Heap grew up playing music from an early age, and by her eleventh birthday she was writing her own songs. From the age of 15, she studied at the BRIT School Of Performing Arts & Technology in Croydon, South London, recording three tracks for the school's annual CD between 1994 and 1995, "Aliens" being the title track of the latter.
After being introduced to Nik Kershaw by his manager Mickey Modern, Heap and Kershaw recorded four demos that Mickey Modern took to Rondor Music. Consequently, a few months later Heap signed her first record contract at 18 to independent record label Almo Sounds. During 1996, Heap began working with an experimental pop band called Acacia, which featured her future collaborator Guy Sigsworth and was fronted by the singer Alexander Nilere. While never a full member of the band, Heap was a guest vocalist (as a counterpart to Nilere) and contributed to various Acacia single and album tracks in 1997. One Acacia song, "Maddening Shroud", would later be covered by Frou Frou.
Heap enjoyed a prestigious live début, performing four songs (backed by friends Acacia) between sets by The Who and Eric Clapton at the 1996 Prince's Trust Concert in Hyde Park, London. Her début album, I Megaphone (an anagram of "Imogen Heap") was internationally released in 1998 on independent record label Almo Sounds and garnered critical acclaim. However, as production of the album neared completion, it was announced that the record label had been sold and would be shut down. I-Megaphone featured collaborations with Guy Sigsworth and Dave Stewart. In Japan, the regional distributor, Zora, re-released the album in 2002, featuring "Blanket," her collaboration with Urban Species which was released as a single in the United Kingdom, and a Frou Frou remix of one of her B-sides, a video to which was released exclusively to Japanese media. Following the disbanding of her UK and USA record label, I Megaphone was scarce in circulation, having not been re-printed until November 2006. An independent Brazillian record label has rights to the record, and has issued limited copies, some of which are available on eBay. It has also been released through the iTunes Music Store under the Almo label.
At the same time as the Japanese re-release, Heap was working on new tracks with producer Guy Sigsworth, who had collaborated on "Getting Scared" from I-Megaphone. Together, they formed an electro-pop group Frou Frou, releasing an album called "Details" and singles, "Breathe In", "It's Good To Be In Love" and "Must Be Dreaming." The album was a full collaboration between the two artists. Frou Frou were approached to cover "Holding Out for a Hero", originally performed by Bonnie Tyler, for the soundtrack to the highly successful movie Shrek 2. An album track, "Let Go", was featured in the movie Garden State in 2004.
In December 2003, Heap announced on her web site that she was going to write and produce her second solo album, using her site as an online blog to update fans on progress, even seeking them to be her A&R team for the lyrics to "Daylight Robbery". Heap set herself a deadline of one year to make the album (she booked the album mastering for December 2004), and re-mortgaged her flat to fund production costs, including the use of studio time and instruments (which she purchased as a birthday present to herself). Having been burned by previous challenges with record labels (Heap had been spurned twice by record companies, when Almo Sounds was sold and when Frou Frou's label staff focused on promoting other acts), Heap decided to form her own record label on which to release the new record. At the end of 2004, Heap premiered two album tracks online, enabling fans to pay for a digital download, entitled "Just For Now" (which was up for a limited time as a Christmas gift), and "Goodnight And Go", which had been featured on the second season of hit US TV drama The O.C.
In April 2005, The O.C. season two finale featured another track, the sparse vocodered-vocal track, "Hide And Seek". The track was released immediately to digital download services such as iTunes where it became an instant fixture in the chart. The track was released as a digital download on the 5th July 2005 in the UK and peaked at #8 on the iTunes download chart.
The album, entitled "Speak For Yourself" was then released in the UK on July 18th 2005 on her own record label, Megaphonic Records. The album was also released on iTunes UK, where it entered the top 10, selling strongly. "Hide And Seek" also received radio attention from the popular UK radio station BBC Radio One, with DJ Scott Mills featuring it as his "Record of the Week", and provoking strong reactions ("love it or hate it") from other DJs at the station. Due to popular demand, the track was commercially released on a special limited edition (1500 copies were printed) 7" vinyl in the UK in September. Speak For Yourself was licensed to Sony BMG imprint RCA Victor in August 2005, enabling the record to be released in the United States, Canada and Mexico. It was released in those territories in November, and Heap appeared on the Hotel Cafe Tour promoting the record. Imogen also performed "Goodnight And Go" on The Late Show with David Letterman on January 11, 2006. Heap is slated to continue touring in 2006 in the US and UK to support the record.
As well as TV soundtracks (Frou Frou and Heap's solo records have been featured in shows as varied as The O.C. to CSI, among others), Heap has also contributed solo tracks to movie soundtracks. Her cover of the song "Spooky" (made famous by the band Classics IV, and previously covered by Dusty Springfield) for the soundtrack to the Reese Witherspoon movie Just Like Heaven. Heap also wrote a special track entitled "Can't Take It In" for the soundtrack to The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. She has also appeared on the second soundtrack for the HBO television series "Six Feet Under", entitled "Six Feet Under Vol. 2: Everything Ends" with a 50-second track that closed the Season 4 episode "I'm A Lonely Little Petunia (In An Onion Patch)". Three versions were recorded and are available from Heap's official web site.
In addition to producing her own records, she has also produced a track for Nik Kershaw and has collaborated with artists as diverse as Joshua Radin, Jeff Beck, Temposhark, LHB, Way Out West, Jon Bon Jovi, Mich Gerber, Sean Lennon, Urban Species, Blue October, Jon Hopkins and Acacia.
Heap's 2009 album 'Ellipse' features Canvas, Aha! and Half Life.
Sites: Twitter
www.imogenheap.com
Speeding Cars
Imogen Heap Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't feed me violins
Just run with me through rows of speeding cars
The paper cuts, the cheating lovers
The coffee's never strong enough
I know you think it's more than just bad luck
It's just textbook stuff
It's in the ABC of growing up
Now, now darling
Oh don't lose your head
'Cause none of us were angels
And you know I love you yeah
Sleeping pills know
Sleeping dogs lie never far enough away
Glistening in the cold sweat of guilt
I've watched you slowly winding down for years
You can't keep on like this
Now's a bad a time as any whoa
There, there baby
It's just textbook stuff
It's in the ABC of growing up
Now, now darling
Oh don't kill yourself
'Cause none of us were angels
And you know I love you yeah
It's OK by me
It's OK by me
It's OK by me
It was a long time ago
It's OK by me
It's OK by me
It's OK by me
It was a long time ago
There, there baby
It's just textbook stuff
It's in the ABC of growing up
Now, now darling
Oh don't lose your head
'Cause none of us were angels
And you know I love you yeah
There, there baby
It's just textbook stuff
It's in the ABC of growing up
Now, now darling
Oh don't kill yourself
'Cause none of us were angels
And you know I love you yeah
The lyrics in Imogen Heap's "Speeding Cars" talk about the challenges of growing up and making mistakes, but still being loved and accepted for who you are. The song starts with the line "Here's the day you hoped would never come," which could refer to facing the consequences of one's actions or having to grow up and take responsibility. The next line, "Don't feed me violins," is a metaphor for not wanting to hear excuses or apologies, but instead wanting to actively move forward.
The chorus repeats the lines "There, there, baby / It's just textbook stuff / It's in the ABC of growing up" which suggest that the struggles the singer is facing are common and expected in life, part of a process that everyone goes through. The second verse references "paper cuts," "cheating lovers," and weak coffee, all small annoyances that can add up and become overwhelming. The bridge of the song contains the line "Sleeping pills know / Sleeping dogs lie never far enough away / Glistening in the cold sweat of guilt" which may be a reference to trying to escape one's troubles through sleep but never being fully successful.
The song concludes with the reassurance that "none of us were angels" and that the singer loves the person they are addressing. Overall, the lyrics of "Speeding Cars" are a relatable reflection on the struggles of growing up and trying to navigate life's challenges.
Line by Line Meaning
Here's the day you hoped would never come
This is the day that you always feared would arrive.
Don't feed me violins
Don't offer me false comfort.
Just run with me through rows of speeding cars
Let's face difficulties together and keep moving forward.
The paper cuts, the cheating lovers
Everyday hurts and heartbreaks.
The coffee's never strong enough
Nothing seems to satisfy.
I know you think it's more than just bad luck
You feel like you're cursed with misfortune.
There, there baby
Don't worry too much.
It's just textbook stuff
It's a common experience of growing up.
It's in the ABC of growing up
It's a fundamental part of maturing.
Now, now darling
Calm down.
Oh don't lose your head
Don't panic.
'Cause none of us were angels
We all have our flaws.
And you know I love you yeah
And I still care for you deeply.
Sleeping pills know
Tranquilizers are aware of the underlying problems.
Sleeping dogs lie never far enough away
Difficulties always linger around.
Glistening in the cold sweat of guilt
The burden of guilt is evident and painful.
I've watched you slowly winding down for years
I've seen you deteriorate steadily over time.
You can't keep on like this
You can't continue to live in this state.
Now's a bad a time as any whoa
There's no better or worse time to take action than now.
It's OK by me
I understand and accept.
It was a long time ago
It happened in the past.
Oh don't kill yourself
Don't burden yourself too much.
There, there baby
It's going to be okay.
It's just textbook stuff
It's a common experience of growing up.
It's in the ABC of growing up
It's a fundamental part of maturing.
And you know I love you yeah
And I still care for you deeply.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: IMOGEN JENNIFER JANE HEAP
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@xAlbinopiratex
Here's the day you hoped would never come
Don't feed me violins
Just run with me through rows of speeding cars
The paper cuts, the cheating lovers
The coffee's never strong enough
I know you think it's more than just bad luck
There, there baby
It's just textbook stuff
It's in the ABC of growing up
Now, now darling
Oh don't lose your head
'Cause none of us were angels
And you know I love you yeah
Sleeping pills know
Sleeping dogs lie never far enough away
Glistening in the cold sweat of guilt
I've watched you slowly winding down for years
You can't keep on like this
Now's a bad a time as any whoa
There, there baby
It's just textbook stuff
It's in the ABC of growing up
Now, now darling
Oh don't kill yourself
'Cause none of us were angels
And you know I love you yeah
It's OK by me
It's OK by me
It's OK by me
It was a long time ago
It's OK by me
It's OK by me
It's OK by me
It was a long time ago
There, there baby
It's just textbook stuff
It's in the ABC of growing up
Now, now darling
Oh don't lose your head
'Cause none of us were angels
And you know I love you yeah
There, there baby
It's just textbook stuff
It's in the ABC of growing up
Now, now darling
Oh don't kill yourself
'Cause none of us were angels
And you know I love you yeah
@ArneseDalPelio
I used to listen to this and cry and get stronger in my teens. Reading the comments, I am kinda happy that this song helped a lot of people. The power of music is impressive. Thanks Imogen Heap 💕
@chelseywilde9852
I haven't heard this song since I was a teen. I don't remember where I heard it but I'm so glad I came across it again 😩 love this song.
@spikepsych
The OC maybe
@KG-io6zs
I discovered this song around 16 in 2005 and it brings back so many memories
@lylelaney8270
You probably heard it on myspace 😂
@chelseywilde9852
@@lylelaney8270 you probably right 🤣
@brittanyvanfossen5103
It seems like ages ago, but when I was going thru one of the worst times in my life and wasn't sure if I could continue on with all the death, money problems, and general chaos in my life, this song somehow seemed to settle my anxiety and made me feel that things weren't going to remain as bad. Things aren't super spectacular as of now, but they're a lot better, and this song still seems to help.
@brendawg8002
I hope things are better now, or at least getting better all the time.
@mattejko7346
@brendawg 800 yeah I hope that as well Brittany! Good luck!
@promanstyle9252
I had a similar experience. This song was there when I was going through some tough time back in 2008 that eventually led to a divorce.