Barber won the Female Artist Recording of the Year award for her debut album "Oh Heart" at the 2005 Music Nova Scotia Awards. In 2007, Barber earned her fourth win as Best Female Local Solo Artist in The Coast’s annual "Best of Music Reader’s Poll", and her first win as Best Canadian Female Solo Artist for "For All Time".
Barber studied at Queen's University before pursuing her musical career full time. Her breakthrough "For All Time" was recorded & produced in Toronto by Les Cooper (who also performs as a multi-instrumentalist on the album), and features a number of Canada’s musicians; Bazil Donovan (Blue Rodeo) on bass and Blake Manning (Sarah Slean, Kim Stockwood) on drums. Guest appearances include a vocal performance by Jim Cuddy (Blue Rodeo) on Don’t Go Easy, guitar by singer/songwriter Luke Doucet, piano and clarinet performances by Spencer Evans (Sarah Harmer) and a duet with her brother Matthew Barber. The album was mixed by Andre Wahl (Hawksley Workman, Anne Murray) and mastered by Chris Potter (Sarah McLachlan, Rufus Wainwright). Further albums include "A Note to Follow So", "Oh Heart", and "For All Time".
In 2008, Barber released "Chances", a jazz album with full orchestral arrangements which was partially co-written with her producer Les Cooper, while also collaborating on several songs with Canadian musician Ron Sexsmith.
She followed up with the album ""Mischievous Moon", released through Outside Music in 2011. Barber won the SiriusXM 2012 Jazz Artist of the Year award, as well as the 2013 Western Canadian Francophone Album of the Year for ""Chansons".
Her solo album, ""Metaphora", was released in June 2018. She followed up with another French-language album, ""Entre nous", in 2020, and with ""Homemaker" in 2023.
Official site: http://www.jillbarber.com
In Perfect Time
Jill Barber Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To change the way you feel
'Cause time it often loses track
Of who it's got to heal
You can read my palm
And tell me that my future looks strong
And I will play along
Better that than to wait to prove you wrong
'Cause it's another overcast day
Like it's been for a week
And I would blame feeling down on the weather
If I had no other reason to be
People let you down
When you least expect them to
And hearts they move around so fast
And love it somehow gets renewed
And my state of mind is hiding in
The shadow you left behind
And this song is playing in my head
As you walk away in perfect time
And you and I are just saving hope
In pockets and of sleeves
For rainy days when you need it most
Rainy days like these
And my state of mind is hiding in
The shadow you left behind
And this song is playing in my head
As you walk away in perfect time
But you can't rely on time
To change the way you feel
'Cause time it often loses track
Of who it's got to heal
And my state of mind is hiding in
The shadow you left behind
And this song is playing in my head
As you walk away in perfect time
Jill Barber’s “In Perfect Time” is a bittersweet ballad that captures the complex nature of relationships and the unpredictable nature of time. The song’s melancholic tone is set by the lyrics which convey the powerlessness one feels in the face of time and the disappointment that comes with unfulfilled promises. The first verse suggests that time is not a reliable agent in healing emotional wounds as it can lose track of who it needs to heal. The second verse highlights how the weather serves as a metaphor for one’s emotional state - colder and overcast days can exacerbate feelings of sadness and isolation. The chorus highlights the conflicting emotions one feels when relationships go awry – the desire to hold onto hope and the inevitability of heartbreak. The final verse concludes on this note, repeating the same lyrics as the first verse, but this time with more desperation, expressing the feeling of being left behind and exposed as the other person walks away.
The song’s haunting melody and sparse instrumentation augment the poetic lyrics, making “In Perfect Time” a standout track in Barber’s repertoire. The song’s ability to encapsulate the ephemerality of time and the fragility of relationships has made it a poignant hit amongst audiences worldwide.
Line by Line Meaning
Can't rely on time
Time cannot be trusted to change how you feel
To change the way you feel
To alter your emotional state
'Cause time it often loses track
Because time can forget who it needs to heal
Of who it's got to heal
Of the person it is supposed to help recover
You can read my palm
You can try to predict my future
And tell me that my future looks strong
And indicate to me that I have a bright future ahead
And I will play along
And I will go along with your prediction for the sake of avoiding confrontation
Better that than to wait to prove you wrong
It is preferable to agree with you than to wait for you to be proven incorrect
'Cause it's another overcast day
Because it's another day with cloudy weather
Like it's been for a week
For the past seven days
And I would blame feeling down on the weather
And I would attribute my low mood to the gloomy atmosphere
If I had no other reason to be
If there were no other explanations for my emotional state
People let you down
Individuals disappoint you
When you least expect them to
At times when you are least prepared for it
And hearts they move around so fast
And emotions change very quickly
And love it somehow gets renewed
Yet, love manages to be resurrected somehow
And my state of mind is hiding in
My mental well-being is concealed within
The shadow you left behind
The trace you have left after your departure
And this song is playing in my head
And this melody is resonating in my thoughts
As you walk away in perfect time
As you exit at an ideal moment
And you and I are just saving hope
You and I are only holding onto optimism
In pockets and of sleeves
In various hiding places on our person
For rainy days when you need it most
For difficult moments when hope is required
Rainy days like these
Days like this which are fraught with difficulty
But you can't rely on time
But time is not dependable
To change the way you feel
To change the way you feel is not time's responsibility
'Cause time it often loses track
Due to time frequently forgetting its targets
Of who it's got to heal
Who it is meant to cure
And my state of mind is hiding in
My emotional condition is concealed within
The shadow you left behind
The impression left after you left
And this song is playing in my head
And this tune is playing in my thoughts
As you walk away in perfect time
As you leave at the ideal moment
Contributed by William Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.