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)
Sugar
Heather Nova Lyrics
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I leaned my arm into a little chink of sun
Going somewhere older than I was
Strapped into something tight
Keeping me small
I dug into you like rock climbing
Too scared of coming down
Too scared of rock face
I should of split my sides
Or spilled my guts
Or hit you or something
But I was good
And your father's little pancakes
So round and perfect
And me sitting up too straight
Laughing in wrong places
Kissing you
Kissing up
Kissing too soon
Ooh, ooh, when the cock crows
When the morning comes where will I go?
Ooh, ooh, when the cock crows
When the love is gone where will I go?
And when you got me pregnant I stopped the party
And I stopped the typewriter
And I stopped your dumb ball game in the red barn
And I stopped your father and bled instead
And I felt the lie
Aah, something sticky on the inside
A bitter wind in my throat
Oh, stopping me wanting
In my stomach
In my head
And you said
Sugar, sugar, you couldn't come come
Sugar, sugar, without your mother mother
Sugar, sugar, you couldn't taste it
Sugar, sugar, in my throat
Ooh, ooh, when the cock crows
When the morning comes where will I go?
Ooh, ooh, when the cock crows
When the love is gone where will I go?
Sugar, sugar, you couldn't come come
Sugar, sugar, without your mother mother
Sugar, sugar, you couldn't taste it
Sugar, sugar, in my throat
You couldn't, you couldn't taste it
You, you, you couldn't taste it
Ooh, ooh, when the cock crows
When the morning comes where will I go?
Ooh, ooh, when the cock crows
When the love is gone where will I go?
The song "Sugar" by Heather Nova explores the complexities of a difficult relationship. The singer is on a bus, heading somewhere "older than I was," and feeling trapped in a situation that is "keeping me small." As she reflects on her relationship, she realizes that she is too scared to speak up or confront her partner in any way, even though she is feeling overwhelmed and suffocated. Despite her discomfort, she continues to go along with the relationship, laughing in the "wrong places" and kissing "too soon." In the second verse, the singer reveals that she has become pregnant and has had to stop everything in order to deal with this new reality. She feels trapped and is struggling to cope with the situation. Her partner offers little support, only calling her "sugar" and making sarcastic comments about her inability to function without her mother. The song ends on a note of uncertainty, as the singer wonders where she will go when the morning comes and the love is gone.
Overall, the lyrics of "Sugar" are deeply introspective and reveal the emotional toll that being in a difficult, suffocating relationship can take on a person. The singer is struggling to find her voice and assert herself, and the pregnancy only heightens her sense of being trapped. The use of the term "sugar" throughout the song highlights the fact that her partner is infantilizing her and not taking her concerns seriously.
Line by Line Meaning
On the Vermont Transit bus
Traveling on the bus in Vermont
I leaned my arm into a little chink of sun
Trying to get some sun on my arm
Going somewhere older than I was
Going to a place that is older than myself
Strapped into something tight
Feeling restricted and confined
Keeping me small
Preventing me from growing or expanding
I dug into you like rock climbing
I clung to you tightly, like rock climbing
Too scared of coming down
Afraid of failing or falling back down
Too scared of going up
Afraid of succeeding or climbing higher
Too scared of rock face
Afraid of the challenges or obstacles ahead
I should of split my sides
I should have expressed my emotions more deeply
Or spilled my guts
I should have been more open and honest
Or hit you or something But I was good
I should have expressed anger or frustration, but I remained well-behaved
And your father's little pancakes So round and perfect
I enjoyed your family's cooking and hospitality
And me sitting up too straight Laughing in wrong places
I was trying too hard to impress you or your family
Kissing you Kissing up Kissing too soon
I was overly affectionate or trying to win your favor
Ooh, ooh, when the cock crows When the morning comes where will I go?
Asking where I will go when the relationship or situation ends
And when you got me pregnant I stopped the party
I became more serious and responsible after becoming pregnant
And I stopped the typewriter
I stopped writing or creating for a while
And I stopped your dumb ball game in the red barn
I prevented you from enjoying certain activities
And I stopped your father and bled instead
I got into conflict with your family and suffered the consequences
And I felt the lie Aah, something sticky on the inside
I felt deceived or lied to, causing me emotional distress
A bitter wind in my throat Oh, stopping me wanting In my stomach In my head
Feeling bitter and disappointed, unable to desire or think clearly
And you said
Referring to something that you said
Sugar, sugar, you couldn't come come Sugar, sugar, without your mother mother Sugar, sugar, you couldn't taste it Sugar, sugar, in my throat
You needed help or support from your mother, and I annoyed or angered you
You couldn't, you couldn't taste it
You were unable to appreciate or understand something
Ooh, ooh, when the cock crows When the morning comes where will I go?
Asking where I will go when the relationship or situation ends
Ooh, ooh, when the cock crows When the love is gone where will I go?
Asking where I will go when the love or passion fades away
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: HEATHER NOVA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind