According to the The A Soft Place To Land Songfacts Edwards' father is Leonard Edwards, a former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs. As a result she spent portions of her teenage years in Korea and Switzerland. Her blend of country, folk and pop music made her a favourite of music critics, and a rising star on radio in 2003 with her debut album, Failer, made popular by her hit singles "Six O'Clock News" and "Hockey Skates" Her style of music is sometimes placed in the music genre "alt-country".
In 1999, Edwards recorded a six-song EP entitled Building 55 and pressed 500 copies. By the fall of 2000, she was on tour across Canada managing her own gigs. In 2001 she wrote seven of the ten songs for her 2003 debut release Failer.
Edwards married musician and producer Colin Cripps in 2004. They later divorced.
In 2005, Edwards released Back to Me, which also garnered considerable critical acclaim, and led to the release of the singles "Back to Me" and "In State". The track "Summerlong" also featured on the soundtrack of the movie Elizabethtown starring Orlando Bloom and Kirsten Dunst.
In 2006, she was nominated for Juno Awards for Songwriter of the Year and Adult Alternative Album of the Year for Back to Me.
On March 4, 2008, her new CD, Asking for Flowers, arrived to excellent reviews.
Her fourth album, Voyageur, was released on January 17, 2012.
Copied Keys
Kathleen Edwards Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This is our apartment filled with your things.
This is your life, I get copied keys.
Try and force a little smile, hold it a little while, for you.
These are your old streets and you know them well.
One way shortcuts all the way downtown.
But your favorite find is just my secondhand secret.
I can't explain to you.
There are your good friends and I like them fine.
'Cause they are your past and your present time.
But would you even be the same if you left them behind?
All the things I used to be,
All the things I miss of me for you.
There are your good friends and I like them fine.
These are you old streets and you know them well.
This is not my town and it will never be.
And it will never be...ours.
The song Copied Keys by Kathleen Edwards reflects on a relationship where one person is living in the other's world. The singer recognizes that she does not belong in the town or the apartment, which is filled with the partner's possessions, but she has been given copied keys which symbolize the access and involvement she has in their life. The partner has a history and relationships in this town, which the singer acknowledges and tries to understand. The singer feels a sense of sadness and loss about the person she used to be before she became involved in this relationship. The chorus emphasizes the disconnection the singer feels, and confirms that this town will never truly be hers.
Edwards also uses subtle imagery to convey her emotions. The references to "forced smiles" and "hiding pain" suggest that the singer is struggling to maintain her facade of happiness, while the "one-way shortcuts" reflect her inability to redirect her life while still living in her partner's shadow. Despite her efforts to assimilate into her partner's world, the singer is still mourning her old self as she grapples with the decision to continue living in this new one.
Line by Line Meaning
This is not my town and it will never be.
I don't feel like I belong here and I never will.
This is our apartment filled with your things.
We live together, but everything in this place belongs to you.
This is your life, I get copied keys.
I have access to your life, but my existence feels like a copy of yours.
Try and force a little smile, hold it a little while, for you.
I'm trying to put on a brave face and be happy, but it's hard for me to do it just for you.
These are your old streets and you know them well.
You're familiar with these streets and they hold a special place in your heart.
One way shortcuts all the way downtown.
You know all the shortcuts to get downtown and feel like you're in control of your surroundings.
But your favorite find is just my secondhand secret.
You found something you really like in my world, but it's something I already had and didn't appreciate as much as you do.
Try and hide a little pain for the things
I can't explain to you.
I'm trying to conceal my feelings because there are things I can't put into words and convey to you.
There are your good friends and I like them fine.
Your friends are nice and I don't have anything against them.
'Cause they are your past and your present time.
You're close to them because they're part of your past and present life.
But would you even be the same if you left them behind?
I wonder if you'd still be the same person if you didn't have them in your life anymore.
All the things I used to be,
All the things I miss of me for you.
I feel like I lost parts of myself to be with you and I miss who I used to be.
And it will never be...ours.
This town will never feel like it belongs to both of us, but only to you.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: KATHLEEN MARGARET EDWARDS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
bricebu
Gah... damn. I love Kathleen Edwards. What a fine song writer she is. This is a really great song. I think we've all seen this, or experienced it first-hand. It really resonates me, in a very poignant way. Not sure why...
Michele Anderson
she is fantastic
Tom Nekola
Colin Cripps essentially makes this song just a superb melancholy ballad...his slide playing captures the pathos perfectly....Kathleen deserves a Grammy, and not just one from Canada.
Brice Buchanan
I love the guitar work on the whole album. But yes, the slide work is exquisite: lyrical, powerful, moving. I'm with ya all the way. :-)
Keelan OConnor
Sums it up completely with an amazing guitar effort. Superb!
samthedandiedinmont
Love that guitar-----wish she still had CC
Keelan OConnor
Sums it up completely with an amazing guitar effort. Superb!
Bear H
Another great Canadian with a great pipes!!
Michael Farnbach
Love this song. Reminds me of a relationship of mine that went sour.
2WheelEscapeArtist
I'd love to know the inspiration for this incredible song. I've never heard lyrics that describe a relationship from this angle.