In November 2003, at the age of 19, Melua released her first album, Call off the Search, which reached the top of the United Kingdom album charts and sold 1.8 million copies in its first five months of release. Her second album, Piece by Piece, was released in September 2005 and to date has gone platinum four times. Melua released her third studio album Pictures in October 2007, which has been announced to be the last of her albums in collaboration with Mike Batt. According to the Sunday Times Rich List 2008, Melua has a fortune of £18 million, making her the seventh richest British musician under thirty.
In the summer of 2003, aged just 18 and still studying at the Brit School of Performing Arts in leafy Surrey, no-one, least of all Katie, would have predicted what the next few years would hold for the teenager. Four years later, Katie has sold more than 7.5 million albums becoming, in 2006, the year’s best selling British female in the world along the way.
Georgian born Katie relocated from Tbilisi to Belfast at the age of 8 due to her father’s profession as a heart surgeon and 5 years later moved to South East London. After her GCSEs Katie joined the Brit School for Performing Arts where she undertook a BTEC and Music A-level and discovered different styles of music including Queen, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Irish folk music and Indian music. On hearing an Eva Cassidy song Katie was blown away and when she discovered that Eva was no longer alive wrote the song ‘Faraway Voice’ as a tribute to her. It was this song that attracted the attention of the composer and producer Mike Batt. Katie signed to Batt’s record label Dramatico but stayed at the Brit School to complete her studies – she graduated with distinction in July 2003.
During the summer of 2003 her debut single, ‘The Closest Thing To Crazy’, attracted the attention of British station BBC Radio 2 and upon its release entered the charts at number 10. Released in November, Katie’s debut album ‘Call Off The Search’ hit the UK number 1 spot in January 2004 and has subsequently scored top 10 positions throughout Europe. The album has since been certified gold in Holland, Hong Kong and Switzerland, platinum in Denmark, New Zealand and Australia, 2 x platinum in Germany, Ireland, Norway and South Africa and received the IFPI Double Platinum Award for 2 million European Sales. In March 2005 ‘Call Off The Search’ hit the number 1 spot in Denmark, a year after its initial release and became a top five album in Japan. Katie was awarded Best International Newcomer at Germany’s ECHO Awards in April 2005. In Britain, Katie was the highest selling female artist in 2004 – ‘Call Off The Search’ has now sold 1.8 million copies and is 6 x platinum (in Britain alone) and worldwide sales exceed 3.5 million.
Katie joined the line up for the Band Aid 20 single to record a new version of ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas’. As an ambassador for Save The Children this was particularly poignant for Katie. In March 2005 Katie was invited by Nelson Mandela to perform at his 46664 concert in aid of Mandela’s AIDS foundation. In addition to performing a full live set, Katie joined Queen on stage to perform a moving version of ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’. Katie flew from South Africa to Sri Lanka where she experienced the work that is being done by Save The Children, particularly with child soldiers.
In August 2005 Katie and her family swore allegiance to The Queen and became British Citizens following a ceremony in Surrey, England. Katie was asked to perform at the Royal Wedding of Prince Pieter-Christiaan in Holland and at the Norwegian Royal Gala Concert in the presence of the Crown Prince Of Norway. Continuing the royal theme, the American TV show ‘Good Morning America’ broadcast live from Buckingham Palace and Katie was invited by the show to perform ‘Nine Million Bicycles’ and ‘The Closest Thing To Crazy’. Katie performed at the Nobel Peace Prize Ceremony in Norway.
In between her overseas travel Katie recorded her new album, ‘Piece By Piece’, which was released in Europe on September 26th 2005. The album comprises more self-penned songs including the title track as well as a cover of the 1987 Cure hit ‘Just Like Heaven’ that Katie recorded for a new DreamWorks film starring Reese Witherspoon. The first single, ‘Nine Million Bicycles’, preceded the album release and gave Katie her highest UK single chart entry at number 5. One week later and Katie entered the UK album charts at number 1 and Europe swiftly followed with the album reaching #1 in Norway, Denmark and Holland, #2 in Ireland, #2 in Iceland, #3 in South Africa, #4 in Poland and #2 in Germany giving an overall chart position of #2 on the Billboard European Top 100 Chart.
Katie was nominated for two Brit Awards in the “Best Female” and “Pop” categories, for the “Best International Female” at the Edison Awards in Holland and was awarded “Best International Female (Rock & Pop)” at the Echo Awards in Germany. Once again Katie was pronounced the highest selling female artist in Britain in 2005 selling more than 1 million albums.
It is fair to say that 2006 was yet another extraordinary year for 22 year old Katie. In addition to the awards nominations, Katie had a Dutch tulip named in her honour, toured America coast to coast, raced at 160mph round Grand Prix circuit Silverstone, flew a plane, launched Save The Children’s ‘Rewrite The Future’ campaign, made the headlines with a Guinness World Record for the deepest concert when she performed 303 meters beneath the North Sea in the leg of a gas rig and was awarded the World Music Award for Britain’s Biggest Selling Female. Whilst in 2004 and 2005, Katie was the greatest selling female artist in Britain, in 2006 Katie was the highest selling European female artist in the world selling more than 3 million copies of her second album ‘Piece By Piece’.
Awarded the Golden Camera Award for International Pop Artist at the start of 2007, Katie was presented with the Echo Award for International Female Artist in March 2007.
October 2007 saw the release of Katie’s third album ‘Pictures’ – a record which has delighted her legions of fans, confirmed Katie’s status as a unique and remarkable vocalist, and revealed the third chapter in what is destined to be a long musical career.
Katie’s fourth album, “The Katie Melua Collection”, is a musical summary of the 24 year old’s journey so far and is being released to coincide with Katie’s arena tour in October and November 2008.
www.katiemelua.com/
Crawling Up a Hill
Katie Melua Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
My mama wakes me, says
"Don't be late"
Get to the office, tryna concentrate
My life is just a slow train crawling up a hill
So I stop one day to figure it out
I'll quit my job without a shadow of a doubt
My life is just a slow train crawling up a hill
Minute after minute
Second after second
Hour after hour goes by
Working for a rich girl
Staying just a poor girl
Never stop to wonder why
So here I am in London town
A better scene I'm gonna be around
The kind of music that won't bring me down
My life is just a slow train crawling up a hill
Every morning 'bout half past eight
My mama wakes me, says
"Don't be late"
I get to the office, tryna concentrate
My life is like a slow train crawling up a hill
So I stop one day to figure it out
I'll quit my job without a shadow of a doubt
To sing the blues that I know about
My life is just a slow train crawling up a hill
Minute after minute
Second after second
Hour after hour goes by
Working for a rich girl
Staying just a poor girl
Never stop to wonder why
So here I am in London town
A better scene I'm gonna be around
The kind of music that won't bring me down
Life is just a slow train, oh
Ah, oh
So, so, so here I am in London town
A better scene I'm gonna be around
The kind of music that won't bring me down
My life is just a slow train crawling up a hill
The lyrics of Katie Melua's "Crawling Up a Hill" describes the struggles of a young woman's daily routine. She wakes up every morning around 8:30 am, gets ready for work, and heads to the office. The daily routine makes it hard for her to concentrate and focus. The inspiration for the song could have possibly come from Katie Melua's own experience or from someone she knows. The use of imagery throughout the lyrics creates a vivid representation of someone stuck in a routine that they don't enjoy. The slow train crawling up a hill is a metaphor for her life, which is going uphill, but at a slow pace.
The singer of the song decides to take a step back and "figure it out." She quits her job to pursue her passion for singing the blues. Her decision is bold, as the hustle and bustle of life in London could be quite daunting, but she chooses to take a chance. The lyrics reflect the never-ending routine and how she feels the need to break free.
The song's theme and message resonated with people worldwide, making it a popular hit worldwide. The song was released in 2003 as part of Katie Melua's debut album, "Call off the Search." The song's success led to her signing a record deal with a record-breaking amount of money at the time.
Line by Line Meaning
Every morning 'bout half past eight
The day begins at the same time every day
My mama wakes me, says "Don't be late"
The singer's mother reminds her to be punctual
Get to the office, tryna concentrate
The singer goes to work and tries to focus
My life is just a slow train crawling up a hill
The artist's life is progressing slowly, like a train struggling up a steep hill
So I stop one day to figure it out
The artist takes a moment to reflect
I'll quit my job without a shadow of a doubt
The singer is certain that she wants to quit her job
To sing the blues that I know about
The singer wants to pursue a career in music
Minute after minute
Time passes quickly
Second after second
Time continues to pass quickly
Hour after hour goes by
Time continues to pass without change
Working for a rich girl
The singer works for someone wealthy
Staying just a poor girl
The artist remains financially insecure
Never stop to wonder why
The singer has never questioned her circumstances
So here I am in London town
The singer has moved to London
A better scene I'm gonna be around
The singer expects more opportunities in London
The kind of music that won't bring me down
The artist hopes to find music that inspires her instead of depresses her
Life is just a slow train, oh
Life is like a slow-moving train
Ah, oh
A gentle expression of sadness or disappointment
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing
Written by: John Mayall
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@daniellewindsor4520
"Crawling Up A Hill"
Every morning (a)bout half past eight,
My Mummer wakes me says,
"Don't be late",
Get to the office, tryin' to concentrate,
My life is just a slow train crawling up a hill.
So I stop one day to figure it out,
I'll quit my job without a shadow of a doubt,
To sing the blues that I know about,
My life is just a slow train crawling up a hill.
Minute after minute,
Second after second,
Hour after hour goes by,
Working for a rich girl,
Staying just a poor girl,
Never stop to wonder why.
So here I am in London town,
A better scene Iüm gonna be around,
The kind of music that won't bring me down,
My life is just a slow train crawling up a hill.
Every morning (a)bout half past eight,
My Mummer wakes me says,
"Don't be late",
I get to the office, tryin' to concentrate,
My life is like a slow train crawling up a hill.
So I stop one day to figure it out,
I'll quit my job without a shadow of a doubt,
To sing the blues that I know about,
My life is just a slow train crawling up a hill.
Minute after minute,
Second after second,
Hour after hour goes by,
Working for a rich girl,
Staying just a poor girl,
Never stop to wonder why.
So here I am in London town,
A better scene I'm gonna be around,
The kind of music that won't bring me down,
Life is just a slow train.
So here I am in London town,
A better scene I'm gonna be around,
The kind of music that won't bring me down,
My life is just a slow train crawling up a hill
@simibro1709
Beautiful lyrics, wonderful clip and the music is just the cherry on the top of the... Hill ! My fav single of hers.
@mikebatt9905
The song is by John Mayall, from the 60's. I discovered it n an album by John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers. "Live at Klook's Kleek" (A club in London)
@buketerden5518
her every songs are beautiful
@amedeofilippi6336
Lovely song and awesome singer
@JoaquinGutierrezRosales
Your voice and songs are a haven from such turmoil. Thank you. --- Tu voz y canciones son un remanso entre tanta agitación. Gracias.
@michaeltriba1307
I just now found Katie and watched a song in concert. This is my first video other that that. I have just fallen in love again!
@user-qe9cq5vh4w
Aaaaahh , mi encanta.
@juantalayamilla1477
Que buena canción con aires country blues, jazzístico, y con un ambiente por un lado urbano (London) y por otro tan americano como es un tren Katie y una guitarra, cómo me recuerda a los trenes que llevaban a los bluesman de Mississippi a Chicago, 🏙️🚂🎼👌✋👨
@498miska
I love it
@KatieGigParty
one of the best clip by Katie Melua, if not THE best.