Keren Ann (b. 1974) is a singer/songwriter with dual Dutch-Israeli citizen… Read Full Bio ↴Keren Ann (b. 1974) is a singer/songwriter with dual Dutch-Israeli citizenship. She plays guitar, piano, and clarinet, and engineers and writes choir and musical arrangements. She is of Russian-Jewish descent on her father's side and Javanese-Dutch on her mother's.

Born Keren Ann Zeidel in Caesarea, Israel on 10th March 1974, she lived in the Netherlands and Israel until the age of eleven, when her family moved to France. Her first group, KAB (for Keren Ann Band), lasted three years. In 1997, she wrote the song "Father" for the film K by Alexandre Arcady, in which she also acted a small part. The next year, at the age of twenty-four, she formed Shelby with two other women; the group released one album and had a small success with the song "1+1+1", whose composer Benjamin Biolay became an important collaborator. In 2000 she began her solo career with La biographie de Luka Philipsen -- "Luka" in homage to the Suzanne Vega song, "Philipsen" after her maternal grandmother -- written with and produced by Biolay, who also co-wrote and -produced its follow-up, La disparition. (In return, she helped write his debut album, Rose Kennedy.) The pair also wrote several songs for Henri Salvador's best-selling, prize-winning 2000 comeback album, Chambre avec vue.

Lady & Bird is a collaboration with Bardi Johannsson of the Icelandic group Bang Gang.

Not Going Anywhere, which includes several songs from La disparition re-sung in English, was her first U.S. release, but her American breakthrough came with its follow-up, Nolita. Recorded in Paris and New York, it is named for Nolita, her neighborhood in lower Manhattan; it is sung half in French and half in English.

By The Cathedral
Keren Ann Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Darling, I will remember, darling
I've been mellow and tender
I've seen water by the cathedral
Under the maple

It was in April
You wore a raincoat by the cathedral
I wasn't able, I was unable

Someday you will forgive me, darling
Someday you will believe that
I've seen thunder by the cathedral
Under the maple

It was in April you wore a raincoat
By the cathedral
I wasn't able, I was unable

Darling, I will remember, darling
I've been mellow and tender

I've seen water by the cathedral
I've seen thunder, but I wasn't able, darling

Overall Meaning

Keren Ann's "By The Cathedral" is a hauntingly beautiful song that speaks about a moment that the singer wishes she could go back to and make things right. The opening verse repeats "Darling, I will remember, darling," as if trying to convince herself to hold onto a memory that might otherwise fade away. She then confesses to being "mellow and tender," which could imply a profound sadness or a deep sense of regret. The next two lines paint a vivid picture of her surroundings at the time: she saw "water by the cathedral, under the maple." It's not clear whether the cathedral represents a religious institution or simply a place of peace and reflection, but it's clear that it held some sort of significance for the singer.

The second verse repeats the same words and images as the first, but adds a layer of detail by specifying the time of year: "It was in April you wore a raincoat by the cathedral." From the way she says "I wasn't able, I was unable," it seems that there was something she wanted to do or say in that moment but didn't. In the final verse, the singer expresses her hope that someday the person she's addressing will forgive her and "believe that I've seen thunder by the cathedral, under the maple." Here the metaphor of the cathedral takes on a more ominous tone, as thunder suggests a violent, tumultuous energy that is at odds with the peaceful image of water from earlier. The song ends on the same note of sadness and regret that it began on, with the singer unable to change the past but desperate to hold onto the memory of it.

Line by Line Meaning

Darling, I will remember, darling
The singer promises to remember their loved one fondly

I've been mellow and tender
The singer has been calm and sensitive in their relationship

I've seen water by the cathedral
The singer witnessed a tranquil moment by a religious building

Under the maple
The location of the tranquil moment was under a maple tree

It was in April
The moment being referenced occurred in the month of April

You wore a raincoat by the cathedral
The loved one was dressed in a raincoat at the time of the tranquil moment

I wasn't able, I was unable
The singer was unable to fully appreciate the beauty of the moment due to personal reasons

Someday you will forgive me, darling
The artist hopes for forgiveness from their loved one

Someday you will believe that
The artist hopes for their loved one to believe in them

I've seen thunder by the cathedral
The artist witnessed a moment of power and intensity by the religious building

Darling, I will remember, darling
The singer reiterates their promise to remember their loved one fondly