Talbot grew up singing in the church choir that her mother directed, and first picked up the guitar at age 12. She later took voice lessons, sang at different events around Ireland, and joined the Whole Shabang! in 2001. The singer met Cherish the Ladies at a 2001 Shabang! show in New York City, and was soon asked to do guest vocals on their The Girls Won't Leave the Boys Alone album. After releasing a limited-run, self-titled solo album, Talbot was made an official member of Cherish the Ladies in 2003.
Talbot's second solo album, Distant Future, was released in 2004. In 2007, the recording of her third album In Love and Light (released in 2008) coincided with her decision to leave Cherish the Ladies.
In 2008 Talbot featured as a guest on albums by Radiohead drummer Philip Selway, and the collaboration of John McCusker, Kris Drever and Roddy Woomble. Since then she has sung on recordings by Eddi Reader, Boo Hewerdine, and Idlewild.
Talbot lives in Edinburgh with her husband, Scottish folk musician John McCusker.
Official website www.heiditalbot.com
Cathedrals
Heidi Talbot Lyrics
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Of fallen angels on the ceilings
Oily feathers in bronze and concrete
Faded colors, pieces left incomplete
The line moves slowly past the electric fence
Across the borders between continents
In the cathedrals of New York and Rome
And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is
In the shadows of tall buildings
The architecture is slowly peeling
Marble statues and glass dividers
Someone is watching all of the outsiders
The line moves slowly through the numbered gate
Past the mosaic of the head of state
In the shadows of tall buildings
Of open arches endlessly kneeling
Sonic landscapes echoing vistas
Someone is listening from a safe distance
The line moves slowly into a fading light
A final moment in the dead of night
The repetitive images and themes in Heidi Talbot's "Cathedrals" depict the alienating and oppressive realities that exist within large urban spaces, particularly in New York and Rome. The singer describes the multiple layers of deprivation and exclusion present in these cities - for example, "fallen angels on the ceilings" and "marble statues and glass dividers" which perpetuate a separation between insiders and outsiders. The song's narrator describes a journey through a maze-like urban landscape, where time moves slowly and the line between narratives - between history and modernity, between the privileged and invisibilized - is permeable yet ultimately insurmountable. The poem's closing images of "open arches endlessly kneeling" and "sonic landscapes echoing vistas" suggest a hopeful transcendence of these boundaries, yet the poem ends on an ominous and unresolved note - the line moving "into a fading light / a final moment in the dead of night."
Throughout this poem, Talbot emphasizes the way that architectural spaces both reflect and exacerbate the emotional and psychic upheaval of urban spaces. For example, "in the shadows of tall buildings / the architecture is slowly peeling" evokes a crumbling and forgotten past which haunts the present. Talbot also juxtaposes the "oily feathers in bronze and concrete" with "faded colors, pieces left incomplete," suggesting that the city's aesthetic contradictions are emblematic of its more pernicious structural injustices. Ultimately, "Cathedrals" is a haunting and incisive commentary on the disorienting and oppressive psychological effects of life in the contemporary city.
Line by Line Meaning
In the shadows of tall buildings
Amidst the towering skyscrapers
Of fallen angels on the ceilings
With artwork depicting heavenly beings no longer worshipped
Oily feathers in bronze and concrete
Symbols of flight, artfully crafted in permanent materials
Faded colors, pieces left incomplete
Artwork in disrepair, reflective of societal decay
The line moves slowly past the electric fence
The journey is perilous, with borders secured by brute force
Across the borders between continents
Frequenting countries, seeking progress and prosperity
In the cathedrals of New York and Rome
Places of worship in metropolitan centers with grandeur
There is a feeling that you should just go home
Experiencing a sense of longing for comfort and familiarity
And spend a lifetime finding out just where that is
Perpetually searching for a place to truly call home
The architecture is slowly peeling
Structures aging and undergoing visible wear-and-tear
Marble statues and glass dividers
Works of art and partitioning elements within grand buildings
Someone is watching all of the outsiders
Eyes follow the unfamiliar, identifying those who don't belong
The line moves slowly through the numbered gate
Proceeding through gates and checkpoints with procedural attention to detail
Past the mosaic of the head of state
Viewing artwork depicting the figurehead of the government
Of open arches endlessly kneeling
Architecture featuring repetitive elements that invite introspection
Sonic landscapes echoing vistas
Sounds that reverberate throughout physical space
Someone is listening from a safe distance
An observer taking note from afar
The line moves slowly into a fading light
Continuing through uncertain territory, light giving way to darkness
A final moment in the dead of night
An ending at the darkest hour
Writer(s): Jay Clifford
Contributed by Brayden B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.