Phillips got her start in a music career when she graduated from Belmont University in 1998. Her first, self-named album was produced by grammy-award winning Wayne Kirkpatrick who has produced for such artists as Amy Grant, Garth Brooks, and Susan Ashton. Kirkpatrick said that it was "the honesty of her [Phillips'] songs, the charm of her voice, and the strength of her character that drew me to her as an artist — I knew that being involved with someone like that would be time well spent." Following the release of first album, Phillips toured with Caedmon’s Call and Bebo Norman.
Soon Phillips made her jump from the sidelines by recording her next album, God and Money, independently. This album became her biggest break into the CCM industry and was raved by CCM Magazine as reader’s choice for Independent Artist of the Year in 2002.
In 2003 Phillips was signed by Fervent Records and she released her third album, Writing on the Wall, on which she collaborated with many other artists, including Andrew Peterson, Bebo Norman and Stephen Mason of Jars of Clay.
In 2005, Phillips released a speciality album called Kingdom Come and recorded her fifth and most recent album Nobody's Got It All Together, which was released in early 2006.
In 2006, Phillips founded the Square Peg Alliance with twelve other independent Christian artists in order to cross-promote each other's music.
She currently tours her new album with her husband, singer-songwriter Andy Gullahorn, while retaining plenty of time for her two children. Jill is also a self-proclaimed cook, loves to visit The Outer Banks of North Carolina and is an avid watcher of Meet The Press.
text from wikipedia
The Middle
Jill Phillips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Or if I was young that would be my excuse
But either extreme seems so easy to be
And I'm somewhere in the middle
Too young to act like there's wisdom inside of my head
And too old to not care if its there
The pendulum swings to each end well defined
So tell me when will I know where I fit into the scheme of things
Cuz right now I'm not even sure if I belong
The cracks are wide and it seems I just keep on falling in between
Please tell me I'm wrong
Please tell me I'm wrong
Its too late to back out of this race that we started
But it seems like the finish is light years ahead
So all I can ask is that you walk next to me
Here somewhere in the middle
Jill Phillips's song "The Middle" touches on a relatable and often experienced feeling of being in an ambiguous spot in life. The song presents a unique perspective of feeling too young to possess wisdom yet too old to not care, leaving the singer in a state of confusion and uncertainty. Phillips describes being somewhere in the "middle" of these two extremes where neither condition is ideal, causing her to question where she fits in the scheme of things. The song explores the midway point, a place where one's identity and purpose are still being defined, and uncertainty hits hard. The feeling of insecurity is highlighted towards the end of the song, with the singer pleading for someone to tell her she's wrong and that she belongs somewhere. The lyrics of the song emphasize a sense of vulnerability, honesty, and openness that one can feel at any age.
Line by Line Meaning
If I was old I might have it together
Being older possibly means having a more organized life.
Or if I was young that would be my excuse
Being younger means having the excuse of still exploring life.
But either extreme seems so easy to be
Both being too young or too old has their own ease that middle age lacks.
And I'm somewhere in the middle
However, the singer is experiencing life in the middle, thus cannot decide on the benefits of being too young or too old.
Too young to act like there's wisdom inside of my head
The singer is too young to pretend that she knows it all.
And too old to not care if its there
The singer is too old to not care about not knowing everything.
The pendulum swings to each end well defined
The extremes are well distinguishable from each other.
And I'm somewhere in the middle
The singer repeats that she is still trapped in the middle despite these realizations.
So tell me when will I know where I fit into the scheme of things
The singer is asking when will she know where she stands in life.
Cuz right now I'm not even sure if I belong
Currently, the singer doubts her belongingness in either age group.
The cracks are wide and it seems I just keep on falling in between
The gaps between the age groups are big and she feels lost in the middle.
Please tell me I'm wrong
The singer seeks reassurance that she is not permanently stuck in the middle, emotionally.
Its too late to back out of this race that we started
It's too late to withdraw from life itself.
But it seems like the finish is light years ahead
However, it seems life is long and full of uncertainties.
So all I can ask is that you walk next to me
All the singer can ask for is someone to walk along with her through this journey of life.
Here somewhere in the middle
Her journey is in the middle of the two extremes of life.
Contributed by Kylie L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.