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
La Javanaise
Jill Barber Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Avant d'avoir eu vent de vous, mon amour
Ne vous déplaise, en dansant la Javanaise
Nous nous aimions, le temps d'une chanson
À votre avis, qu'avons-nous vu de l'amour?
De vous à moi, vous m'avez eu mon amour
Ne vous déplaise, en dansant la Javanaise
Nous nous aimions, le temps d'une chanson
Hélas, avril, en vain, me voue à l'amour
J'avais envie de voir en vous cet amour
Ne vous déplaise, en dansant la Javanaise
Nous nous aimions, le temps d'une chanson
La vie ne vaut d'être vécue sans amour
Mais c'est vous qui l'avez voulu, mon amour
Ne vous déplaise, en dansant la Javanaise
Nous nous aimions, le temps d'une chanson
Jill Barber's song La Javanaise tells a story of love that was seemingly born out of a dance. The opening lines of the first verse declare the struggles of the singer, the singer herself, with life and love before she met her lover. She has gone through a lot of difficulties, but everything changed when she finally found her "amour," declaring that they fell in love while listening to the Javanaise, a popular French dance from the early 20th century. The second part of the first verse asks the listeners about what they believe love to be, to which the singer replies that she found it while dancing to the song.
In the second verse, the singer talks about April and how she hoped to find love in her current partner. Nevertheless, love found her amidst the dancing to the Javanaise. She believes that life is not worth living without love, despite being aware that it is the person she fell in love with who chose their path. The final verse ends as it started, with the couple dancing to the Javanaise, which has become their song of love.
Line by Line Meaning
J'avoue, j'en ai bavé, pas vous, mon amour
I must confess, I've been through a lot, haven't you, my love?
Avant d'avoir eu vent de vous, mon amour
Before I even knew about you, my love
Ne vous déplaise, en dansant la Javanaise
Don't be offended, but while dancing the Javanaise
Nous nous aimions, le temps d'une chanson
We loved each other for the length of a song
À votre avis, qu'avons-nous vu de l'amour?
In your opinion, what have we seen of love?
De vous à moi, vous m'avez eu mon amour
Between us, you've got me, my love
Hélas, avril, en vain, me voue à l'amour
Alas, April futilely dedicates me to love
J'avais envie de voir en vous cet amour
I wanted to see this love in you
La vie ne vaut d'être vécue sans amour
Life isn't worth living without love
Mais c'est vous qui l'avez voulu, mon amour
But it's you who wanted it, my love
Contributed by Riley R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.