Her family encouraged her to sing in the house, in a church choir and at school. At Waterford Regional Technical College she studied piano then took music at University College Dublin in 1987. Having learned to copy Ella Fitzgerald's scat singing, she performed in a Dublin bistro several nights per week while still a student. At the Royal Irish Academy of Music she studied classical music and sang in a jazz band, then a folk-ballad band, then another jazz band. She also fell under the influence of Dublin folk singer Frank Harte. During this time she also formed her own band, called Dorothy.
In 1993 Karan moved to New York City. There she studied jazz at Long Island University. When she encountered Irish traditional music sessions in New York she started singing Irish traditional music again. During this time she mostly sang in bars and locals. For most of 1994 she sang with a group called Atlantic Bridge. At the end of the year she joined Seamus Egan and others in Solas. She sang five songs on their first album in 1996. In the same year she sang in Tramps club in Manhattan, accompanied only by a percussionist. They mixed jazz and folk. In 1997 she recorded a solo album, Songlines, inspired by the novel of the same name by Bruce Chatwin. It was produced by Seamus Egan and included several members of Solas. There were a few traditional songs and some contemporary folk songs.
In 2000 Karan collaborated with several other singers on "Seal Maiden - A Celtic Musical". It was a musical version of the film "The Secret of Roan Inish", designed for children. It concerns the mythical creature called the selkie - a seal-woman. Since then Karan has recorded three further solo albums released in 2001, 2003 and 2005. In a salute to her Celtic roots, several tracks were recorded in her native Irish tongue. She also features on the DVD "Solas Live".
Her 2005 album Chasing the Sun includes a number of songs Casey wrote herself. Her records are released by Shanachie Records in the United States and Vertical Records in Europe.
Karan is now living in County Cork, and is married to Niall Vallely, a composer and player of traditional Irish music.
Solo albums
* Songlines (1997)
* Seal Maiden (2000)
* The Winds Begin To Sing (2001)
* Distant Shore (2003)
* Chasing The Sun (2005)
Recordings with Solas
* Solas (1996)
* Sunny Spells and Scattered Showers (1997)
* The Words That Remain (1998)
* Reunion: A Decade of Solas (2006, CD and DVD)
As session musician
* Dancing at Lughnasa (film) (1998)
* Waking Ned Devine (film) (1999)
* "Celtic Solstice" by Paul Winter
You Brought Me Up
Karan Casey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You brought me up to forget
I had ever been, I could ever breathe
In the water under your heart
I darkened your door and your days you said
You couldn’t sleep the night
With the sound of the sea hard on my heels
(Chorus:)
You promised me gloves from the skins of the fishes
The smile of the dolphin for a ring in my hands
But you left me with nothing but a mouthful of air
And promises wide as the ocean
You left me down for once and for all
You left me out in the open
Under mackerel skies, high and dry
And out of the reach of our sea
Way out of reach and out of my depth
I wear your love like a skin
That hurts when anyone touches me
Where you left me down
For once and for all
Way out of reach of our sea
(Chorus / repeat first verse)
In the first verse of Karan Casey's song "You Brought Me Up," the singer is talking about feeling like they are brought up out of the water by someone (presumably a lover). This person seems to have saved them from drowning, but also helped them forget that they were ever in the water to begin with. The last line of the verse, "in the water under your heart," suggests that this person helped the singer come up for air emotionally, not just physically.
In the second verse, the singer acknowledges that they were not an easy presence in the life of the person who saved them. They caused restless nights and stress, which is described using the metaphor of the sound of the sea being "hard on [their] heels." The image of the singer climbing the stairs to the other person's bed also reinforces the idea that they were a challenging presence in this relationship.
The chorus of the song paints a picture of broken promises. The person who saved the singer had promised them a tangible reward (gloves made of fish skin and a dolphin ring) but did not deliver. The imagery of the "mouthful of air" also reinforces the idea that the singer was left with nothing substantial, despite the grand promises.
Overall, "You Brought Me Up" seems to be a song about an intense relationship that was neither easy nor lasting. The singer recalls a time when they had to be saved by the other person, but also feels hurt and abandoned by them. The ocean imagery throughout the song reinforces the idea of a tumultuous, unpredictable relationship that cannot be tamed.
Line by Line Meaning
You brought me up and out of the water
You saved me from drowning, physically and emotionally
You brought me up to forget
You gave me a fresh start and allowed me to move on from my past
I had ever been, I could ever breathe
You helped me forget who I used to be and allowed me to live in the present
In the water under your heart
You were always guiding me and providing me with a sense of safety and security
I darkened your door and your days you said
Your arrival was burdensome to the person, who let you into their life
You couldn’t sleep the night
You disrupted their peace and caused them anxiety
With the sound of the sea hard on my heels
With your life in tow, you brought a sense of chaos to their previously tranquil life
Climbing the stairs to your bed
You forced your way into the most intimate and personal spaces of their life
You promised me gloves from the skins of the fishes
You made grand and unrealistic promises to me
The smile of the dolphin for a ring in my hands
You promised me things that were unattainable, unrealistic, and ultimately pointless
But you left me with nothing but a mouthful of air
Your promises amounted to nothing substantive, they were all talk and no action
And promises wide as the ocean
Your promises were seemingly limitless and grandiose, but ultimately meaningless
You left me down for once and for all
You ultimately disappointed me and proved that your words were empty and untrustworthy
You left me out in the open
You abandoned me and left me vulnerable and exposed
Under mackerel skies, high and dry
You left me in a desolate and unforgiving environment
And out of the reach of our sea
You stripped me of the safety and security that you had once provided
Way out of reach and out of my depth
You left me in a situation I cannot handle or comprehend
I wear your love like a skin
Your love is a part of me and cannot be removed
That hurts when anyone touches me
The pain of your abandonment still lingers and is triggered by any similar situation
Where you left me down
You betrayed my trust and still haunt me to this day
For once and for all
Your actions were final and everlasting
Way out of reach of our sea
You severed all ties we had and I am no longer connected to you or your support
Contributed by Riley T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
savageminstrel
I always saw this song as being a loose retelling of the story of The Selkie Bride, seen from the perspective of the selkie maiden, who's husband "brought her up and out of the water" in his net, and has held her against her will from their sea by keeping her sealskin hidden, and causing her unending sadness even though she loves her children and stubborn husband. I guess it's just me. :)
B. Bailey
yes, it's the selkie's song, savageminstrel. I think it is. thank you for sharing your viewpoint - I think your way of seeing this song is the way I see it too. To take the Selkie Bride story further, it seems to be a metaphor for the selfishness that doesn't "see" the "other," even in "love" - and further out, this song represents to me mankind's wanton destruction of Nature and the Sacred Femine, with the take and take.
JohnTheBaptist
+savageminstrel Like the way you see this song.
Marc Tucciarone Music
Beautiful voice and song !
Abigail Barletta
beautiful song and my favourite singer! :D x
JON100JLOMAN
It's the voice of a woman singing of the lover who has left her, of his treatment of her, of his promises to her, all ending in nothing.
Loch Talamh Irish Folk Band
Thanks so much
אילת קאהאן
I feel exactly the same way.
Eileen Nestor
what a voice
M B
so sweet and so depressive