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.”
Lonely Sinner
Kristina Train Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am friendly with the failures
Of a flesh that is so weak
I am lying, in the sea of enemies
Fate it leaves a bad impression
But I can never seem to leave
Are you a savior? Coming to love me
Are you an angel, rising above me
You are so damn beautiful,
Baby don't you know I'm a lonely sinner
I don't wanna strip you of your soul
I have fallen, out of grace and to my knees
Always searching for the ending
But the sight does just repeats
Are you a savior? Coming to love me
When the night time takes a toll
Are you an angel, rising above me
You are so damn beautiful,
Baby don't you know I'm a lonely sinner
I don't wanna strip you of your soul
Baby don't you know I'm a lonely sinner
Baby don't you know I'm a lonely sinner
Baby don't you know I'm a lonely sinner
Baby don't you know I'm a lonely sinner.
“Lonely Sinner” by Kristina Train is a song that deals with themes of inner turmoil, self-doubt, and the constant search for redemption. The first verse uses the metaphor of an apple falling from a tree to describe the singer’s own fall from grace. She admits to having made mistakes and is forced to lie in a sea of enemies, surrounded by the repercussions of her own actions. The notion of fate is mentioned, implying that even though the singer is aware of her mistakes, she feels powerless to change her circumstances.
The chorus of the song is directed towards a potential savior, someone who can love the singer despite her flaws and possibly help her find redemption. She asks if this person is an angel who can rise above her mistakes and their consequences. However, the singer displays a level of self-awareness and responsibility in admitting that she doesn't want to strip this person of their own soul by burdening them with her problems.
The second verse continues in the same vein, with the singer revealing that she's always searching for the ending, a resolution to her inner turmoil. But the sight that greets her is one of repeated mistakes and fleeting moments of hope. The chorus is repeated again, emphasizing the singer's need for someone to show her love and understanding despite her flaws.
Line by Line Meaning
I have fallen, like an apple from the tree
I have made a mistake and fallen from grace, like Adam and Eve from the tree of knowledge.
I am friendly with the failures
I am familiar with and accepting of the mistakes I have made.
Of a flesh that is so weak
I acknowledge that my humanity and physical body are vulnerable to error and sin.
I am lying, in the sea of enemies
I am surrounded by people or circumstances that bring negativity or judgment.
Fate it leaves a bad impression
My perception of destiny or the course of events has been negative and discouraging.
But I can never seem to leave
Despite these challenges, I feel unable to move on or escape from them.
Are you a savior? Coming to love me
When the night time takes a toll
Am I able to find someone who will provide comfort and love during difficult times?
Are you an angel, rising above me
You are so damn beautiful,
Do I see someone who offers hope and beauty despite the challenges I face?
Baby don't you know I'm a lonely sinner
I don't wanna strip you of your soul
I recognize that I feel isolated and imperfect, but I don't want to hurt or take advantage of anyone else.
I have fallen, out of grace and to my knees
Always searching for the ending
But the sight does just repeats
Even though I have faced challenges, I continue to look for a resolution or ending, but it seems like the same cycle just repeats.
Baby don't you know I'm a lonely sinner
Baby don't you know I'm a lonely sinner
Baby don't you know I'm a lonely sinner
Baby don't you know I'm a lonely sinner.
The repetition of this line emphasizes the theme of loneliness and searching for companionship and understanding.
Contributed by Sarah I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.