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.”
You're Still Going To Lose
Kristina Train Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know what I'm missing, but I'd rather just ignore it
Start out each morning full of good intentions
Watch how those people go home with happy endings
I keep on pretending...
And then you give your heart to me
You give it up like it's free
TV is running, I never used to notice
It's not as hard as you might think, going through the motions
My world hardly ever changes, we'll have to take it slowly
Be care what you show me...
And then you give your heart to me
You give it up like it's free
And even though I love you, you're still gonna lose.
You give so easily, all of it like it was free
And even though I love you, I don't want you to lose.
The song "You're Still Going To Lose" by Kristina Train appears to be about a person mired in self-deception. The first stanza suggests that the singer is aware of something lacking in their life, but chooses to ignore it, preferring to live in denial. The second stanza seems to describe the singer's boredom with their routine existence, in which even the TV has lost its novelty.
The refrain captures the central tension of the song quite well. The singer acknowledges that they love the person giving them their heart "like it's free," but then claims that this person is "still gonna lose." It's unclear exactly what is meant by this; perhaps the singer feels that the person will never truly know them, or maybe the singer simply believes that the relationship will end badly. Whatever the case, there is a palpable sense of sadness and resignation to the lyrics.
One interpretation of this song is that it's about the struggle to connect with others, to overcome the self-deceptions and cynicism that can keep people emotionally distant. The repeated use of the word "pretending" suggests that the singer is aware that they are not being fully honest with themselves or with others. It's possible that the "losing" referred to in the lyrics is not about winning or losing in a conventional sense, but rather about the difficulty of attaining meaningful relationships when one is constantly battling one's own demons.
Overall, "You're Still Going To Lose" is a poignant and rueful song that captures the feelings of isolation and disconnection that many people experience at some point in their lives.
Line by Line Meaning
People are talking, but I just hear voices
Despite all the chatter around me, I choose to ignore it and only listen to the voices within me.
I know what I'm missing, but I'd rather just ignore it
Although I realize what I'm lacking in life, I prefer to avoid confronting it.
Start out each morning full of good intentions
Every day, I begin with the goal of making positive choices.
Watch how those people go home with happy endings
I observe how others seem to achieve their desires and lead fulfilling lives.
I keep on pretending...
Despite my awareness of the disparity between my life and others', I continue to put on a facade of contentment.
And then you give your heart to me
You offer me your love and affection.
You give it up like it's free
You give your heart away easily, without reservation.
And even though I love you, you're still gonna lose.
Despite my love for you, I anticipate that our relationship will ultimately end in failure.
TV is running, I never used to notice
I have become complacent to the point where I no longer even perceive the background noise of the TV.
It's not as hard as you might think, going through the motions
Simply carrying out day-to-day routines does not prove to be as challenging as one may assume.
My world hardly ever changes, we'll have to take it slowly
My life remains stagnant, so any alterations we make to our relationship must be gradual and cautious.
Be care what you show me...
I am cautious of what you reveal to me because I don't want to see anything that may jeopardize our relationship.
You give so easily, all of it like it was free
You offer your love and affection effortlessly and without expectation of reciprocation.
And even though I love you, I don't want you to lose.
Although I fear our relationship may fail, I do not want you to bear the pain of heartbreak.
Contributed by Keira I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Bruce Hudson
Brilliant, just heard her for the first time on BBC Late Night Live with Jools Holland, what a voice and great skill. She reminded me then of Dusty Springfield. I'll be checking her out!
01 A User
Une des meilleures chanteuse en Anglais, sa voix divine et envoutante. Et les textes superbes.
breffnipark
What an amazing Voice Kristina has ! :)
stimmy66
this is one hell of a classy lady with a voice to match, more please.
itgetseasierlessitry
Its worth trawling through the dirge that passes for talent these days, because once in a very rare while you come across talent like this and with a voice that needs no gimmicks to get the message across. Hope they upload her recent performance on The Abbey Road Sessions- it was an incredible experience.
Ms Oliver
Lovely voiced by
Keenan 1066
great!!
Annie Levan
beauty is as Kristina sings
David Guy
Same again, Jools introduces me to so many great artists, and Kristina is certainly that, I'm smitten, downloading album on the 5th.
eifion hughes
definitly a touch of Dusty in there.A beautiful sensual performance on Later.Check it out.A STAR is born.!