song - can't wait for the album and gig :)
rad941205
she is one of he greatest song writers in history.
Hoopaloop
I only heard this song this year, after finally looking up Emmy The Great. It reminds me of my ex of 12-13 years back. Not because she listened to Emmy - she didn't - but because it's just so *her*, and I know she'd have loved it, loved Emmy.
It sends me back to that time in a way that normally only works when the song soundtracked a moment. Bittersweet.
Equinox K
I think this song and this video pretty much sums up how a person's first love is like--innocent, pretty, serene, and then it starts become a chaotic mish mash of things before it comes to sudden end, and then you move on.
SENORITA1666
such a sweet calm voice, witty lyrics, and she is beautiful, xx love emmy ! xx
La Quaintrelle Christie
My favourite song at the moment <3 And the video rocks too!
Levitate
simply lovely, looking forward to the next album,
Andy Von Pip
I love this video. The album really is F***ing brilliant