Gabriella Cilmi was born in the Melbourne suburb of Dandenong. Of Italian and Albanian heritage, she moved to London with her family when she was fifteen, where she currently lives with her parents Paula and Joe (whose origins are in Calabria and Sicily, Italy) and her brother Joseph.
At an early age, Cilmi developed an interest in a wide range of pop music acts, including Nina Simone, Led Zeppelin, Janis Joplin, The Sweet, T. Rex and Cat Stevens. She has also cited Suzi Quatro as a particular influence. Despite her natural aptitude and vocal talent, Cilmi was told that she lacked the discipline necessary to pursue a singing career. Idolising Janis Joplin, during this time she sang with a band (Foucault) covering songs by Led Zeppelin, Jet, Silverchair and others. Cilmi recorded original songs with writer/producers Barbara and Adrian Hannan of The SongStore.
In 2004, Cilmi captured the attention of Warner Music executive Michael Parisi while giving an impromptu rendition of the Rolling Stones' song "Jumpin' Jack Flash" at the Lygon Street Festa, a community festival in Melbourne. At the age of 13, Cilmi travelled to the US and UK with Adrian Hannan and was offered four major US deals. She eventually signed a contract with Island Records UK.
Cilmi's first album, Lessons to Be Learned, was written and recorded with hit production team Xenomania and was released in March 2008 in the UK. Cilmi has been compared to Amy Winehouse. The first single, "Sweet About Me", debuted on the UK Singles Chart that month and climbed to number six three months later, in June. It reached number seventeen on the Irish Singles Chart, and peaked at number one on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. The song was used in a worldwide advertising campaign for the deodorant Sure/Rexona. Cilmi's second UK single, "Save the Lies", was not as successful as "Sweet About Me", peaking at number thirty-three in the UK. In Australia, the second single from the album was "Don't Wanna Go to Bed Now", which reached number twenty-eight. The subsequent single, "Sanctuary", was issued in November 2008 and failed to chart.
The lead single of Gabriella Cilmi's Ten is "On a Mission". It was released on 5 February 2010 in Australia and on 7 March 2010 in Europe. As soon as the song was broadcast on Australian radios, it reached number-one most added track to Australian radio in its second week of release, getting played 296 times. The song reached number 9 on the UK Singles Chart and number sixteen in Australia.
The new album Ten was planned for 22 March 2010 and Cilmi said it would feature "lots of uptempo funk and disco-inspired numbers designed to make people groove", referring to "On a Mission", "Hearts Don't Lie", and "Love Me Cos", as well as "some more sexy tracks" probably referring to "Superhot" and "Invisible Girl". The song "Boys" incorporates a type of yodel into it. The song "Let Me Know" is described as the "Lessons To Be Learned-ish" song of the album.
It also features a new version of "Sweet About Me", with some disco/electronic style to show her music has changed.
While producing the album, Cilmi worked with Greg Kurstin, The Invisible Men and Dallas Austin, as well as Xenomania. She made her debuts in producing songs with the track "Love Me Cos", she says the song she is most proud of due to the fact it was produced with her band. It features production from Xenomania, Dallas Austin and Greg Kurstin, and bears an electropop sound in contrast to her first album, which had more of a pop/rock style.
By October 2010, Cilmi had already begun work on her third studio album. She has been quoted as saying: "It's totally exciting because I am spending a bit more time with this record. I want to see what works. I really love Dolly Parton, roots music, Tricky and Enya, so anything could happen."
On 20 January 2012, Cilmi released an acoustic version of a song from her album, "Vicious Love". It is played in a clip video where she sings with her band and walks around an Italian restaurant with sunglasses. Two days after the broadcast, she says: "This is an 'Acoustic-ish' version of a tune that will be on the new record, one that I love very much". The song has blues influences, contrasting the disco-inspired pop sound of Ten. Cilmi claims she felt pressured into adopting a more sexual image, which prompted her to part ways with Island Records and her management team. She also told the Herald Sun that the lacklustre commercial reception of her second album, Ten, taught her not to compromise herself or her music: "It was an awakening for me to realise the position I am in to make the record that I want to make and just stand up for myself."
On 22 January 2012, Cilmi explained how the song "Vicious Love" was inspired. She states: "If you've ever experienced any type of 'Vicious Love' you will know that sometimes despite all the arrows pointing to a dead end there is just no way out, there is no way back. But then again don't all roads lead to dead ends? Guess we should just enjoy the ride..."
In March 2013, Cilmi first performed "Sweet About Me", as well as two new songs "Come Wander With Me" and "Sweeter in History", at the Moxafrica Festival. On 15 March, the clip from her new single "Sweeter in History", is shown on her YouTube page. It was shot in Italy, precisely in Cassino and Valvori, Lazio. In July 2013, Cilmi announced a new track called "The Sting", released on 2 September as the album's lead single. The artwork of the single was revealed on 15 July 2013, picturing Cilmi in black and white, in front of a flower field. Cilmi's third studio album, The Sting, will be released on 4 November 2013 on her own UK-based imprint Sweetness Tunes, in association with Absolute Marketing & Distribution."Symmetry" is set to be released on 11 November as the album's second single.
BOYS
Gabriella Cilmi Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We were inseparable
We had a fight or two
But not to end it all
Until your boys came crashing through
They said they came to rescue you
Got you really drunk
Came back to my house
Said you met the one
Some girl you made out with for fun
Now I'm just looking at you stunned
Like you must have lost your mind
You'd-a laid, you'd-a laid
With the next girl in line
While I'm at home just dying
Now you want to apologize
You'd-a laid, you'd-a laid
With the next girl in line
So go sleep with your boys tonight
Go sleep with your boys tonight
I tried to think if I
Was being difficult
I couldn't bring myself
To shake it off
After all of the time we spent
You couldn't help it one last bit
I'm here on my own
Contemplating done
And if it's really true
That you've met someone
I can't accept apologies
What are you doing here with me?
Like you must have lost your mind
You'd-a laid, you'd-a laid
With the next girl in line
While I'm at home just dying
Now you want to apologize
You'd-a laid, you'd-a laid
With the next girl in line
So go sleep with your boys tonight
Like you must have lost your mind
You'd-a laid, you'd-a laid
With the next girl in line
While I'm at home just dying
Now you want to apologize
You'd-a laid, you'd-a laid
With the next girl in line
So go sleep with your boys tonight
Am I the only one that's
Crazy here for the moment
Do you realize what you just said to me
Don't change your mind the morning
Got other things more important
Than just you and me
Like you must have lost your mind
You'd-a laid, you'd-a laid
With the next girl in line
While I'm at home just dying
Now you want to apologize
You'd-a laid, you'd-a laid
With the next girl in line
So go sleep with your boys tonight
The lyrics to Gabriella Cilmi's "Boys" tell the story of a relationship where the couple was inseparable, but then a fight occurred that led to the arrival of the guyโs friends who took him away, got him drunk, and introduced him to another girl, whom he made out with. The girl is left alone, questioning herself and their relationship, and unable to accept the guy's apologies for his actions. She is hurt by the fact that he could so easily move on to someone else and wonders if she is the only one still invested in their relationship.
The lyrics convey a sense of betrayal and hurt, and the use of repetition and a powerful chorus emphasizes the girl's feelings. The line "Like you must have lost your mind" is particularly powerful, highlighting the girl's disbelief and disappointment in her former partner's actions.
Line by Line Meaning
About a year ago
Looking back, it's been a year since we were inseparable
We were inseparable
We were together all the time
We had a fight or two
We had some arguments, but nothing that would end our relationship
But not to end it all
We still had love for each other despite the arguments
Until your boys came crashing through
Your friends intervened and caused problems in our relationship
They said they came to rescue you
They claimed they were trying to help you, but in reality, they made things worse
Then they took you out
They took you away from me
Got you really drunk
They got you intoxicated
Came back to my house
You came back to my house, but things were different
Said you met the one
You claimed to have met someone else
Some girl you made out with for fun
You had a casual encounter with another girl
Now I'm just looking at you stunned
Now I'm in disbelief of what you're telling me
Like you must have lost your mind
I'm shocked that you could betray me like this
You'd-a laid, you'd-a laid
You would have slept with someone else
With the next girl in line
You would have gone for the next available girl
While I'm at home just dying
I'm heartbroken and devastated
Now you want to apologize
Now you're trying to make amends
So go sleep with your boys tonight
I'm not interested in your apology, go be with your friends instead
I tried to think if I
I tried to figure out if I was somehow responsible for what happened
Was being difficult
If I was being too demanding or challenging
I couldn't bring myself
I couldn't find a way to justify what you did
To shake it off
To brush it off and let it go
After all of the time we spent
After everything we've been through
You couldn't help it one last bit
You couldn't resist the temptation to be with someone else
I'm here on my own
I'm on my own now
Contemplating done
Thinking about the end of our relationship
And if it's really true
Wondering if what you said is actually true
That you've met someone
That you've found someone else
I can't accept apologies
Your apologies don't mean anything to me
What are you doing here with me?
Why are you still here with me if you've moved on?
Am I the only one that's
Am I the only one who's
Crazy here for the moment
Feeling overwhelmed and emotional at the moment
Do you realize what you just said to me
Do you understand how hurtful your words were?
Don't change your mind the morning
Don't change your mind about leaving me in the morning
Got other things more important
You have other priorities now
Than just you and me
Instead of focusing on our relationship
Contributed by Adeline D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@stejaurni4169
Ooh, watching me...
Hanging by a string this time
Don't, easily...
The climax of the perfect lie
Ooh, watching me...
Hanging by a string this time
Don't, easily...
Smile worth a hundred lies
If there's lessons to be learned
I'd rather get my jamming words in first, so
Tell you something that I've found
That the world's a better place
When it's upside down, boy
If there's lessons to be learned,
I'd rather get my jamming words in first, so
When you're playing with desire
Don't come running to my place when it burns like fire, boy
Sweet about me
Nothing sweet about me, yeah
Sweet about me
Nothing sweet about me, yeah
Sweet about me
Nothing sweet about me, yeah
Sweet about me
Nothing sweet about me, yeah
Blue, blue, blue
Waves, they crash
As time goes by
So hard to catch
Too, too smooth
Ain't all that
Why don't you ride
On my side
Of the tracks
If there's lessons to be learned
I'd rather get my jamming words in first, so
Tell you something that I've found
That the world's a better place
When it's upside down, boy
If there's lessons to be learned
I'd rather get my jamming words in first, so
When you're playing with desire
Don't come running to my place when it burns like fire, boy.
Sweet about me
Nothing sweet about me, yeah
Sweet about me
Nothing sweet about me, yeah
Sweet about me
Nothing sweet about me, yeah
Sweet about me
Nothing sweet about me, yeah
Sweet about me
Nothing sweet about me, yeah
Sweet about me
Nothing sweet about me, yeah
@livs4721
Love songs like this where you forget they exist but finding them again is just the best
@samsong24
Totally agree!
@Kirtabus
L04 she stinks like Cole slaw
@THECOMICFANalpin
Exactly. ๐๐๐ป๐
@duck7146
L04 I agree
@lilycollins8934
I know and the gorrilaz childhood memories
@beeman2075
Anyone else rediscovered this song after not hearing it for about 8-10 years and now can't stop listening to it on repeat?
@letz_getschwifty9785
just now lol
@owenlewis8006
YesโฆI loved it when it was current too. What a voice!
@Zaverda
https://youtu.be/8DX398Wj6XA