Baker's stark and soulful music is said to evoke names like Bon Iver, Daughter, and Natalie Prass. Her first album, Sprained Ankle, was released in 2015, followed by the 2017 release of Turn Out The Lights. Her third album, Little Oblivions, was released in 2021.
Baker honed her music skills while playing in her high school band, Forrister, with whom she continued to perform while attending college. After writing a batch of songs that didn't seem to fit the group's more rock-oriented vibe, Baker headed to Matthew E. White's Spacebomb Studios in Richmond, Virginia to begin recording what would eventually become her solo debut, 2015's Sprained Ankle. Originally released by Smith 7 in 2014, it was reissued by 6131 Records in 2015, it reached number 23 on the Billboard Heatseekers Albums chart and led to an invitation to join the Matador Records roster. With a more expansive sound and equally intimate lyrics, the self-produced follow-up, 2017's Turn Out the Lights, was recorded at Ardent Studios in Memphis. It landed on the Billboard 200, peaking at number 78.
She then joined fellow indie singer/songwriters Phoebe Bridgers and Lucy Dacus in the trio Boygenius. Together they issued their eponymous EP in late 2018, also on Matador. Bridgers and Dacus appear on the track, "Favor," from Baker's third solo set, 2021's Little Oblivions that was self-produced and recorded in Memphis.
In 2023, boygenius announced their reformation and their upcoming debut album, ‘the record,’ which Baker and the band wrote and co-produced.
Something
Julien Baker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm still up walking around
The walls of my skull bend backwards
And in like a labyrinth
I knew I was wasting my time
Keep myself awake at night
Whenever I close my eyes
In the dark
In the dark
In the dark
I know you left hours ago
I still haven't moved yet
I knew you were gone months ago
But I can't think of anyone else
I should've said something, something, something
I couldn't find something to say
So I just said nothing, nothing, nothing
Sat and watched you drive away
I just let the parking lot swallow me up
Choking your tires and kicking up dust
Asking aloud why you leavin?
But the pavement won't answer me
I just let the silence swallow me up
The ring in my ears tastes like blood
Asking aloud, "Why you leavin'?"
But the pavement won't answer me
I know I meant nothing, nothing to you
I thought I meant something, something, something
But I just said nothing, said nothing, said nothing
Sat and watched you drive away
I just said nothing, said nothing, said nothing
I can't think of anyone, anyone else
I can't think of anyone, anyone else
I can't think of anyone, anyone else
I won't think of anyone else
The lyrics of Julien Baker's song "Something" describe the feeling of heartbreak and the inability to move on from a lost love. The first stanza portrays the singer's restlessness in the middle of the night, unable to escape her own thoughts, which feel like a never-ending maze. She acknowledges that the person she loves has probably moved on, but she is still caught up in the past, constantly chasing something that she can't have anymore. The next stanza implies that the singer regrets not expressing her feelings to the person she loved when she had the chance. She is left wondering why things didn't work out while feeling like she's stuck in the same place, unable to move on.
The lyrics of "Something" depict the universal experience of heartbreak and the difficulty of letting go of a love that was lost. The feelings of regret, sadness, and confusion are all present in the song, making it relatable to anyone who has felt the pain of unrequited love. The repetition of the phrase "I just said nothing" and "I can't think of anyone else" emphasizes the singer's inability to move on and find someone new.
Line by Line Meaning
I know you're sleeping by now
Despite knowing that the person she's singing about is asleep, the singer is still awake, unable to stop thinking.
I'm still up walking around
The singer is wandering, likely due to insomnia caused by thoughts of this person.
The walls of my skull bend backwards, And in like a labyrinth
The singer's thoughts are overwhelming and twist around like a maze she can't escape from.
I knew I was wasting my time, Keep myself awake at night
The singer knows that her thoughts won't help or change the situation, but she can't stop thinking about it.
Whenever I close my eyes, I'm chasing your tail lights, In the dark, In the dark, In the dark
Even when the singer tries to forget, the other person's car headlights are still in her mind, representing her past relationship that she can't let go of.
I know you left hours ago, I still haven't moved yet
The other person has probably long gone, but the singer is still frozen in time, unable to accept what happened.
I knew you were gone months ago, But I can't think of anyone else
The singer has known that the person is gone for a long time, but she still can't stop dwelling on it or thinking about someone else.
I should've said something, something, something, I couldn't find something to say
The singer regrets not having communicated something before the person left, but she couldn't find the right words to express her thoughts.
So I just said nothing, nothing, nothing, Sat and watched you drive away
The singer didn't say what she wanted to express, so she silently watched the person leave.
I just let the parking lot swallow me up, Choking your tires and kicking up dust, Asking aloud why you leavin?, But the pavement won't answer me
The singer is still visualizing the past event, feeling lost and left behind by the other person's departure, but she can't find answers from the circumstances.
I just let the silence swallow me up, The ring in my ears tastes like blood, Asking aloud, Why you leavin'?, But the pavement won't answer me
The singer is haunted by the memory of the other person leaving, feeling isolated and suffering in silence, but she can't find understanding or relief.
I know I meant nothing, nothing to you, I thought I meant something, something, something, But I just said nothing, said nothing, said nothing, Sat and watched you drive away
The singer feels unimportant and neglected, having hoped for a meaningful relationship, but she didn't express herself, so she's left behind.
I can't think of anyone, anyone else, I can't think of anyone, anyone else, I won't think of anyone else
Despite the pain and confusion, the singer is still thinking only of the other person, unable and unwilling to emotionally invest herself in someone else.
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Julien Rose Baker
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@drath3046
Lyrics:
I know you're sleeping by now
But I'm still up walking around
The walls of my skull bend backwards
And in like a labyrinth
I knew I was wasting my time
Keep myself awake at night
'Cause whenever I close my eyes
I'm chasing your tail lights
In the dark
In the dark
In the dark
I know you left hours ago
I still haven't moved yet
I knew you were gone months ago
But I can't think of anyone else
I should have said something, something, something
But I couldn't find something to say
So I just said nothing, nothing, nothing
Sat and watched you drive away
And I just let the parking lot swallow me up
Choking your tires, and kicking up dust
Asking aloud why you're leaving
Pavement won't answer me
And I just let your silence swallow me up
The ring in my ears tastes like blood
Asking aloud why you're leaving again
I know you won't answer me
And I know I meant nothing, nothing to you
But I thought I meant something, something, something
But I just said nothing, said nothing, said nothing
Sat and watched you drive away
Watched you said nothing, said nothing, said nothing
I can't think of anyone, anyone else
I can't think of anyone, anyone else
I can't think of anyone, anyone else
I can't think of anyone, anyone else
I won't think of anyone else
@OurVinyl
Link here to Julien Baker's full performance from this session: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VzafkMMWHoQ
@fatpaws
The sound quality on this is ridiculous. All hats off your sound engineer(s).
@OurVinyl
+Nic N Thank you Nic! We pride ourselves on that so the compliment means a lot :)
@nunoconceicao2877
+Nic N I was just thinking that. Some amazing work there on sound quality. Congratulations!
@Liveyourlife247
+OurVinyl I agree gave me goosebumps. May I also inquire what gear you used for filming?
@BePlayingHard
+Nic N For Real.. sound quality makes a huge difference
@joshuacarrig9370
I was just about to comment on it. The all around quality of the channel (content and production) is beautiful. Well done.
@danman6669
Julien's crying at the end really makes the song. A person can tell that this song wasn't written to make money. It was real, genuine emotion and the world needs more songwriters like that today.
@robbie0495
Pretty sure she just has the sniffles
@C0VlD-19
Shut up