McCarley currently calls Nashville home, but she cut her musical teeth in San Diego, where she’d moved after college to pursue a life that did not feature music at its center. It was during this bout that McCarley met producer/writer/keyboardist Jamie Kenney (the rare partner she felt 100 percent comfortable with), and the two began honing the songs that would make up Love, Save the Empty.
During 2008, she was part of the "Hotel Café Tour" playing across the United States, and also performed at the 2008 SxSW festival. She was also part of the "Ten Out of Tenn" tour in Winter 2008/2009. Erin spent 2009 on the road with various musicians including Brett Dennen, James Morrison, Paolo Nutini and Mat Kearney.
In 2008, McCarley traveled the annual SXSW Music Festival where she was discovered by her label Universal Republic Records. Love, Save the Empty, was released digitally on December 30, 2008 via iTunes debuting #86 on the Billboard Top 200 Album.Chart. A physical album followed on January 6, 2009. The first single from the album, "Pony (It's OK)" was the iTunes Single of the Week for the first week of 2009.
Pony
Erin McCarley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You say what kind of blue
Are you? Are you?
Then you ride your pony round and round
It's digging a hole, right through, right through
You stumble down a yellow brick road,
Spinning your shoes in the air, the air.
Then you, hold your breath, and count to nine,
Hoping that soon somebody will find you, find you,
Go on, go on, go on, the stars are watching,
Just say, just say, just say, what you're feeling,
You know, you know, you know, you gotta take a bow and do it your way,
It's okay, it's okay
You're 15 miles over the speed,
You're going fast as you can, off to your daydream
Oh
On your mark, get set, hurry away
And have a serious talk with your, champagne.
Go on, go on, go on, the stars are watching,
Just say, just say, just say, what you're feeling,
You know, you know, you know, you gotta take a bow and do it your way,
It's okay, it's okay
It's time for you to prove,
Within your ruby shoes,
You deserve a smile with no regret,
Look at you
Kicking off your shoes,
Dancing for the world to see,
You got the power to believe,
Now open up and see,
And go be free and fly away,
Go on, go on, go on, the stars are watching,
Just say, just say, just say, what you're feeling,
You know, you know, you know, you gotta take a bow and do it your way,
It's okay, it's okay
It's okay, it's okay
The song "Pony" by Erin McCarley is a deeply inspirational and uplifting song about finding the courage to be yourself and live your life to the fullest. From the opening lyrics of "You hold your head up to the sky, You say what kind of blue, are you?" we can already sense the theme of self-discovery and coming to terms with who you are. This is reinforced by the imagery of riding a pony, which can be seen as a metaphor for life, and how we all have to "ride" through it to get to where we want to be. But while we're riding, we need to stay connected to who we are and not lose sight of our individuality.
The next verse continues the theme of self-exploration, with the singer stumbling down a yellow brick road and spinning their shoes in the air. Yellow brick road is a reference to The Wizard of Oz, a classic tale of a journey of self-discovery. The singer counts to nine, hoping that someone will find them, which suggests a sense of isolation or feeling lost. But the chorus provides a different perspective, telling us to "go on, go on, go on, the stars are watching," and to "just say, just say, just say, what you're feeling." This is a reminder that we are not alone, and that we can express ourselves and be heard. We also get the sense that the stars represent something universal and eternal, and that our struggles and triumphs are part of a larger cosmic dance.
The bridge encourages us to break free from our doubts and fears: "You got the power to believe, now open up and see, and go be free and fly away." And the final chorus repeats the message that it's okay to be yourself: "You know, you know, you know, you gotta take a bow and do it your way, it's okay, it's okay." This is a beautiful and empowering song, reminding us that we are all unique and worthy of celebration.
Line by Line Meaning
You hold your head up to the sky
You lift your head high and look up towards the sky.
You say what kind of blue
You wonder what shade of blue the sky is.
Are you? Are you?
You question the sky to find its true color.
Then you ride your pony round and round
You ride your horse in circles.
It's digging a hole, right through, right through
Your horse is digging a hole straight through the ground.
You stumble down a yellow brick road,
You walk unsteadily on a path of yellow bricks.
Spinning your shoes in the air, the air.
You carelessly spin your shoes in the air.
Then you, hold your breath, and count to nine,
You hold your breath and slowly count to nine.
Hoping that soon somebody will find you, find you,
You hope that someone will come to your rescue.
Go on, go on, go on, the stars are watching,
Encouragement to keep going, knowing that the stars are watching.
Just say, just say, just say, what you're feeling,
You are encouraged to express your emotions.
You know, you know, you know, you gotta take a bow and do it your way,
You must take a bow and do things your way.
It's okay, it's okay
Everything will be alright.
You're 15 miles over the speed,
You are driving 15 miles over the speed limit.
You're going fast as you can, off to your daydream
You are driving quickly, lost in thought.
On your mark, get set, hurry away
You are ready to run away from your current situation.
And have a serious talk with your, champagne.
You plan to have a deep conversation with a bottle of champagne.
It's time for you to prove,
It's time to show what you're capable of.
Within your ruby shoes,
Within your red shoes from The Wizard of Oz.
You deserve a smile with no regret,
You should feel proud of yourself without any regrets.
Look at you
Take a look at yourself.
Kicking off your shoes,
You take off your shoes.
Dancing for the world to see,
You dance for everyone to watch.
You got the power to believe,
You have the power to believe in yourself.
Now open up and see,
Open your eyes and look around.
And go be free and fly away,
You can be free and fly away.
It's okay, it's okay
Everything will be alright.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ERIN MCCARLEY, JAMIE KENNEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cherry Luo
You hold your head up to the sky
You say what kind of blue
Are you? Are you?
Then you ride your pony round and round
It's diggin' a hole, right through, right through
You stumble down a yellow brick road
Spinning your shoes in the air, the air.
Then you, hold your breath, and count to nine
Hoping that soon somebody will find you, find you
Go on, go on, go on, the stars are watching
Just say, just say, just say, what you're feeling
You know, you know, you know, you gotta take a bow and do it your way
It's okay, ladadadadadadadada, it's okay, ladadadadadadadada
You're 15 miles over the speed
You're going fast as you can after your daydream
Ohh
On your mark, get set, hurry away
You have a serious talk with your, champaign.
Go on, go on, go on, the stars are watching
Just say, just say, just say, what you're feeling
You know, you know, you know, you gotta take a bow and do it your way
It's okay, ladadadadadadadada, it's okay, ladadadadadadadada
It's time for you to prove
Within your ruby shoes
You deserve a smile with no regret
Look at you
Kicking off your shoes
Dancing for the world to see
You got the power to believe
Open up and see
And go be free and fly away
Go on, go on, go on, the stars are watching
Just say, just say, just say, what you're feeling
You know, you know, you know, you gotta take a bow and do it your way
It's okay, ladadadadadadadada, it's okay, ladadadadadadadada
It's okay, ladada ladada, it's okay, ladadadadadadadada
starmations studio
12 years and this still slaps
Mariah Conklin
This song got me through some hard times and it's doing the same now. It's about telling people how you feel and not having any regrets about it.
loopy woopy
ERIN
Fellow Nihilist
But what if people don't give shitt
Donald Wilson
OTH lol
Ashlee Brooke
I love this song!! Got it free on itunes like forever ago now it's on the radio.
DDRUTOU
This was available as a free song on iTunes, I think I got more than my money's worth. Keep it up, girly
David Fraser
Beautiful! When I first heard on radio, I thought it was the great Leigh Nash, formerly of Sixpence None the Richer. Very nice, clear vocal style with connective song themes. Thanks for posting the video! You will do great things!!
fanfaniche
Love that voice Thank you GREY'S ANATOMY for making us discover so new singers!!!!!!!!!!!
Rasp
This song is so catchy and the piano is great. Found her a while thanks to pandora and I'm glad.