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)
Winterblue
Heather Nova Lyrics
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I'm driven to you like the driven snow
There's a place for us to lie
For every lover there's a piece of sky
To every life a light that shines
To every heart a beat that's true
Baby you're my yellow summer
Baby you're my winterblue
Long ago a hundred years from now
Tossing on an open sea
Love so good it's easy to go down
To every life a light that shines
To every heart a beat that's true
Baby you're my yellow summer
Baby you're my winterblue
Baby you're my yellow summer
Baby you're my winterblue
To every life a light that shines
To every heart a beat that's true
Baby you're my yellow summer
Baby you're my winterblue
Love you like a jungle fever
I'll never never never, I'll never leave
Through every vein and every fibre
I'll never never never, I'll never leave
To every life a light that shines
To every heart a beat that's true
Baby you're my yellow summer
Baby you're my winterblue
Baby you're my yellow summer
Baby you're my winterblue
Baby you're my yellow summer
Baby you're my winterblue
Winterblue, winterblue ...
Winterblue, my yellow summer ...
The lyrics to Heather Nova's "Winterblue" express a deep and intense love between two people who are meant to be together. The first two lines of the song, "Kiss your lashes, hiss you low / I'm driven to you like the driven snow," suggest a physical intimacy and attraction between the two individuals. They are drawn to each other, like the snow is drawn to the ground.
The phrase "there's a place for us to lie / for every lover there's a piece of sky" evokes a sense of destiny and fate. The two lovers are meant to be together, and there is a special place for them in the world. The repeated line "to every life a light that shines / to every heart a beat that's true" reinforces this idea of destiny and the idea that true love is meant to be.
The chorus of the song, which repeats the lines "baby you're my yellow summer / baby you're my winterblue" further highlights the contrast between the two people in the relationship. The summer represents warmth and brightness, while the winter represents coldness and darkness. Despite the contrast, however, they are meant to be together and their love is strong.
Overall, "Winterblue" is a powerful love song that suggests a deep, intense love and a sense of destiny between the two people in the relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Kiss your lashes, hiss you low
I am affectionately inclined towards you and I whisper softly, expressing my admiration.
I'm driven to you like the driven snow
I am drawn to you with an intense and pure passion, just like the snow that falls faultlessly to the ground.
There's a place for us to lie
We have found a spot where we can happily rest together.
For every lover there's a piece of sky
There's always enough space in the world for every loving couple to be happy.
To every life a light that shines
There's always something that sheds brightness in every person's life.
To every heart a beat that's true
There's always something that stirs every soul intimately.
Baby you're my yellow summer
You fill my life with joy, just like a bright and sunny summer day.
Baby you're my winterblue
You also bring some melancholy, reminiscent of a cold and blue winter day.
You know that this was meant to be
Our love is destined to be, and we recognize that.
Long ago a hundred years from now
Our love has always existed, and it will carry on and on for another hundred years.
Tossing on an open sea
Life is full of uncertainties and we might be struggling to keep our love afloat in unknown territories.
Love so good it's easy to go down
Our love is so fulfilling that it's hard to resist and we give in quickly.
Love you like a jungle fever
My love for you is intense, almost feverish, wild and untamed like the jungle.
I'll never never never, I'll never leave
I will always be by your side, and I will never abandon you.
Through every vein and every fibre
My love runs deep; through every part of me, I feel it and can't help but express it.
Winterblue, winterblue ...
Winterblue is an embodiment of sadness and loneliness.
Winterblue, my yellow summer ...
The song's two contrasting metaphors, winterblue and yellow summer signify the different moods that are felt in love.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: HEATHER NOVA
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind