Taylor has toured Europe with the supergroup D.U.P. with fellow band members Dave Stewart (Eurythmics), Candy Dulfer (Prince), Mudbone Cooper (Parliment-Funkadelic) and Jimmy Cliff. If you can imagine the love child of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Dusty Springfield then you are beginning to get a feel for Taylor's mixture of fiery guitar playing, sultry vocals and 100% pure soul. But unlike many other young phenoms, she has quickly developed a resumé to back up the hype. Born and raised amidst the coal mines of Britain's Black Country, she picked up a guitar and got turned on to the blues as a very young teenager.
Dave Stewart first discovered Joanne when he saw her play at the tender age of 16. He describes his reaction as follows. 'I have played with all sorts of blues musicians all over the world, such as R.L. Burnside and Jesse-Mae Hemphill. I heard something I thought I would never hear, a British white girl playing blues guitar so deep and passionately it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end! Not only was I in total shock but it took me a good few minutes to ask her how long she had been playing like that. "A few years," she replied. "How old are you now?" "Sixteen." I woke up a few seconds later on the floor.'
Taylor has toured the U.K. with her own band since she was 14, headlining top clubs such as Ronnie Scott's and the Marquee; she has also performed at several of the top European festivals, playing alongside many of her heroes like B.B. King. It is a safe bet that Taylor is the only teenage girl invited to sit in on one of Bill Wymans recording sessions.
Her own writing has led her to something beyond the blues, a soulful mix of roots and pop influences sung in a haunting smoky voice. Taylor has written with Bruce McCabe (Jonny Lang) and grammy winning songwriter/producer Kevin Bowe (Jonny Lang, Etta James, Paul Westerberg).
Same As It Never Was
Joanne Shaw Taylor Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
SPENT REELING FROM THE FEELING
THAT YOU'D LEFT ME BEHIND
SINCE THE DAY WE WALKED AWAY
BEEN TIRED OF FINDING THERE WAS
NO SILVER LINING
TOO QUICK TO BURN IT DOWN
WE BOTH CALLED "OVER AND OUT"
WE WENT WRONG TO MAKE IT RIGHT
SIGHTS ON RE-IGNITE AND THERE'S
NEW LIFE IN THIS FIGHT
CAUSE THE WHEELS KEPT TURNING
AND TIME BURNING
LETTING GO OF LESSONS
WERE STILL NOT LEARNING
DON'T BE MISTAKEN
THE BLINDS ARE DOWN
BUT THE WALLS ARE SHAKING
IT'S THE SAME AS IT NEVER WAS
IT'S THE SAME AS IT NEVER WAS
YOUR MIND IS ON RE-WIND
MY HEART'S SET TO STEADY,
YOUR WORLDS FINALLY READY
THERE'S NEW CHANCES TO TAKE
AND NOW WE KNOW IT'S BETTER TO
BE SORRY THAN SAFE
The lyrics of Joanne Shaw Taylor's "Same As It Never Was" are about two people who were once in a relationship but had to walk away from it. The singer has spent a long time being upset and feeling left behind. They have been trying to find a silver lining, hoping that things will change. However, they never turned out as they anticipated. Both parties had been too quick to burn it all down without going back in time and correcting the mistakes they made. They realized that they needed to move on and let go of the past to embrace the new opportunities that arise.
Despite their attempts to move forward, the couple continues to make the same mistakes. They are still not learning the lessons that life is trying to teach them. The singer acknowledges that there is no denying the fact that they are still repeating the cycle. The blinds may be down but the walls are shaking. The relationship may seem familiar, the same as it never was, but there is still hope for them if they are willing to take on a new approach. The lyrics show the singer conveying the feeling of wanting to start anew, take fresh chances and be willing to face the uncertainty of the future.
Line by Line Meaning
ALL THIS TIME
After all this time of being apart
SPENT REELING FROM THE FEELING
Spent a long time feeling the painful effects of the separation
THAT YOU'D LEFT ME BEHIND
Thought that the other person had left me behind in life
SINCE THE DAY WE WALKED AWAY
Since the day we decided to part ways
BEEN TIRED OF FINDING THERE WAS
Tired of realizing that there was
NO SILVER LINING
No positive outcome or aspect to the situation
TOO QUICK TO BURN IT DOWN
We were too hasty in ending things
WE NEEDED TO GO WITHOUT,
We needed to experience life without each other
WE BOTH CALLED "OVER AND OUT"
We both agreed it was over and there was no hope for reconciliation
WE WENT WRONG TO MAKE IT RIGHT
We had to go through hardships to learn from our mistakes and make things better
SIGHTS ON RE-IGNITE AND THERE'S
Focused on reigniting our relationship and there's
NEW LIFE IN THIS FIGHT
A new chance to make things work and rekindle the love
CAUSE THE WHEELS KEPT TURNING
Because time never stops
AND TIME BURNING
Time is constantly passing and we can't get it back
LETTING GO OF LESSONS
We need to let go of the past and learn from our mistakes
WERE STILL NOT LEARNING
We are still not learning from the mistakes we've made
DON'T BE MISTAKEN
Don't misunderstand the current state of our relationship
THE BLINDS ARE DOWN
We are not showing our true feelings
BUT THE WALLS ARE SHAKING
There is an underlying desire to make things work
IT'S THE SAME AS IT NEVER WAS
Our current situation is the same as it was before, even though we thought we had moved on
IT'S THE SAME AS IT NEVER WAS
Our relationship hasn't really changed even though we thought it had
YOUR MIND IS ON RE-WIND
You are thinking about the past and remembering the things we used to do
MY HEART'S SET TO STEADY,
I am ready to move forward and take things slow
YOUR WORLDS FINALLY READY
You are finally ready to try again
THERE'S NEW CHANCES TO TAKE
We have a chance to make things work this time around
AND NOW WE KNOW IT'S BETTER TO
We have learned that it's better to
BE SORRY THAN SAFE
Take risks and possibly end up making mistakes rather than playing it safe and always wondering what could have been
Contributed by Aaliyah G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.