It was after relocating to New York City in the early '90s (to study at N.Y.U.'s film school) that Osborne began to take a singing career seriously after singing Billie Holiday's classic "God Bless the Child" at a local bar's "open mic night." In addition to Holiday, Osborne looked to such legendary vocalists as Etta James and Ray Charles as role models, as the up-and-coming singer decided not to cater to major record companies and formed her own label, Womanly Hips, which resulted in such releases as 1992's in-concert Soul Show, among others. But eventually, Osborne decided to sign on with a major label, Mercury, which in turn issued the singer's next release, 'Relish,' in March 1995. The album eventually racked up sales of three million copies and proved to have a long life, as almost a year after its initial release the track "One of Us" became a massive MTV and radio smash, camping out at the number-one spot on the U.S. singles chart for 2 weeks. Other tracks ("Right Hand Man" and "St. Teresa") failed to match the success of Osborne's first hit, but the singer still managed to connect with a large and appreciative audience, especially while touring as part of the 1997 edition of Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair tour. Osborne received numerous Grammy nominations in both 1996 and 1997.
Producing a worthy followup to Relish proved to be a time-consuming challenge for Osborne. Mercury tried to buy her some time by issuing a compilation release, 'Early Recordings' (which collected the early releases 'Live at Delta '88' and 'Blue Million Miles'). In the meantime, Osborne focused on supporting a few groups/causes she felt strongly about, such as Rock the Vote and Planned Parenthood (eventually being named an honorary member of Planned Parenthood's Board of Advocates), besides covering "I'm Just a Bill" as a duet with Isaac Hayes on the 1998 'Schoolhouse Rocks the Vote' benefit album. Osborne also studied briefly with the late Qawwali master Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and performed alongside such notables as Stevie Wonder, Melissa Etheridge, Taj Mahal, Luciano Pavarotti, Spearhead, Bob Dylan, and the Chieftains.
September 2000 finally saw the release of Osborne's second all-new studio album, titled 'Righteous Love'; but it failed to match its predecessor's commercial success and sank from sight shortly after its release. In 2002, Osborne bounced back with 'How Sweet It Is,' a collection of covers that leaned heavily on classic soul and R&B tunes from the 1960s and '70s. A career retrospective, 'One of Us,' came out in 2005.
Osborne played a prominent role in the 2002 film "Standing in the Shadows of Motown," performing with the legendary Motown house band the Funk Brothers in a concert performance segment, and appearing with several members of the group in an interview segment. She and her band accompanied the Dixie Chicks for a national tour in the summer of 2003, during which time she also joined veteran San Francisco jam-rockers the Dead as a vocalist, and released her fourth album, titled 'How Sweet It Is,' a collection of classic rock and soul covers.
During 2005 and 2006, she performed on numerous occasions with Phil Lesh and Friends. In February 2007, she appeared at the Grand Ole Opry.
In November 2006, Osborne released 'Pretty Little Stranger,' her self-described "Nashville album."
In May 2007, Osborne issued 'Breakfast in Bed,' a return to the soul music that she had covered on 'How Sweet It Is'. 'Breakfast in Bed' also featured the two songs ("Heatwave" and "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted") that she had covered for the film Standing in the Shadows of Motown.
She sings lead vocals on the cover of "Spoonful" on Vivian Campbell's solo album 'Two Sides Of If'.' Osborne also provided some vocals for "Wayfaring Stranger" on Spearhead's 1997 album 'Chocolate Supa Highway.' Joan is featured on The Holmes Brothers 2007 collection 'State of Grace' performing "Those Memories of You," an old Allan O'Bryant and Bill Monroe bluegrass tune.
Her album Bring It On Home was released on March 27, 2012. It is a collection of vintage blues and soul covers, and it received a 2013 Grammy Awards nomination for Best Blues Album.
Osborne was a member of Trigger Hippy from 2012 to 2018.
Osborne released the original album Love and Hate in 2014, and in 2017 the album Songs of Bob Dylan. A new album of original songs, Trouble and Strife, is due in September 2020.
Axis: Bold As Love
Joan Osborne Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Anger he smiles
Towering in shiny metallic purple armour
Clean jealousy, envy waits behind him
Her firey green gown sneers at the grassy ground
Taken forgranted they quietly understand
Once happy turquoise always lay opposite
Ready but wonder why the fight is on
But they're bold as love
Just as bold as love
Yeah
Yes, they're bold as love
Just ask the Axis
My red is so confident that he flashes trophies of war
And ribbons of uphoria
Orange is young and full of daring
But very unsteady for the first go round
My yellow in this case is not so mellow
In fact I'm trying to say it's frightend like me
All these emotions of mine keep holding me from
Giving my life to a rainbow like you
I'm as bold as love
I'm as bold as love
Just as bold as love
Just ask the Axis
[Humming]
Yes I'm bold as love
I'm as bold as love
Just as bold as love
Yeah
I'm as bold as love
Just as bold as love
Just ask the Axis
Just ask the Axis
The song "Axis: Bold as Love" by Joan Osborne is a cover of the original song by Jimi Hendrix. The song is a poetic description of emotions and colors personified through characters in a war. The lyrics indicate that anger is the leader, represented by "shiny metallic purple armor" while jealousy and envy are waiting behind him, represented by "firey green gown sneering at the grassy ground." Blue is the color of life, taken for granted but understood, while turquoise is depicted as once happy and ready but confused about the battle.
Meanwhile, red is proud and displays his war trophies with confidence, and orange is young and daring but not very steady. Yellow is frightened and reluctant to embrace the rainbow. The singer claims to be as bold as love, just like the colors and emotions around them. The final line, "Just ask the Axis," seems to refer to Hendrix's album "Axis: Bold As Love" as if encouraging listeners to explore the themes within it.
The lyrics in the song are cryptic and don't provide a clear narrative, leaving interpretation up to the listener. However, it's clear that Hendrix used this song not only as an expression of emotions but also as a way to explore the concept of the axis and the meaning it holds in context with life, love, and peace.
Line by Line Meaning
Anger he smiles
Anger is personified as a male entity that smiles
Towering in shiny metallic purple armor
The entity of Anger is depicted as towering and clad in shiny metallic purple armor
Clean jealousy, envy waits behind him
Jealousy and envy are depicted as emotions that follow behind Anger
Her fiery green gown sneers at the grassy ground
Envy is personified as a female entity wearing a fiery green gown that sneers at the grassy ground
Blue are the life giving orders
The life giving orders are depicted as blue in color
Taken for granted they quietly understand
The life giving orders are often overlooked but they quietly understand their importance
Once happy turquoise always lay opposite
Turquoise, which was once a happy color, now lies opposite to the other colors and is associated with sadness
Ready but wonder why the fight is on
The other colors are ready to fight but do not understand the reason behind the conflict
But they're bold as love
The other colors are just as brave and strong as love itself
Just as bold as love
The other colors are just as fearless and courageous as love
My red is so confident that he flashes trophies of war
The color red is confident and proud, showing off the trophies of past wars
And ribbons of euphoria
Red also displays ribbons of happiness and joy
Orange is young and full of daring
The color orange signifies youth and fearlessness
But very unsteady for the first go round
However, this courage is unsteady and untested in its first attempt
My yellow in this case is not so mellow
The color yellow in this instance is not calm and is agitated
In fact I'm trying to say it's frightened like me
The songwriter is trying to express that the color yellow and they themselves are both frightened
All these emotions of mine keep holding me from
All of the songwriter's emotions are preventing them from
Giving my life to a rainbow like you
Fully committing to someone or something that embodies a wide range of emotions, like a rainbow
I'm as bold as love
The songwriter is just as brave and fearless as love itself
Just ask the Axis
The Axis, or the other colors, can vouch for the songwriter's bravery
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jimi Hendrix
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind