Hoop has lived all over the map, and her rich life experience is reflected in her distinctive voice and natural gift for inventive song craft. She learned to sing at an early age, harmonising with her musical Mormon family in northern California. She began writing highly idiosyncratic songs at the age of 14 to keep her company on her long walks to school. At 16, Hoop broke away from her strict upbringing and began what she calls her 'life as a racoon', off the grid & close to nature. Rambling through the high mountain deserts of the Southwest and along the coastlines of the Northwest, she worked as a wilderness survival guide and chalked up skills in farming, surveying, and carpentry. Her songwriting continued throughout, shared on porches, in deep river canyons and around campfires.
In 2004 the desire to share these songs on a broader scale set in. She settled in Los Angeles, where she honed her songwriting craft and developed a reputation as a unique and beguiling live performer of real substance. Though she now resides in Manchester, England, Hoop returned to Los Angeles to record her third album, The House That Jack Built.
Jesca has quite the collection of fans in high places: Tom Waits described her music as being "like a four sided coin. She is an old soul, like a black pearl, a good witch or red moon. Her music is like going swimming in a lake at night". Peter Gabriel took her to South America to sing with him, and in recent years she has been hand picked to play as support on tour for Eels, Andrew Bird, Punch Brothers, Shearwater and Elbow: Elbow's Guy Garvey has even had her do stints as guest presenter on his BBC radio show, to great reception.
The follow up to 2009's critically acclaimed Hunting My Dress, "The House That Jack Built" displays a striking duality: light and dark, head and heart, it juxtaposes the macabre and visceral with a disarmingly candid intimacy. The resulting combination is powerfully evocative, with overarching themes of biology, nature and humanity - Hoop's stone-turning observations are mired in the equal beauty and violence of a nature that, for her, is clearly red in tooth and claw.
Bed Across The Sea
Jesca Hoop Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is hard as fuck
And just is as about to freeze your wand
You're waiting on the mail to get a letter
From me and myself
A separation at the ancient bell
She calls you up every night from a bed across the sea
All we have
The touch of fingers
And I love
I would so much
And bite your
Lips to kiss me now
And I can taste you as I read your words out loud
Your eyes
Start your day with toast and black tea
While I'm in the still of night and pushin' back
Sleep
Am I right?
Do the hands of the clock fall upon three?
And drop me in your virtual garden for real earth
And seasons
All we have
The touch of our fingers
I love
I would so much
And ride
Your hands
Between my legs
And I can feel you through it
Jump from the pain
The sky is bruised
It's lost at dusk
With lovers' rouge
What will stop
And ask
Under you
Under dreams spelled us
And it's true
And I know that I must
And will you
I mean it, the trust
And it's so
That I fell at first blush
(And it's right
And it's ready here)
Ahhhhhhhh.....
Just now
Your letter came
With pages that say the flight from yours to mine is January 8th
And just now
I found that I can just barely breathe
And from now until that time
I am counting down the days
Once I
All we have
The touch of your fingers
I love
I would so much
And wrap yourself inside me now
I can feel you
Pulling out
And what's that
All we have
The touch of your fingers
And I love
I would so much
And write your games
Like line by line
And I will stitch them in this heart of mine
(Feel... I didn't know... strangling your...)
Jesca Hoop's Bed Across The Sea is a romantic, melancholic song about a long-distance relationship that is being sustained through written communication. The singer is far away from her lover, and the distance makes her feel helpless and disconnected. She describes her light as "hard as fuck and just about to freeze your wand," which can be interpreted as her feeling harsh and abrasive towards her lover, but also vulnerable and fragile. She is waiting for a letter from her lover, and she is also writing to herself, trying to come to terms with the separation. The ancient bell is a symbol of the passage of time and how it feels like the past is separating her from her lover.
The chorus of the song emphasizes the importance and the power of physical touch, and how it is all they have to sustain their love. The singer repeats the lines "All we have, the touch of our fingers, and I love, I would so much," which express her longing and desire to be close to her lover. She imagines biting his lips and feeling him between her legs, and the thought of it makes her feel alive and connected, despite the distance. The final verse of the song describes the pain and the beauty of their love, which is bruised like the sky at dusk but still vibrant and alive.
Line by Line Meaning
My light
My love
Is hard as fuck
Is very intense and powerful
And just is as about to freeze your wand
And is about to deprive you of your passion and spirit
You're waiting on the mail to get a letter
You're eagerly waiting to receive a letter in the mail
From me and myself
From both me and my inner self
A separation at the ancient bell
A distance created by time
She calls you up every night from a bed across the sea
She talks to you every night from a faraway place
All we have
The only thing we have
The touch of fingers
The sensation of our skin against each other's
And I love
And I am in love
I would so much
I strongly desire
And bite your
And I want to bite your
Lips to kiss me now
Lips to kiss me deeply and passionately
And I can taste you as I read your words out loud
And I can feel your presence and love as I read your words
Your eyes
Your gaze
Start your day with toast and black tea
Begin your day with a simple breakfast
While I'm in the still of night and pushin' back
While I'm awake in the middle of the night and resisting sleep
Sleep
The need for rest
Am I right?
Is this true?
Do the hands of the clock fall upon three?
Is it already three in the morning?
And drop me in your virtual garden for real earth
And transport me to your digital world from my real-life experiences
And seasons
And the passage of time
And ride
And I want to ride
Your hands
Your touch
Between my legs
Between my thighs
And I can feel you through it
And I can feel your love and desire through your touch
Jump from the pain
Find ecstasy in the midst of suffering
The sky is bruised
The sky is dark and moody
It's lost at dusk
It becomes uncertain as the day ends
With lovers' rouge
With the passionate red color of love
What will stop
What could prevent
And ask
And inquire
Under you
Under your influence
Under dreams spelled us
In the dreams that united us
And it's true
And it's a fact
And I know that I must
And I understand that I should
And will you
And will you also
I mean it, the trust
I am serious about the trust we have
And it's so
And it's true
That I fell at first blush
That I fell in love at first sight
Just now
Only a moment ago
Your letter came
I received your letter
With pages that say the flight from yours to mine is January 8th
With pages that indicate our meeting on January 8th
And just now
And only now
I found that I can just barely breathe
I am deeply affected and struggling to keep my composure
And from now until that time
And from now until we meet
I am counting down the days
I am eagerly anticipating our meeting
And wrap yourself inside me now
And hold me close to your body
I can feel you
I can sense your presence
Pulling out
Leaving me
And write your games
And create stories
Like line by line
Piece by piece
And I will stitch them in this heart of mine
And I will keep them close to my heart
Contributed by Brayden L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
handicappedhero
When the harmony hits at 1:26 my eyes roll back into my head and the light of God melts my face off.
Praise be.