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.
Union St
Jamie Lawson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sara, when did you grow up?
Did you throw up over my low shoes?
Sacel, how you've been drinking.
I know just how he was thinking of you.
Sara, go down to the river,
Cleanse your soul,
Till the skin sheds yours.
Cleanse your soul,
Till the skin sheds yours.
Oh the leer of Union St. and its bright lights.
How does it feel in hindsight?
The love that it made to you.
Cuz I know Union St. in the morning,
There's never been such yearning,
A bell that rang so true.
Sara, go down to the river,
Cleanse your soul,
Till the skin sheds yours.
Sara, go down to the river,
Cleanse your soul,
Till the skin sheds yours.
Sara, when did you grow up?
Did you throw up all over that sailor's hands?
Did you walk down Union St. on your way back?
Does anyone know that?
Cuz I haven't seen you since.
I haven't seen you since.
I haven't seen you since.
Nobody's seen you since...
The lyrics of the song “Union St” by Jamie Lawson seem to be referencing a woman named Sara who the singer has not seen in a long time. The language used in the opening verse is curious; the questions about growing up and throwing up over “low shoes” allude to a past encounter. The reference to Sacel and his thoughts about Sara suggest a love triangle or an unrequited love. The repetition of the line “Sara, go down to the river, cleanse your soul, till the skin sheds yours” implies that Sara is in need of cleansing or repentance, which adds to the overall religious tone of the song.
The second half of the song focuses on Union St. and its bright lights. The singer seems to have a deep connection to this place, talking about the love that was made there and how true the bells rang. The chorus of “Sara, go down to the river…” repeats again, indicating that the river and the act of cleansing are important motifs. The final lines are particularly haunting as the singer wonders if anyone knows what happened to Sara or if anyone has seen her since her walk down Union St.
Overall, the lyrics of “Union St” are full of imagery and emotion, touching on themes of redemption, love, and loss. The narrative structure of the song is also interesting, as it jumps back and forth between the past and the present, leaving the listener to piece together the story.
Line by Line Meaning
Sara, when did you grow up?
Jamie is asking Sara when she grew up, indicating that they haven't seen each other in a while
Did you throw up over my low shoes?
Jamie is recalling a past instance in which Sara may have thrown up on his shoes
Sacel, how you've been drinking.
Jamie is addressing someone named Sacel about their drinking habits
I know just how he was thinking of you.
Jamie is aware of how someone was thinking about Sara
Sara, go down to the river,
Cleanse your soul,
Till the skin sheds yours.
Jamie is urging Sara to go to the river to cleanse her soul until she sheds her old skin, perhaps suggesting a need for a fresh start
Oh the leer of Union St. and its bright lights.
How does it feel in hindsight?
The love that it made to you.
Jamie is reminiscing about the bright lights of Union St. and questioning how Sara feels about the love she experienced there in hindsight
Cuz I know Union St. in the morning,
There's never been such yearning,
A bell that rang so true.
Jamie is emphasizing the intense desire he feels for Union St. in the morning and the sincerity of his emotions
Sara, when did you grow up?
Did you throw up all over that sailor's hands?
Did you walk down Union St. on your way back?
Does anyone know that?
Cuz I haven't seen you since.
I haven't seen you since.
I haven't seen you since.
Nobody's seen you since...
Jamie is wondering about Sara's whereabouts and if she had any experiences on Union St. that nobody knows about. He also remarks that he hasn't seen her in a while, suggesting that she has possibly moved on from the area.
Contributed by Brooklyn Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Becky Millington
on I'm Gonna Love You
Marriage not memories