Sales was born into an incredibly artistic family; her mother being a dancer and writer, her father a musician and sound engineer (Miles Davis, The Grateful Dead and The Ramones), who operated GlassWing Studios out of the basement of their Washington D.C home. “I was surrounded by music at all hours of the day. All types of music. I remember the melodies and beats actually rattling the floorboards. My childhood had a soundtrack filled up with everything from R&B and Jazz to Rock and Americana.” For many recording sessions, Sales would even allowed to sit in and watch the recording process.
The family relocated to Portland, Oregon when Sales was four and within several months, Sales began playing piano and participating in local musical theatre productions. At the age of five, something happened that altered her life indefinitely. “My friend was playing a tape of Judy Garland singing ‘Get Happy.’ I can’t explain it, but I was captivated, I was in love…Maybe obsessed. I couldn’t stop listening. I made my friend play the song over and over and over again till finally she just gave me the cassette. I went home that night and listened ten more times.” Sales learned to sing by studying the voices of all the powerful female vocalists during the 1940's and 50's.
Before reaching sixth grade, she had begun composing and performed in over one hundred plays and productions. By middle school, Sales was accepted into the private performing arts school, The Northwest Academy, where she studied both classical and jazz music, writing, acting, dance and film-making. She continued to study until graduating two years early, with honors at sixteen. To this day, Sales continues to take online university courses.
Following graduation, her family moved again, this time to an organic blueberry farm located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. “I thought my life was over,” Sales laughs. “I went from a cutting edge, urban arts school to a farm on island floating off the coast of Canada.” The dramatic shift, however, proved to be beneficial. “I spent every second of the day learning the technical side of music in the studio or sitting in my bedroom at my piano writing songs. Art was all that I had. Besides solitude.”
Within a half of year of being on the island, Sales landed a lead role in a teen horror film, leading to a move down to Los Angeles, California to pursue acting shortly after turning seventeen. The move ended abruptly when a bout of acid reflux caused her lose her voice. “For over a year, I could barely talk. It was the hardest year of my life. Everything that I had identified with was gone. I was speechless. Literally,” she recalls.
When her voice finally returned, Sales quickly returned into the studio and recorded a full length demo which she released on her own record label Drifter Records. In 2006, Sales signed with Universal Music Canada. Her first album Sunseed, was released in 2007, with singles ‘What You Want’ and ‘Keep Drivin’ landing in the Canadian Top 40 and on the charts in Japan. Sales' mesmerizing, sultry vocals and infectious melodies caught on instantly. In 2008, she won Best Mainstream Artist at The Canadian Radio Music Awards. Her sophomore album, featuring guest appearances by G Love and Donavon Frankenreiter, When the Bird Became A Book, was released in 2012. The music video for ‘Just Pretend, directed by Josh Forbes (Sarah Bareilles, The Fray) generating over five million views in three weeks following its release.
Since the international release of her last record, Sales has been hard at work touring, writing on a new collection of songs, and recently guest starring on the TV show CEDAR COVE (Hallmark USA) in the role of “Shelley.” She splits her time between Vancouver B.C and Los Angeles CA. Recently, Sales teamed up with Pledge Music to fan-fund the recording of her next album which she plans to record early next year. The highly anticipated album is set to be release Fall 2014.
“I am incredibly excited about this next album,” she says. “Over the past couple years, I have become re-enchanted with my earliest musical influences, appreciating what they have to offer even more now than when I first listened – Judy Garland, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, the list goes on. What came out of those women was angelic yet human, joyful but not ignorant of life’s sadness. I want to bring the same authenticity to the next album, mixing together the sounds of vintage soul with contemporary pop.”
What You Want
Hayley Sales Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Can see the universe/
Spinning round like a pin in your hand
Dip your fingers in paint/ go and skip up the street/ just try
To lighten up some
You're living your life like you're dead and in over you head
To know how old you've grown
It's only what you want
It's only what you want
Say you want purple hair/ there's the truth now the dare/ I think
It's such a shame that
Growing old before our time is just a way to survive now
Stop and look at the sun/ tell me what have you done today
That left you dreaming
Cause living life's not a goal/ it's been happening all along the way
And checking numbers isn't how
To know how old you've grown
It's only what you want
It's only what you want
Laughter all over the world
Is doing all it can to have its secret heard
It's only what you want
It's only what you/ it's only what you want
It's only what you want/
It's only what you want
The lyrics to Hayley Sales's song "What You Want" are about the importance of living life on your own terms and doing what makes you happy, rather than conforming to societal expectations or constantly chasing success. The opening lines describe a beautiful cosmic image, encouraging listeners to look beyond their everyday worries and see the bigger picture. The lines "You're living your life like you're dead and in over your head/ But checking numbers isn't how to know how old you've grown" suggest that focusing too much on arbitrary measures of success such as money or age can prevent you from truly living and experiencing life.
The chorus, with its repetition of the phrase "It's only what you want," emphasizes the importance of individual desire and choice. The lines "Say you want purple hair/ there's the truth now the dare" encourage listeners to be true to themselves and pursue whatever makes them happy, even if that means taking risks or going against the norm. The song emphasizes the value of small moments of joy and creativity, as seen in lines such as "Dip your fingers in paint/ go and skip up the street/ just try to lighten up some."
Overall, the song is a reminder to live life on your own terms and pursue what truly makes you happy, rather than getting caught up in societal expectations or external measures of success.
Line by Line Meaning
If you look really close there's a rip in the sky and you
Can see the universe/
Spinning round like a pin in your hand
Close observation reveals a tear in the sky, opening an inexplicably beautiful view of the universe, which is spinning with infinite wonder, power and precision.
Dip your fingers in paint/ go and skip up the street/ just try
To lighten up some
Get creative, release your inner child, and find joy in the simple pleasures of life.
You're living your life like you're dead and in over you head
But checking numbers isn't how
To know how old you've grown
It's only what you want
It's only what you want
You're feeling lost and overwhelmed, but measuring your life by quantitative metrics won't help you understand your true self and what you really desire.
Say you want purple hair/ there's the truth now the dare/ I think
It's such a shame that
Growing old before our time is just a way to survive now
Embrace the daring and unconventional parts of yourself, and don't let societal expectations hold you back from exploring your true identity and passions.
Stop and look at the sun/ tell me what have you done today
That left you dreaming
Cause living life's not a goal/ it's been happening all along the way
Take a moment to appreciate the beauty of the world around you, and reflect on how you've been actively pursuing your dreams and aspirations throughout your entire life journey.
Laughter all over the world
Is doing all it can to have its secret heard
It's only what you want
Joy and laughter are universal languages that communicate the essence of what truly matters in life - pursuing our passions and our own unique path to happiness.
It's only what you/ it's only what you want
It's only what you want/
It's only what you want
Ultimately, the only thing that truly matters in life is honoring our own desires and pursuit of happiness, free from external expectations and pressures.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: NUNO BETTENCOURT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@qqnh1278
First saw Hayley at one of CBC's free lunch-hour concerts in Vancouver in the mid 2000s. Bought the CD after the show and this has been one of my favourite songs ever since. I keep hoping she'll release more in this genre, but so far...
@user-oj4yi4mv7f
A beautiful true happy song to make you dream while awake .
The video evokes my happy favorite things forest, rides . Ocean music while enjoying 5he outdoors
I love it.
@drgnballz
I heard this on the radio once. It's one of my favourites. I instantly fell in love with it.
@mitchellrowe579
Makes me remember Ricki Lee Jones. Lovely!
@pamelamcintosh236
oh how i love this song..it moves me to swaying :)
@YUKIxMISA
i saw her at vancouver folk fest when i was ten and bought the cd.
@Presca1
They had her on our local news in Vancouver recently, cute gal - like her music.
@HonestEyes15
So relaxing.........true music.
@bstove24
Your necklace in this video is badass.
@jenphillips6739
another great one! good one for Vube