Heather Nova is the Bermudian Songwriter who grew up on a boat in the Caribbean and went on to sell over 2 million albums in her 15 year career to date. She has released seven albums and has opened for artists like Van Morrison and Neil Young as well as performed with artists like Sarah McLachlan. She has also had hit records with co-writes featuring artists like ATB (Renegade), and Eskobar (Someone New).Her brother is the Reggae singer Mishka.
By the end of the 1980s, after leaving RISD, Heather moved briefly to New York City (where she unsuccessfully tried to interest some major labels in a demo including Columbia , who rejected her, only to sign her five years later ), before moving to London, England. She has British citizenship due to her Bermudan origin. In 1990, she released her first recording, an EP called 'Heather Frith' — she had not yet changed her name by then. The name change came a year or so later after several gigs in the Netherlands, where, after finding out that the Dutch have trouble pronouncing "Frith," she chose a name that would be easily pronounceable in every European language, "Nova," her Canadian mother's maiden name.
The new name debuted in 1993 with her second EP 'Spirit in You' and her first full album, 'Glow Stars'. The success of the album led her to record and release her first live album, 'Blow', the same year, which she supported by a tour of Europe. A year later in 1994 she released what many consider to be her finest work to date, the emotional yet jagged album 'Oyster', for which she toured for almost two years. Another live album, 'Live from the Milky Way', was released in 1995, and after its release she toured for nearly three years straight, twice joining Sarah McLachlan and others on the North American Lilith Fair, which is a music festival with only female performers. Heather is also a frequent performer at European music festivals such as Roskilde.
In 1998, the long-awaited follow up to 'Oyster' was released. After the release of 'Siren', Heather took a break while various television show and film soundtracks licensed some of her songs and her record company (Sony Records/The WORK Group) released various singles from the album, which received only moderate play on America's MTV2, Europe's MTV and Canada's MuchMusic and on mainstream radio, although she was popular on college radio. Also during this time, she recorded a version of the often covered Billie Holiday song, 'Gloomy Sunday', for the German WWII drama Ein Lied von Liebe und Tod. In 2000, she released yet another live album, called 'Wonderlust'.
Over the years, Heather has written and recorded over a hundred songs, so that her albums are selected from work that has often already been performed live, rather than being conceived during rushed songwriting sessions. Half the songs on 'Siren' had been written during the 'Oyster' sessions and were frequently played live prior to being committed to a studio session, and most of the songs for 2001's 'South' were written between 1999 and 2000 while she was on hiatus from touring. With the release of 'South', she returned to the international spotlight with an appearance on the soundtrack of the John Cusack movie "Serendipity", a couple of music videos, and a collaboration with Swedish band Eskobar, for a song called "Someone New", also released as a video, which proved so popular that it was played primarily on America's MTV, not just MTV2 (which is normally reserved for less-popular songs). 'Storm', Heather's fifth studio album, was released in late 2003 on Big Cat Records, as was 'Redbird', released in 2005.
In 2002, she self-published 'the sorrowjoy', a 72-page book of her poetry and drawings. An album of the same name was released in March 2006, which featured Nova reading the poems from her book set to ambient music. The album has only been available for purchase at concerts beginning with the Intimate Evening tour, from the fan-run websites, HeatherNova.Net and HeatherNova.De, and from the official website, www.heathernova.com.
The album Storm was released in 2003. It was a more refined album, using Mercury Rev as Heather's backing band. The album was Top 5 in Germany and Top 10 across Europe. It was an album of dark ballads, marking a step away from the polished sound of South. It was also Heather's first release on her own record label, Saltwater Records. Despite being pregnant, she toured hard with a new line up and band, before returning home to Bermuda. (A live DVD was made of these concerts (live at the Union Chapel)
I'm the Girl
Heather Nova Lyrics
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A thousand years old
And I know secrets
I've never been told
And I've got jewels
I haven't found
And they'll return me
I'm the girl I'm the girl I'm the girl
You know me
I'm the girl I'm the girl I'm the girl
You know me
And I'm a siren
I'll wreck you on my shores
And I'm Godiva
I'll call you back for more
And I'm Medusa
And I'm your favorite doll
And I'm a Georgia O'Keeffe
Hanging on your wall
I'm the girl, I'm the girl, I'm the girl
You know me
I'm the girl, I'm the girl, I'm the girl
You know me
I'm Joan of Arc
I'm the girl next door
I'm the mother and the daughter
Of the mother and the daughter before
And I remember being born just sound and light
And sound and light and light
And I remember the first time, skin on skin in the arms
In the arms of the night
Well how many times have we looked up into the starry skies
And how many times have we felt the passion rise
Every ruby-lipped girl baby, old lady, squaw junkie, girl after girl after girl
Every muse, whore, good witch, princess, back arching, year after year after year
I'm the girl, I'm the girl, I'm the girl
You know me
I'm the girl, I'm the girl, I'm the girl
You know me
I'm Joan of Arc
I'm the girl next door
I'm the mother and the daughter
Of the mother and the daughter
The mother and the daughter
Of the mother and the daughter
The mother and the daughter
Of the mother and the daughter
Before.
Heather Nova's song "I'm the Girl" is a powerful and introspective piece that explores the different facets of a woman's identity. The song starts with the idea that the singer has lived for a thousand years and has accumulated dormant knowledge that makes her unique. She has something precious, like hidden jewels within herself that will bring her back to the ground.
The lyrics then start to describe the different archetypes of a woman's personality that she has embodied. She is a seductress, a defender, a muse, a fragile creature, an artist on the wall, and much more. Every woman has a little bit of each of these traits within them, and the song seems to celebrate their strength and innate beauty.
The singer then goes on to say that she remembers her existence from the time she was born, and she has felt the passion rise many times when looking at the sky. The song concludes by mentioning every type of female figure that exists, whether it is a junkie, princess, or muse, year after year after year, they continue to exist.
Overall, "I'm the Girl" is a tribute to womanhood and the diverse nature of femininity.
Line by Line Meaning
I've got a memory
I possess a memory
A thousand years old
That is ancient
And I know secrets
I am aware of secrets
I've never been told
They were never revealed to me
And I've got jewels
Precious stones belong to me
I haven't found
I haven't discovered them yet
And they'll return me
They will bring me back
To the ground
To the earth
I'm the girl I'm the girl I'm the girl
It's me, it's me, it's me
You know me
You are familiar with me
And I'm a siren
I am a siren-like mythical creature
I'll wreck you on my shores
I will destroy you
And I'm Godiva
I am like Lady Godiva, famously known for riding a horse nude
I'll call you back for more
I will make you come back for more
And I'm Medusa
I am a reference to Medusa, a Greek mythological monster with snakes for hair whose gaze can turn onlookers to stone
And I'm your favorite doll
I am like your favorite toy
And I'm a Georgia O'Keeffe
I am like the American artist Georgia O'Keeffe, famous for her paintings of flowers and other natural forms
Hanging on your wall
Displayed on your wall
I'm Joan of Arc
I am like Joan of Arc, a French heroine and saint who led the French army to several victories during the Hundred Years' War
I'm the girl next door
I am like the girl next door, an ordinary, approachable girl
I'm the mother and the daughter
I am both the mother and the daughter
Of the mother and the daughter before
Of those who came before me
And I remember being born just sound and light
I recall being born surrounded by sound and light
And sound and light and light
Just sound and light were there
And I remember the first time, skin on skin in the arms
I recall the first time I had a skin-to-skin contact with someone
In the arms of the night
During the night
Well how many times have we looked up into the starry skies
How often have we gazed at the night sky full of stars
And how many times have we felt the passion rise
And how many times have we experienced passion rising
Every ruby-lipped girl baby, old lady, squaw junkie, girl after girl after girl
Every girl with red lips, from babies to elderly women to Native American women, over and over
Every muse, whore, good witch, princess, back arching, year after year after year
Every inspiration, prostitute, good witch, princess, with arched backs, year after year after year
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: HEATHER NOVA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind