Jill Tracy states that some of her biggest childhood influences were film score composers such as Bernard Herrmann, and classic suspense tales, including Alfred Hitchcock and Fritz Lang films, Ray Bradbury stories, and Rod Serling’s The Twilight Zone.
She is listed in San Francisco Magazine’s Top 100 Creative Forces in the Bay Area.
1999's Diabolical Streak is the first studio album featuring her back up ensemble The Malcontent Orchestra. “Evil Night Together” from Diabolical Streak was awarded the SIBL international Grand Prize for songwriting. The album was listed among the "Top 10 Neo-Cabaret albums of all time" in Shift magazine. “The Fine Art of Poisoning,” from Diabolical Streak became an animated short film in 2003, a collaboration with Bay Area animator Bill Domonkos. The film has won over 30 film festival awards and continues to screen internationally.
Jill Tracy and The Malcontent Orchestra’s original score to F.W. Murnau’s 1922 silent vampire classic Nosferatu debuted live at San Francisco’s Foreign Cinema in 1999 and toured Northern California theatres during Halloween season for five consecutive years. This led to the 2002 CD release Into the Land of Phantoms.
Her latest (and fourth) album, The Bittersweet Constrain (2008), explores a heavier, cinematic sonic edge with the addition of instruments such as the sarod, harmonium, and seldom-seen Chapman Stick. The recording also features percussionist Randy Odell, horn player Ralph Carney (Tom Waits/B52's), cellist Erica Mulkey (Rasputina/Unwoman), and violinist Tony Cross (Tarentel).
Produced by Alex Nahas (John Vanderslice/Zoe Keating/LaughingStock), The Bittersweet Constrain has been described by the San Francisco Chronicle as "devastatingly beautiful."
Domonkos served as art director/graphic designer for The Bittersweet Constrain. The CD packaging features Jill Tracy portraiture by Bay Area surrealist photographer Michael Garlington, known for his dreamy macabre imagery shot on vintage film stock.
Treasure
Jill Tracy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You’re the serum and the struggle
You’re a ransom and an outrage
You’re my kingdom in a bird cage
But I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away every time I look at you
I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away
You’re my hangman and my hero
You’re perpetual and you’re zero
You’re a rhapsody and a refuge
You’re a dust storm, you’re the deluge baby
But I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away every time I look at you
I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away
You’re my treasure and my trouble
You’re the serum and the struggle
You’re the omen and the aftermath
The gallows and the line I’ve cast
You’re the crown of thorns and the wishing well
The zodiac and the carousel
You’re my delusions and my secrets
All the remnants and the regrets
You’re my mortality
You’re everything I’ve ever wanted to be
But I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away every time I look at you
I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away every time
I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away every time I look at you
I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away
I’m just blown away every time
I’m just blown away
The lyrics of the song Treasure by Jill Tracy showcase the complexity of emotions one can feel towards another person. The singer describes this person as a mixture of positive and negative attributes, sometimes being a treasure and sometimes being a trouble. The person is also referred to as a serum and a struggle, indicating that they have the power to heal and hurt the singer simultaneously. The singer acknowledges the duality of this person, portraying them as a ransom and an outrage, highlighting the depth of their impact.
The figurative language used throughout the song is mesmerizing, with the person being compared to a kingdom in a birdcage, signifying the feeling of wanting to protect and possess them. The singer also refers to the person as both the hangman and the hero, possibly indicating the person's dual nature and the struggles of being in a relationship with them.
The chorus, "But I'm just blown away every time I look at you," seems to reveal that despite the complexities and difficulties of the relationship, the singer is drawn to this person and cannot help but be amazed by them.
Line by Line Meaning
You’re my treasure and my trouble
You are valuable to me, but also come with challenges
You’re the serum and the struggle
You are the remedy to my problems, but also a source of difficulty
You’re a ransom and an outrage
You have great value to me, but also bring about anger or frustration
You’re my kingdom in a bird cage
I feel in control and powerful in my love for you, but also limited or trapped
You’re my hangman and my hero
You have the power to hurt me, but also to save me
You’re perpetual and you’re zero
You are always present, but sometimes not enough
You’re a rhapsody and a refuge
You are like a beautiful song and a safe haven for me
You’re a dust storm, you’re the deluge baby
Your presence can sometimes be overwhelming and chaotic
You’re the omen and the aftermath
You are like a warning and the result of a situation
The gallows and the line I’ve cast
You are like a place of execution and the choices I have made
You’re the crown of thorns and the wishing well
You are like a source of pain and a place of hope for me
The zodiac and the carousel
You are like the stars and a ride that goes up and down
You’re my delusions and my secrets
You are the things I imagine and the things I keep hidden
All the remnants and the regrets
You are like the leftovers and the things I wish I could change
You’re my mortality
You remind me that life is finite and precious
You’re everything I’ve ever wanted to be
You embody the qualities I admire and aspire to possess
I’m just blown away
You leave me amazed and in awe
Contributed by Hannah R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@adrielmartinez8110
I can't use words to describe this...
@Casslightwing
“A dark, smoky beauty”