Jessica Pratt (born 1987) is an American musician and singer-songwriter, ba… Read Full Bio ↴Jessica Pratt (born 1987) is an American musician and singer-songwriter, based in Los Angeles, California. Her self-titled debut album was released in 2011 via Birth Records, a record label founded by Darker My Love and White Fence songwriter Tim Presley to release Pratt's music. She is often associated with the freak folk movement.

Pratt was raised by her mother, who exposed her to a broad range of artists, including Tim Buckley, X, and the Gun Club. She learned to play the guitar around the age of 15, after her older brother gave up playing his Stratocaster. She took his guitar and started practising with the T. Rex album, Electric Warrior. She was soon able to play the guitar parts of the whole record. She eventually began recording songs at the age of 16, using her mother's Fender guitar amp and microphone.

After she moved to San Francisco, she was introduced to Tim Presley's solo project, White Fence, through Presley's brother, who was her roommate for three years. In the following years, Presley heard Pratt's demo songs through her then-boyfriend, who had posted her songs on Facebook. He eventually contacted her to release her music.

Pratt's self-titled debut album was released in 2012 through Presley's label, Birth Records. Produced by Craig Gotsill, the album featured the songs that were originally recorded in 2007 over analogue tape. The initial 500 pressings of the sold out in less than two weeks. It received attention from many music websites and magazines, including Pitchfork (website), Consequence of Sound[3] and PopMatters.

In January 2014, she revealed the studio version of a new track, "Game That I Play."

In October 2014, Pratt announced her sophomore album, On Your Own Love Again.

In October 2018, she announced her third album, Quiet Signs, and released a video for a new track, "This Time Around." Pitchfork reviewed the song, giving it the Best New Music designation and noting a stylistic shift, comparing it to "a Tropicalia version of a Christmas song, or a ’60s jukebox standard playing in a beach town diner during the off-season."

According to Philip Cosores of Consequence of Sound, Pratt's music "displays a lyrical and musical range without straying from a palette of picked acoustic guitar and raw, bending vocals" and nods to "60′s folk, California classic rock, and the early 2000′s freak folk." She is compared to various folk artists, including Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Sibylle Baier, David Crosby and Karen Dalton. She also expressed admiration for Ariel Pink.

Silent song
Jessica Pratt Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Fade to one, he's all I desire
And so's begun to mourning after
All I've become
And it's here I've shown what has gone before
And was once

Soft, sweet as the air
I longed to stay with you

Or did I belong to my song?
Here I'll wonder, soldier on

Fade to one, he's all I desire
And so's begun to mourning after
All I've become
And it's here I've shown what has gone before
And was once

Soft, sweet as the air
I longed to stay with you
Or did I belong to my song?
Here I'll wonder, soldier on

Ah-la-la-la-la, la-la

Ah-la-la-la-la, la-la
All dismal inside of him, oh

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Jessica Pratt's Silent Song depict a feeling of longing and nostalgia for something or someone that is no longer present. The line "Fade to one, he's all I desire" suggests that the singer is fixated on a specific person, perhaps a past lover or someone who is unattainable. The following line "And so's begun to mourning after" implies that this fixation has resulted in sadness and reflection.

The repetition of the lines "Soft, sweet as the air, I longed to stay with you, or did I belong to my song?" further reinforces this sense of longing and confusion. The singer seems unsure whether their desire for this person is genuine or simply a figment of their imagination, perhaps even a product of their own creativity.

The closing line "Here I'll wonder, soldier on" speaks to the resilience and perseverance of the singer, despite their inner turmoil. Overall, the song portrays a complex emotional landscape, full of yearning, regret, and uncertainty.

Line by Line Meaning

Fade to one, he's all I desire
As everything fades away into nothingness, the only thing that remains is the urge to be with him

And so's begun to mourning after
The mourning after signifies the end of something once beautiful, and the beginning of something new

All I've become
Everything that I have turned into

And it's here I've shown what has gone before
This is the place where the past is visible, and the present becomes a summation of what has occurred before

And was once
A reminder of how things used to be

Soft, sweet as the air
The feeling of love is gentle and free-flowing

I longed to stay with you
The desire to be with the person she loves is strong

Or did I belong to my song?
Is she just meant to be a voice in a song or is there something more meaningful for her?

Here I'll wonder, soldier on
She will continue to move forward even if uncertain of what the future holds

Ah-la-la-la-la, la-la
Non-lyrical vocalizations, possibly to emphasize the melancholic tone of the song

All dismal inside of him, oh
The person she loves is unhappy or troubled in some way, and it is affecting her as well

Lyrics © DOMINO PUBLISHING COMPANY
Written by: Jessica Pratt

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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