Kathryn Williams (born in 1974 in Liverpool, England) is a singer-songwrite… Read Full Bio ↴Kathryn Williams (born in 1974 in Liverpool, England) is a singer-songwriter based in Newcastle, England, whose work is characterised by delicate vocals and acoustic instruments.

Her influences are varied, including Nina Simone, Nick Drake, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Simon and Garfunkel, and Velvet Underground. She has sung with Badmarsh & Shri album and worked with Twisted Nerve artist Pedro.

Her album, Leave to Remain, was greeted with critical acclaim, and her earlier Little Black Numbers was nominated for a Grammy award.

In 2010 Williams collaborated with former Delicate Vomit member Anna Spencer as The Crayonettes on the album Playing Out - Songs for Children and Robots

In 2012 she launched a new project called 'The Pond.'
A trio with Simon Edwards and Ginny Clee, the project mixed by Portishead’s Adrian Utley.

Lydia
Kathryn Williams Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sometimes the rain rains
Sometimes the sunshine shines
Over and over again
Washing us warm and dry

Over the hill i watched you walk up to me
Wind in the grass
Brushed you up like from the sea

Ahh ahh ahh ahh

Darker than blue into grey
We watched the sun go down
Lights in the houses went on
Like sun shining from the ground

Then over the hill I watched you walk up to me

Wind in the grass
Brushed you up like from the sea.

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Kathryn Williams's song "Lydia" depict the beauty of nature and its cyclic changes concomitant with the ebbs and flows of life. The first stanza reflects on the cyclical nature of life itself - the rain and sunshine represent the ups and downs that one experiences. And just like the rain that washes and cleans, the lyrics suggest that these alternating and inevitable life experiences end up cleansing and purifying us in some way.

The second stanza focuses on a specific moment and setting. As the singer watches someone (presumably Lydia) approaching over a hill, they are struck by the beauty of the scene - the wind in the grass brings up memories of the sea. The third stanza is almost a continuation of the second; as the sun sets and the lights come on in the houses, the beauty of nature and human-made structures blend together in a moment of breathtaking beauty. Overall, "Lydia" seems to be a celebration of the cyclical and unpredictable nature of life, with a focus on the beauty that can be found in every moment if one is open to it.

Line by Line Meaning

Sometimes the rain rains
Occasionally it rains

Sometimes the sunshine shines
From time to time there's sunshine

Over and over again
Repeatedly

Washing us warm and dry
Making us warm and dry

Over the hill i watched you walk up to me
I watched you come toward me over the hill

Wind in the grass
The wind was blowing the grass

Brushed you up like from the sea
You looked like you were from the sea because the wind swept you up

Darker than blue into grey
The sky was turning from blue to grey as the sun was setting

We watched the sun go down
We observed the sun set

Lights in the houses went on
People inside houses were switching on lights

Like sun shining from the ground
It seemed like the light from the houses was coming from the ground