www.justinrutledge.com
Rutledge has released three albums, No Never Alone, The Devil on a Bench in Stanley Park and Man Descending. His fourth album, entitled, "The Early Widows" was released in May 2010 on Six Shooter Records.
Rutledge's musical style is often compared to that of American alt-country singer Ryan Adams. His influences, both of the literary and music world, include Leonard Cohen, Hank Williams, Richard Brautigan and E.E. Cummings.
In 2006, Justin Rutledge was named Toronto singer-songwriter of the year by NOW magazine.
Rutledge has toured Canada, the UK, the United States and Europe, and has played shows with Kathleen Edwards, Jim Cuddy, Blue Rodeo, Hawksley Workman, Luke Doucet and Dolly Parton.
His critically acclaimed lyrics are sometimes linked by music writers to his time as a university English major; he was editor-in-chief of a University of Toronto literary journal.
History
Early life
Justin Rutledge was born and grew up in the Junction neighbourhood in Toronto, a working class community centered around an intersection of four railway lines. He was raised in an Irish-Catholic family and grew up with aspirations of becoming a writer. To that end he studied English literature, with a major in modern poetry, at the University of Toronto. He dropped out after three years of school as his musical career got in the way. Rutledge told Macleans in an interview that his backup plan would be to finish his university studies in English "if this music thing doesn't work."
No Never Alone (2004-2005)
No Never Alone is Justin Rutledge's first album. In order to pay for the recording he worked as a bartender. Rutledge has remarked, "I would often do a studio session during the day, and then head straight to work until 4 or 5 in the morning"
The album earned Rutledge considerable praise, particularly in the UK, where he was compared to Ryan Adams by Comes With a Smile, who also proclaimed that "A major new talent has landed". Additional UK praise came from Uncut magazine who referred to Rutledge as “a master of gothic understatement” and NME describing the album as "an incredible breakthrough".
It was only receiving this attention in the UK that 'No Never Alone' was released in Rutledge's native Canada.
The Devil on a Bench in Stanley Park (2006-2007)
Rutledge's second album, "The Devil on a Bench in Stanley Park" was released through Six Shooter Records on October 6, 2006. "Devil on a Bench" is actually Rutledge's second attempt at a sophomore album - He spent a year recording his first attempt, tentatively titled In the Fall, before he scrapped it. He was unsatisfied with the album, and has explained, “I thought a sophomore album should have just a bit more of an assured sense about it. A second step forward should be a step up the ladder as opposed to just asserting your presence. You’re not just saying, ‘hey, I’m still here. You’re saying, ‘hey I’m here and I’ve challenged myself and I’ve hopefully done something that I haven’t done already. In order to challenge himself and create the album he wanted, Rutledge wrote a new batch of songs and recorded them in eight days with his band - opting for a more live recording style.
"The Devil on a Bench in Stanley Park" was nominated for a Juno award in the category "Roots & Traditional Album of the Year: Solo" and received the Galaxie Rising Star Award at the Edmonton Folk Festival.
[edit] Man Descending (2008)
Man Descending
Justin Rutledge's third album, "Man Descending" was released on April 8, 2008 through Six Shooter Records. The album is named after a 1982 collection of short stories by Guy Vanderhaeghe, also called "Man Descending". Rutledge was inspired by a line from Vanderhaeghe's book, "A man descending is propelled by inertia; the only initiative left him is whether or not he decides to enjoy the passing scene." He says of the line, "It really resonated with me. As I continued to read the stories, I realized that all these characters in the book were dealing with the same kind of static or inertia in their lives. I kind of took little threads and wove them into songs."
The album features Ron Sexsmith, Jenn Grant, Catherine MacLellan, Hawksley Workman, Melissa McClelland, Joey Wright, Jim Bryson as well as "What Rutledge calls the best band in town; David Baxter, Bazil Donovan and Blake Manning; Burke Carroll and Bob Packwood."
"Man Descending" was long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize.[17] Other praise for "Man Descending" in 2008 included the #5 spot on Exclaim's Wood, Wires & Whiskey top 10 and a nomination for Contemporary Album of the Year at the Canadian Folk Music Awards.
According to an interview, "Compared to 2006’s The Devil On A Bench In Stanley Park, Rutledge feels Man Descending is a much more patient, intimate and mature album, despite recording it in just three days."
The songs "Alberta Breeze" and "San Sebastian" were written for "In The Fall:" - the album that Rutledge scrapped in 2006, and were rerecorded for Man Descending.
In 2009 Justin Rutledge took part in an interactive documentary series called City Sonic. The series, which featured 20 Toronto artists, had him reflecting on his time performing at the Cameron House.
The Early Widows (2010)
The Early Widows is Justin Rutledge's fourth album, released in May 2010 on Six Shooter Records. Justin wrote several songs with a single character in mind from author Michael Ondaatje's Novel Divisadero after collaborating with Ondaatje on a theatrical adaptation of the novel. Michael Onjaatje also co-wrote several of the songs receiving official credit for the single Be A Man.
The album is produced by Canadian singer-songwriter Hawksley Workman (also credited as a musician on the album) and also features Canadian singer-songwriter Oh Susanna.
The Wire
Justin Rutledge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm certain we're stalling
I'd die to come sit by the fire
But the curtain is calling
If I were a boat I'd sail to where your beauty could blind me
But I am only a wave
I wait for the blue to bind me
The mercury's rising
The stars are about to retire upon the horizon
If I were a boat I'd name our love after an ocean
But I am only a wave and this is my only motion
Only motion
And I hear them playing our songs
In lands where shadows are long
In places we used to be strong
They're playing our song
And are you afraid?
Yes, I'm afraid
Are we alone?
Yes, I'm afraid we're alone
Darling it's down to the wire
The fire's a forest
I can't tell the chord from the choir
The choir from the chorus
If I were a boat I would anchor my labors inside you
But I am only a wave
I dream but to drown beside you
Drown beside you
And I hear them playing our song
Wisteria clinging to dawn
In places we used to belong
They're playing our song
And I hear them playing our song
Long after the embers are gone
In places our love was all wrong
They're playing our song
And are you afraid?
Yes, I'm afraid
Are we alone?
Yes, I'm afraid we're alone
"The Wire" by Justin Rutledge is a song about a relationship that is hanging by a thread. The singer acknowledges that they are in a critical moment, down to the wire, and they feel like they are stalling, unsure of which direction to take. They long to be with their loved one, sitting by the fire, but they know the end is near. The use of "if I were a boat" and "I am only a wave" metaphors highlights the singer's sense of powerlessness and feelings of being carried along by the waves of the relationship.
As the song progresses, the singer admits to being afraid and alone, and they hear their song playing in places where they used to belong. The lyrics suggest that the relationship ended badly with embers of their love gone awry. Despite this, they still hear their song playing in the world, symbolic of the fact that their love story is not just theirs, but a part of a larger collective consciousness.
Overall, the song explores themes of uncertainty, regret, and lost love. It captures the feeling of being caught in the moment, unsure of what the future holds, while grappling with the memories of the past.
Line by Line Meaning
Darling it's down to the wire
The situation is critical, and we need to act fast.
I'm certain we're stalling
I think we're both hesitant and not making any progress.
I'd die to come sit by the fire
I really want to be close to you and spend quality time together.
But the curtain is calling
But other things are pulling me away from you.
If I were a boat I'd sail to where your beauty could blind me
I wish I could be completely taken by your beauty and devotion.
But I am only a wave
But I am not a strong force; I can only move in a certain way.
I wait for the blue to bind me
I am waiting for an opportunity to be close to you.
The mercury's rising
The level of tension in the situation is increasing rapidly.
The stars are about to retire upon the horizon
The day is coming to an end and things are about to change.
If I were a boat I'd name our love after an ocean
If I had control over our relationship, I would call it something vast and expansive.
But I am only a wave and this is my only motion
But I am powerless and can only move in the way I've been moving.
And I hear them playing our songs
I am reminded of our history and the things that brought us together.
In lands where shadows are long
In places where people are dealing with deep struggles.
In places we used to be strong
In areas where we once had power and influence.
They're playing our song
The memories of us and our love are being revived.
Darling it's down to the wire
The situation is even more critical now and we need to act fast.
The fire's a forest
The passion is getting out of control and may destroy us.
I can't tell the chord from the choir
I am confused and cannot tell what is happening around me.
The choir from the chorus
The different aspects and members of our relationship are blending together.
If I were a boat I would anchor my labors inside you
If I had the power to stay with you, I would work tirelessly to make things right.
But I am only a wave
But I am not in control, and can only move in a certain way.
I dream but to drown beside you
My deepest wish is to be with you, but it might lead to my downfall.
And are you afraid?
Are you scared about the future and what might happen?
Yes, I'm afraid
Yes, I am scared, too.
Are we alone?
Are we facing this situation by ourselves, without any support?
Yes, I'm afraid we're alone
Yes, I think we're on our own for this.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Justin Rutledge
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
The Will Matthews Channel
NIce video - love the colouring....if you'd like to shoot one for me let me know.
monnie711
@ExanTV amazing video!!!! i actualy just met justin afew minutes ago at a small concert!
ExanTV
you're a nice job
ExanTV
Thank you for your lovely comment Mr. Robert De Niro :)