Jill Tracy is a singer, pianist, composer, and performance artist based in … Read Full Bio ↴Jill Tracy is a singer, pianist, composer, and performance artist based in San Francisco. She has been described by the San Francisco Chronicle as “a femme fatale for the thinking man.” NPR "All Things Considered" has called her “utterly intriguing, transporting you into a magical world solely of her creation.” "My goal is to open the trapdoors, transport the listener into that magical place inside my head," Tracy said in an NPR interview with Susan Stamberg. "I call it the Kingdom of the Mind's Eye."

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.

Where Shadows Fall
Jill Tracy Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Night has fallen, and so have we
But seduction deceives us eventually
Between the cracks in the pavement
The end of the line
Measure for measure
Until the very last time

In a dark corner I’m waiting

Where Fate comes to call
In a dark corner I’m waiting
In the place where shadows fall

Bound together, but torn apart at the seams
We’re too soon for sorrow, but too late for dreams
All the edges are frayed now
This means to the end
Promise me one thing
That you’ll never pretend

In a dark corner I’m waiting
Where Fate comes to call
In a dark corner I’m waiting
In the place where shadows fall

Where shadows fall

And this will be the last time
Just promise me one thing
Just promise me one thing

In a dark corner I’m waiting
Where Fate comes to call
It’s our secret salvation
In the place where shadows fall
Where shadows fall

Where shadows fall
Where shadows fall

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Jill Tracy's "Where Shadows Fall" speak of a sense of foreboding and a feeling of being trapped in a place where things are coming to an end. The opening line, "Night has fallen, and so have we," immediately sets a somber tone, suggesting that something sinister has happened or is about to happen. The phrase "seduction deceives us eventually" further emphasizes the idea that the singer has been lured into something they may regret. The line "Between the cracks in the pavement, the end of the line" can be interpreted as a metaphor for being at one's lowest point, with the end in sight.

The chorus follows with the repeating sentence "In a dark corner I'm waiting, where Fate comes to call." There is a sense of hopelessness in this line; Fate has already arrived, and the singer is stuck waiting for the inevitable. It seems that there is nowhere to go, no escape from the shadows that are closing in.

The second verse speaks of being bound together yet torn apart, with the edges frayed. It's unclear what relationship the singer has with the person they are addressing, but it is clear that it's not a happy one. The line "too soon for sorrow, but too late for dreams" suggests the end has already come, and there is nothing left to do but accept it. The final lines of the song beg for a promise, for something that will not occur again. The singer still clings to some shred of hope that the end may not be the end, that there is still a chance for redemption.

Line by Line Meaning

Night has fallen, and so have we
We have both succumbed to darkness and despair

But seduction deceives us eventually
We may have been lured by temptation, but it will lead to our ruin in the end

Between the cracks in the pavement
We are trapped in a broken and imperfect world

The end of the line
We have reached the point of no return

Measure for measure
Our actions and choices have consequences

Until the very last time
We must face these consequences until the bitter end

In a dark corner I’m waiting
I am hiding in a place of fear and uncertainty

Where Fate comes to call
I am facing the unknown and inevitable course of events

Bound together, but torn apart at the seams
Our connection is strong, but fragile and falling apart

We’re too soon for sorrow, but too late for dreams
We are in a state of limbo, unable to fully move on from the past or envision a hopeful future

All the edges are frayed now
We are worn out and approaching our breaking point