Spilt Milk was recorded in London with Jimmy Hogarth, the sought-after British producer whose recent credits include Duffy, Corinne Bailey Rae and James Blunt. Powerhouse songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and arranger Eg White – Grammy Awards Record of the Year nominee for Adele’s “Chasing Pavements” – co-wrote most of this material. Singer and pianist Ed Harcourt also co-wrote two, including the climactic “Far From the Country,” an especially poignant and personal conclusion to the disc, about the physical and emotional distances one must bridge to keep love alive
For inspiration, Train turns to Aretha Franklin – “There is not a song that Aretha has sung or will ever sing that doesn’t just melt me” – along with blues/R&B cult figures like former Stax star/Raelette Mable John and Bob Dylan-favorite Karen Dalton. Says Train, “I wanted my album to offer glimpses of my influences, not sound like my influences. Jimmy, Eg and I are of similar backgrounds, we appreciate the same music; we have similar tastes. The arrangements are just what we felt the songs needed, they give the songs flavor but don’t try to steal anybody else’s style. I hope the album is a nod to the music I love, while still being modern.”
Music has been at the center of Train’s world since she was a toddler, when her mother encouraged her to play the violin. Train took to the instrument, but, more importantly, she also discovered an innate aptitude as a singer, with unerring pitch and a preternaturally mature delivery from a very young age. Says Train, “There’s depth to my voice and I think it comes from a lot of different places. But the way I sound today is the way I always sounded -- except in a tinier body.”
As an artist, Train could never simply be described as a product of her times and that has allowed her, on Spilt Milk, to create music that can arguably be called timeless. Her mom, who raised Train alone, fashioned what some might view as a sheltered existence for the young Train, keeping her away from television and pop radio. But what she really did was provide a fertile laboratory for Train to freely grow as a young woman and a singer, apart from the vagaries of trends. Train took music and ballet lessons and listened to classical music and opera, along with jazz and blues. Her violin training definitely came in handy: Train has arranging credits on three of her tracks and overdubbed strings on two of them.
Though born in New York City, Train was raised in Savannah, Georgia, and southern soul and gospel, which she sang in church and school choirs growing up, has had the most profound effect on her work. Almost as significant was the moment when, as a teenager, she unearthed her mom’s tucked-away stash of vinyl albums from the sixties and seventies: Joni Mitchell, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zepplin. Say Train,” I remember hearing Janis Joplin’s records and thinking, what is that all about? We lived in downtown Savannah, in a house kind of like a New York City brownstone. When we had thunderstorms I would go up to the roof and scream at the top of my lungs because I wanted to make my voice raspier. God only knows what that’s done to me!”
By the time Train was 19, she was already singing professionally, albeit locally. A producer based in the south who’d spotted Train arranged to bring her up to New York City to showcase for Blue Note. The label chiefs offered Train a development deal – but her mom had other ideas. She insisted her daughter go to college first. Many a confident and headstrong young artist would rebel and go it alone, accept the deal and take their chances. But Train – reluctantly, she now admits – listened to her mom. She agreed to attend college in Athens, Ga., keeping her hand in music by joining a band and spending far more time rehearsing and gigging than hitting the books. And when she was ready to return to her career full-time, Blue Note was still waiting.
It was time well-spent, Train now realizes: “I know that at 19, I would not have made this record, which is the record I always wanted to make. This is the album that defines who I am. At 19, I don’t know what I would have put out. I believe everything happened for a reason. It took this amount of time for me to get here and to make this record. I always knew it would happen. “
Train made several trips to London over the course of two years, to write with Hogarth and White, but the actual recording moved quickly. In fact, Train was such a natural that some of the vocal performances they chose came straight from the song demos they’d originally done. Right before they were about to embark on their final sessions, though, a disastrous computer glitch during file back-up resulted in the loss of much of what they’d already completed. As Train recalls, “It was the perfect electronic storm.” Undaunted, she and her cohorts went back in and re-cut the vanished material with even more passion and determination, the setback turning out to be far more inspiration than challenge. Looking back, Train says, “I don’t think anything was lost. I don’t think there was this one magic moment that we could never recapture. I love what it is today.” And the experience provided her with an album title. “Don’t cry over spilt milk.”
Train’s confidence and faith in what she has created is part of what makes Spilt Milk so thrilling: “There’s just this magic thing that happens sometimes and you think, I want to sing this song for the rest of my life – I want to live in it, I want to bury myself in it, I want to wriggle around in it.. Every time I finished one, it was like, I can’t believe that, at this point in my life I finally have a song I would fight for, that I believe in 100% percent. And now I have all these songs together on an entire album that I feel this way about. For me, that’s my college degree.”
Don't Beg For Love
Kristina Train Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I tell you what I see, don't punish me
Just smile as you fall in love
You'll find somebody (don't beg for love)
There'll be somebody (don't beg for love)
Tired and I'm still here but I'm not yours anymore.
No more.
But the ship we're in was no good for me
Just smile as you blow away
And you'll find somebody (don't beg for love)
There'll be somebody (don't beg for love)
I'm tired and I'm still here but I'm not yours anymore.
No more.
Just smile as you're giving up
Go and dance on your own, don't beg for love
On the floor let me go, it's too late for love
I'm tired but I'm still here but I'm not yours anymore.
No more.
No more.
The lyrics of Kristina Train's "Don't Beg For Love" depict a love story that has ended. It speaks of a situation wherein the singer had hurt the other person, but she still wants that person to be good to her. She also acknowledges that telling the truth shouldn't be punished. Despite the pain, the singer is willing to let go and is giving the other person the freedom to find someone else who'll make him happy. She doesn't want him to beg for love, nor does she want to do the same. The line "Just smile as you fall in love" could mean that the singer wants the other person to be happy for finding true love, even if it's not with her. Moreover, the line "Tired and I'm still here but I'm not yours anymore" indicates that the relationship has run its course, and the singer is ready to move on.
The second verse reiterates the same sentiment as the first verse. The singer speaks of the times when the other person had held on to her, but she knew that the relationship wasn't going anywhere. She wants the other person to blow away, to move on and find someone else who'll cherish him as he deserves to be. She repeats the refrain "don't beg for love" to emphasize that they should let go and move on. Even if it's difficult, the singer wants the other person to dance on his own, to find joy in things that don't involve her, and to let her go. She acknowledges that it's too late for love, and even if she's tired, she's not his anymore.
Overall, the lyrics of the song convey one clear message: sometimes, love just isn't enough, and it's better to let go than to hold on to something that's not meant to be. The singer wants the other person to be happy and find love, even if it's not with her. It's a heartfelt song that speaks of the pain of letting go and the beauty of accepting that love sometimes fades away.
Line by Line Meaning
When I hurt you, be good to me
If I ever hurt you, please be kind to me in return
When I tell you what I see, don't punish me
If I confide in you, please don't judge me
Just smile as you fall in love
Be happy and enjoy the feeling of falling in love
You'll find somebody (don't beg for love)
You will find love naturally, don't try to force it
There'll be somebody (don't beg for love)
Someone will come along, don't beg for their love
Tired and I'm still here but I'm not yours anymore.
I'm exhausted and drained, but I've moved on from our relationship
There were nights when you held on to me
There were moments we were close and intimate
But the ship we're in was no good for me
Our relationship was toxic and harming me
Just smile as you blow away
Be positive as you leave and move on
Just smile as you're giving up
Be gracious as you let go
Go and dance on your own, don't beg for love
Enjoy your life and independence, don't chase after love
On the floor let me go, it's too late for love
Let me go and move on, it's too late to fix our love
No more.
Our relationship is over and there's no turning back
No more.
The chapter of our love story has ended
Contributed by Natalie E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.