The child of research scientists and born in Barbados, Flint was raised in Aberdeen. At the age of 18 she moved to Edinburgh to study, where she joined the city's acoustic scene and formed the band Gingergreen. She was an original member of the Edinburgh Sound Collective and also spent six months singing and playing percussion with folk group Scuff. In 2004 she moved to London.
Debut release The Secret Boy’s Club was recorded in a living room on a shoestring, with an ear for a good tune, a mischievous sense of fun and an ever-expanding arsenal of playschool instruments (and cardboard boxes), it’s a slice of the good, old-fashioned lyrical wrapped in the home-made whimsical.
Flint was the winner of the inaugural New Lyric Award, presented by Ray Davies and Channel 4’s Ideasfactory, and spent March 2006 touring with Rough Trade’s folk darlings Cara Dillon and Sam (“brother-of-Seth”) Lakeman, playing 16 dates across the UK as chief tour support.
She released singles, 'Go Faster Stripes' (December 2007) and 'Christopher, You're A Soldier Now' (April 2008), which preceded her debut album Dirty Birds, which was released on the 15th of September, 2008 (after a limited edition run that was hand-produced by Flint in mid-2007).
In 2009, Flint formed the band Shipwreckers for live shows, featuring two members of London indie-rock band Revere – Nicholas Hirst (guitar; piano; accordion; percussion) and Kathleen McKie (cello) – and her former bandmate Andrew Thompson (bass; vocals; percussion).
http://www.myspace.com/katflint
Ohio
Kat Flint Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Scrapheap haven, cast-off town
Where the cars pile high until they tumble down
On the dogs in the alley, the girls in the cut-price gowns
Junkyard ladies, sleep-stained eyes
On parade for the truckers on leave from their wives
And would she love you for a dollar more?
You know she seems to
Like all the ones before, all the ones before
A thin-legged girl with rust-red hair
Sits on the bonnet with both knees bared
The heart is an engine going nowhere
He says he loves her
And they are both alone
In the junkyard
Statues of scrap and bone, scrap and bone
Mmmm... scrap and bone
Don't you know that time eats metal and man now, just the same?
What survives are all the things we thought we had thrown away
And would you think it strange?
Spare parts for sale
Sign your name (your name)
You own me
(you)
You own me
(own)
You own me
(me)
Da-da dum
Da-da dum dum dum
She came here once as a child of ten
Crawled through the dust and Cadillac dens
Didn't know the use of a backseat then
He said he loved her
And she is all alone
In the junkyard
No place like home (no place like home)
No place like home (no place like home)
No place like home (no place like home)
No place like home
In Kat Flint's song "Ohio" we see a description of a place that is rundown and forgotten. It is a "Scrapheap haven" and a "cast-off town" where there are "Junkyard ladies" who perform for "truckers on leave from their wives". The song tells of the loneliness of the girls who work there, as they are merely paid to sing lullabies to men who do not love them. It is a bleak picture of the world they inhabit, where even the heart is "an engine going nowhere".
However, it is also a song about how time can be a leveler, and how what is discarded is not necessarily lost forever. The junkyard itself is described as being full of "Statues of scrap and bone", and there is an acknowledgement that we keep the things we thought we had thrown away. There is also a hint of hope in the song, with the two characters in the final verse who are alone together in the junkyard. This suggests that there is still the possibility of connection and love even in the most unlikely of places.
Overall, "Ohio" is a haunting song that paints a vivid picture of a forgotten world. It is a powerful reminder of how easy it is for people, and places, to be discarded and forgotten.
Line by Line Meaning
Scrapheap haven, cast-off town
A place where discarded objects accumulate and people abandon
Where the cars pile high until they tumble down
The amount of old cars in the area is beyond reasonable
On the dogs in the alley, the girls in the cut-price gowns
The people living in this area are not fortunate and are faced with difficulties
Junkyard ladies, sleep-stained eyes
The women in this area have sleepless nights due to their work conditions
On parade for the truckers on leave from their wives
These women need to sell themselves to make a living and cater to truckers
Pay your money, she'll sing you a lullaby
The women in the area will do anything for money
And would she love you for a dollar more?
These women would sell themselves to anyone for a higher amount of money
You know she seems to
They don't necessarily care who they cater to as long as they get paid
Like all the ones before, all the ones before
The men that the women sleep with are not different from one another
A thin-legged girl with rust-red hair
A young woman with thin legs and red hair
Sits on the bonnet with both knees bared
She sits on the car hood with her knees exposed
The heart is an engine going nowhere
Her heart is broken and she feels lost
He says he loves her
A man claims that he loves her
And they are both alone
Despite being together, they both feel lonely
In the junkyard
In the place of discarded things and abandoned people
Statues of scrap and bone, scrap and bone
The discarded objects in this place are like monuments
Don't you know that time eats metal and man now, just the same?
Time takes away everything, whether it's an object or a person
What survives are all the things we thought we had thrown away
The things we thought were useless could end up being the only things that last
And would you think it strange?
It's interesting how the things we throw away end up surviving
Spare parts for sale
Items that were once discarded are now being sold as spare parts
Sign your name (your name)
Buyers need to document their purchase of spare parts
You own me
The buyers of the spare parts own them
(you)
You own me
The buyers of the spare parts own them
(own)
You own me
The buyers of the spare parts own them
(me)
She came here once as a child of ten
This woman visited this area when she was younger
Crawled through the dust and Cadillac dens
She played around the area that was filled with dust and old cars
Didn't know the use of a backseat then
She didn't understand the innuendo pertaining to car backseats back then
He said he loved her
A man claims that he loves her
And she is all alone
Despite being with him, she still feels lonely
In the junkyard
In the place of discarded things and abandoned people
No place like home (no place like home)
There's no place like your true home
Contributed by Eliana E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
mad265
Her voice is just as good live as it is recorded - which is so rare to hear these days. Love Kat Flint!
Jim Thomson
Such a beautiful and talented artist! Thanks for the vid.
zzonerr
lovely video nice sound quality. kat flint is as good as always:)