A musician and lyricist of uncommon and mature gift, and one blessed with a gloriously fluid and expressive voice, Lawson was born and raised in Plymouth in what was he says a resolutely non-musical household. “No-one sang or played anything. We didn’t have any records. My dad would listen to Radio 2 a bit but that was the extent of it. And this was back in the days before the station got really good. There was nothing in what I heard that spoke directly to me.” Then the elder of his two brothers hit adolescence and things began to change: “He got me into The Smiths, The Housemartins, the Jackson 5 ...” A disparate trio of early influences, you might think, but Jamie says not really. “They’re all very big on melody. And Morrissey and the young Michael Jackson both have a real passion to the way they sing.”
Aged eight, he asked for and received his first guitar. Early on in secondary school, he was invited to join his first band. “We were quite a dedicated little bunch, rehearsing every lunchtime when the rest of the class was out playing football. It was pretty much all covers, of course ... R.E.M., the Chilli Peppers, some Hendrix. By the time I was 15 we had quite a wide repertoire of other people’s badly-done songs.” He was writing material of his own too, “all of it terrible to start with, of course. I’d be 17 at least before I came up with anything good.” And he was singing, though mainly in unconscious impersonation of Michael Stipe. “My own voice took a while to find. I had to stop trying to replicate someone else’s tricks.”
When he did properly uncover it, that voice proved to be something very special indeed. No one who has heard him sing live would disagree (and in addition to his own regular schedule of gigging, he has played with artists including The Frames, Martha Wainwright and Damien Rice, as well as having been chosen as opening act for outdoor gigs by both Van Morrison and Katie Melua). Even-keeled, even undemonstrative offstage, he comes alive in front of an audience and in the service of his songs. “American Music Club’s Mark Eitzel has been a big influence, in the sense that he sings with his whole body and puts so much into his performance. The difference is that my voice is sweeter and more pure.”
There was a brief and half-hearted attempt at following a different career path. But unhappy and unfulfilled in his earliest weeks at Art College, Lawson sought the advice of a counsellor who then asked him, ‘So what do you want to do with your life?’ “And when I said that I wanted to be a singer she told me, ‘Then go and do it!’ which totally surprised me but which was absolutely the right thing to say. I met that woman just once and for five minutes. I don’t even know her name. But she showed me what I had to do.” And via a geographically circuitous route that has taken in Dublin, Cornwall and now London and during which both his song writing skills and stagecraft have increased by leaps and bounds, he has done it.
Lawson is not just a singer but also an exceptionally blessed and affecting one. His voice and songs have proven to work equally beautifully and well whether in a tiny indoor venue like London’s 12 Bar Club or outdoors before 10,000 people. “And the simple fact is that I love to sing,” he says. “I love the intimacy of live performance. I love drawing people into my mood. I love bringing them to where I am.”
Alan Jackson.
The Times
London.
North Shore
Jamie Lawson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Not far now from where you live
And I think about what it's all for
And how much more we had to give
And when you stole the keys to my car
And drove through the fields where we played
And how I would never had left you if you'd stayed
Waves break the end of an ocean
Did I love you with too much devotion?
Did it hurt, the way you felt inside?
Or were we just too young to hold true
To these promises of love that we made
'cause I would never had left you if you'd stayed (oh no)
Hey, hey what can the matter be?
Here with us now
I guess it's too late to call you
And I hear that you've changed your name
I have a dream that we'd fall into
Where you and I are just the same, same
And I'll take you up on this all
Out under stars we both lay
And I swear i'll never leave you if you stay
And I swear i'll never leave you if you stay
Now, hold on now
If you stay
Come with me now, just come with me now
(Down where you are x7)
The lyrics of Jamie Lawson's "North Shore" tell the story of a man who goes to a place called the North Shore, which is near where his former lover lives. As he reflects on the past, he wonders if their love was too intense, and if that caused pain for his former partner. He also questions if they were too young to hold true to their promises of love. The lyrics are nostalgic and full of regret, as the singer thinks about what could have been if the relationship had worked out.
The North Shore serves as a physical and emotional backdrop for the song. The ocean waves breaking on the shore symbolize the turbulence of the relationship, and the changing tides represent the ebb and flow of their love. The song is introspective and melancholy, as the singer looks back on the past with longing and regret.
Overall, "North Shore" is a powerful song about the pain of lost love and the desire to reconcile with a former partner. Its poignant lyrics and simple melody are meant to evoke feelings of nostalgia and sadness, as well as hope for the future.
Line by Line Meaning
I go down to the North Shore
I visit the North Shore and its surroundings
Not far now from where you live
It's not too far from where you live
And I think about what it's all for
I contemplate about the meaning behind it all
And how much more we had to give
I reflect on how much more we could have given
And when you stole the keys to my car
I recall the time when you took my car keys without my permission
And drove through the fields where we played
And drove through the fields where we used to play
And how I would never had left you if you'd stayed
And how I would have never left you if you decided to stay
Waves break the end of an ocean
The waves break at the end of the ocean
The moon determines how high the tide
The height of the tide is determined by the moon
Did I love you with too much devotion?
Did I love you with too much passion and commitment?
Did it hurt, the way you felt inside?
Did the way you felt inside cause you pain?
Or were we just too young to hold true
Or were we simply too young to stay loyal
To these promises of love that we made
To the promises of love that we made to each other
'cause I would never had left you if you'd stayed (oh no)
I would have never left you if you stayed
Hey, hey what can the matter be?
Hey, hey, what is the issue?
Here with us now
You are here with us now
I guess it's too late to call you
I suppose it's too late to contact you
And I hear that you've changed your name
I've heard that you've changed your name
I have a dream that we'd fall into
I have a vision where we could fall back into love
Where you and I are just the same, same
Where you and I are once again united
And I'll take you up on this all
And I'll take you up on all of these hopes and dreams
Out under stars we both lay
Laying under the stars together
And I swear i'll never leave you if you stay
And I make a promise that I'll never leave you if you decide to stay
Now, hold on now
Wait a minute
If you stay
If you decide to stay
Come with me now, just come with me now
Come with me now, just come with me now
(Down where you are x7)
Down where you are repeated 7 times
Contributed by Gavin W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Becky Millington
on I'm Gonna Love You
Marriage not memories