Her 1995 self-titled debut album provided her first country hit, "Just My Luck", as well as the follow-up "Those Words We Said". Her follow-up album, 1996's Bitter Sweet featured a more pop-oriented sound.
She has also had significant success as a songwriter for others. She collaborated with Radney Foster on "Nobody Wins" and co-wrote Trisha Yearwood's hit "Believe Me Baby (I Lied)" (Yearwood also covered Richey's "Those Words We Said"). Maura O'Connell and Brooks & Dunn covered her song "Every River". Patty Loveless, Mindy McCready, The Greencards, Terri Clark, Cyndi Thomson, and other country artists have recorded covers of her songs.
Richey provided backing vocals on "Come Pick Me Up" on the 2000 debut album Heartbreaker by Ryan Adams.
In 2004 her track, "A Place Called Home", was featured in episode 16 of season 5, "Shells", of the Angel television series. The song later appeared on the Angel soundtrack, Live Fast Die Never.
On 7 July 2007, she performed in Washington at Live Earth.
Her album, "Edgeland," was released in 2018.
In 2020 she released A Long Way Back: The Songs of Glimmer, based on new versions of the 14 songs on her 1999 album Glimmer, in a more acoustic style. Reviewing the album for the Seattle PI, Jon Sobel says "Richey's mapley voice, always unmistakeable, has developed a sheen of gravitas it didn't possess in 1999. Just as important, the songs hold up. The slighter ones ("So It Goes," "Good at Secrets," "Gravity") carry more weight in their new, more airy settings, thanks partly to Doug Lancio's artful and sensitive production. The strongest ("Didn't I," "Can't Lose Them All," the sublime "Come Around") feel cooler, or more studied, and somehow at the same time hotter, the emotions more precisely sketched."
http://www.kimrichey.com
Drift
Kim Richey Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Together again
No one knows lessons we've learned
Places we've been
How could you measure the distance, my friend?
Drift with me, we'll go faraway
Hang your coat on the back of the chair
Don't go just yet
We've been runnin' since the day that we met
Quiet now, there's nothin' to say
That needs to be said
You know I love you, my friend
Drift with me, we'll go faraway
Beyond make believe, straight on to brighter days
Drift with me, we'll go faraway
Beyond make believe, straight on to brighter days
Drift with me
At first glance, Kim Richey's song "Drift" seems like a simple invitation to escape reality and drift away to a better place with someone you love. But upon closer examination, the lyrics reveal a deeper message about the complexities of life and the unspoken understanding between two people who have shared their struggles and experiences.
The song opens with the line "Here we stand at the end of the day, together again," suggesting that the two individuals have been apart for a while and are now reunited. The next line, "No one knows lessons we've learned, places we've been," implies that they have both gone through difficult situations and are carrying the weight of those experiences with them. The following line, "How could you measure the distance, my friend?" speaks to the idea that distance is not always physical—it can also describe emotional distance and the difficulty in truly understanding someone else's experience.
As the song continues, the invitation to "drift" takes on a more meaningful tone. It's not just about escaping reality, but about finding a way to move forward after difficult times. "Hang your coat on the back of the chair, don't go just yet / We've been runnin' since the day that we met" suggests that both individuals are tired and need a break, but they don't want to part ways just yet. The line "Quiet now, there's nothin' to say that needs to be said / You know I love you, my friend" speaks to the idea of unspoken understanding between two people who have been through a lot together.
Ultimately, the repeated invitation to "drift with me" takes on a more hopeful tone. The promise of going "faraway / beyond make believe, straight on to brighter days" suggests that there is a way forward, even after difficult times. And by inviting the other person to drift with them, Richey suggests that we don't have to go through life's struggles alone.
Line by Line Meaning
Here we stand at the end of the day
We stand together at the end of a long day filled with lessons and memories.
Together again
We've been together before and are reunited once more.
No one knows lessons we've learned
We have experienced things that only we understand.
Places we've been
We've traveled to various locations together.
How could you measure the distance, my friend?
It's impossible to measure the level of closeness we share.
Drift with me, we'll go faraway
Let's take a journey together to a far-off place.
Beyond make believe, straight on to brighter days
We'll leave behind our fantasies and move on to a better tomorrow.
Hang your coat on the back of the chair
Make yourself at home and stay awhile.
Don't go just yet
Stay with me a while longer.
We've been runnin' since the day that we met
We've been on a journey since the day we first met.
Quiet now, there's nothin' to say
Let's just enjoy each other's company without words.
That needs to be said
There's nothing left to express verbally.
You know I love you, my friend
I care deeply about our friendship and cherish it.
Drift with me, we'll go faraway
Let's embark on a journey to a distant place.
Beyond make believe, straight on to brighter days
We'll leave behind our wildest imaginations and move towards our brightest future.
Drift with me, we'll go faraway
Let's journey together to a place beyond our wildest dreams.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, O/B/O DistroKid, Mute Song Limited, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave
Written by: RICHEY, SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind