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)
What A Feeling
Heather Nova Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the poppies gonna push up through
And I can see the ground below
The places that I know disappearing
And I can see the winter fade
I don't feel so afraid it's clearing
Oh, what a feeling
Oh, what a feeling
Life is only half way in our hands
Years have passed while I was making plans
And I could never find the words
I always felt absurd, and always outside
But now I know I shouldn't care
There's a song already there
Waiting inside
Oh, what a feeling
Oh, what a feeling
Oh, what a feeling
And I can feel the crock unwind
The parts of me I tied are running
And all the birds are in my head
The laughter that was dead is coming
Oh, what a feeling
Oh, what a feeling
Oh, what a feeling
The laughter that was dead is coming
Oh, what a feeling
The laughter that was dead is coming
Heather Nova's "What a Feeling" is a deeply optimistic song about personal growth and acceptance. The opening lyrics, "Now's the time when this will turn to fruit/ All the poppies gonna push up through/ And I can see the ground below/ The places that I know disappearing" suggest that the singer has arrived at a point where they can appreciate the transformation of the world around them. They understand that change is inevitable and can even be beautiful as familiar things vanish to make way for new growth. This mindset is exemplified in the chorus, which repeats "Oh, what a feeling" three times. The singer's tone is upbeat and triumphant, suggesting that they feel empowered by their newfound sense of acceptance.
The rest of the song deals with the singer's personal growth. They acknowledge the time they've spent "making plans" and feeling "absurd," but they've finally found peace. The line "Life is only halfway in our hands" suggests that while we don't have full control over our lives, we can still make powerful choices that impact our future. The singer has learned not to care about what others think, and has discovered a song "waiting inside" - a metaphor for discovering their true self. The final lines of the song, "And I can feel the crack unwind/ The parts of me I tied are running/ And all the birds are in my head/ The laughter that was dead is coming," suggest that the singer has let go of their previous inhibitions and is finally free to be themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Now's the time when this will turn to fruit
It's finally time for everything I've worked hard for to come to fruition.
All the poppies gonna push up through
All the beautiful things and opportunities I've been waiting for are going to bloom and emerge.
And I can see the ground below
I can see the reality and foundation of my surroundings.
The places that I know disappearing
The familiar and comfortable aspects of my life are disappearing, but that is okay.
And I can see the winter fade
The darkness and coldness of my past is fading away, making way for a brighter and warmer future.
I don't feel so afraid it's clearing
I am no longer fearful of what's to come because everything is becoming clear and making sense.
Life is only halfway in our hands
We can only control so much in our lives, and the other half is up to fate or a higher power.
Years have passed while I was making plans
I've spent so much time planning and trying to control my future that I may have missed out on present moments.
And I could never find the words
I've struggled to express myself and my true desires.
I always felt absurd, and always outside
I've never felt like I truly fit in or belonged anywhere, which has made me feel out of place.
But now I know I shouldn't care
I've realized that it doesn't matter what others think of me, and I shouldn't let it hold me back.
There's a song already there
There's something special and unique within me that is waiting to be brought out and expressed.
Waiting inside
This special quality has been waiting for me to acknowledge and embrace it.
And I can feel the crock unwind
I can feel the tension and stress within me start to unravel.
The parts of me I tied are running
The parts of myself that I have kept locked away or hidden are starting to come out and be free.
And all the birds are in my head
My thoughts and ideas are starting to take flight and come together in a beautiful way.
The laughter that was dead is coming
The joy and happiness that I thought was lost or dead is starting to return.
Oh, what a feeling
The feeling of having everything come together and realizing my potential is indescribable.
The laughter that was dead is coming
The happiness and positivity that I thought was gone forever is returning.
Oh, what a feeling
I'm filled with overwhelming happiness and excitement for what's to come.
Oh, what a feeling
This feeling is so incredible and powerful that it's worth celebrating over and over again.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: HEATHER NOVA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@negerben
Album "Siren "
Among the best I've ever heard.
Bought it back then. So this is no new revelation 🙂
Told friends back then to buy the album. They did and were surprised !
Thanx HN !
@amyestockton9744
Love her voice,,hauntingly beautiful
@tinastanley4444
So soft and beautiful
@therealqueenbee4631
This album got me through the end of the 90's. Played
and sang along many many times and wrote my own songs. So therapeutic. Many many heartfelt thanks Heather. Love...peace.Bonnita
@galenanderson2541
This is what a genius looks like
@DigitalSoda
One of my favorite Heather songs!!
@berndgruner8510
Danke...
@Cedsback
from one of my favorite albums of all time- Music was so incredible- SIREN
@myfoot_urneck3571
Amazing, incredible, wickedly unforgettable album!!! It was one of those which ALL of the tacks are awesome - so never a need to skip over anything!!! Love love LOVE 💘 SIREN!!!! TIl this klepto effin crackhead jerk stole my entire CD collection including ALL of my frigging signed ones!! Over 200 albums gone overnight while I slept upstairs!!! Many rare ones too.... I'm still crying 😢 and this was about 8-10 years ago....ugh. Unbelievable. Like Heather Nova sings so beautifully, "what a feeling..." 🎶
@Radeberger5
2020 :-) Love this Song. Greetings from Germany.