Born with Asperger's Syndrome, Pip Brown came from a musical family, with her mother being a singer-guitarist and her stepfather, a jazz drummer. During her childhood, various illnesses and allergies kept her in and out of the hospital. At age 10 she contracted erysipeloid, a disease that is common in seagulls but had not been seen in humans in New Zealand for 20 years. Her allergies to antibiotics, penicillin, and antihistamines greatly complicated treatment efforts and had put her in a coma and she came close to dying.
While attending Chanel College, she played in several grunge bands. After high school, Brown moved from Masterton to Wellington and formed in 2001 the hard rock band Two Lane Blacktop with some friends, playing lead guitar. Brown relocated to Melbourne, Australia after Two Lane Blacktop parted ways in late 2003, when their lead singer and drummer quit the band.
In Melbourne she met Nick Littlemore of Pnau (and later Empire of the Sun), formed the duo Teenager and moved together to Sydney. In 2006 Brown decided to leave Teenager to focus on a personal project she had been developing for sometime, a persona she had dubbed "Ladyhawke", inspired by the Richard Donner film from 1985 with the same name.
In 20 September 2008, her debut album Ladyhawke was released on Modular and gained mostly positive reviews. The album peaked at #16 at UK Albums Chart, #16 Australian Albums Chart, #41 at U.S. Billboard Top Heatseekers, #62 at European Top 100 Albums, #1 at New Zealand Albums Chart. Ladyhawke ranked #23 on MusicOMH Best Albums of 2008.
She released five singles from the debut album: "Back of the Van" (1 April 2008, re-released in 18 May 2009; #93 UK), "Paris Is Burning" (6 July 2008, re-released in 2 March 2009; #47 UK, #52 AUS, #40 NZ), "Dusk Till Dawn" (8 September 2008; #78 UK), "My Delirium" (8 December 2008; #33 UK, #8 AUS, #9 NZ) and "Magic" (28 September 2009; #31 NZ).
In 2008 Pip Brown collaborated with the Australian band Pnau on the song "Embrace".
In 2009 Ladyhawke won five awards (Album of the Year, Best Dance/Electronica album, Single of the Year for "My Delirium", International Achievement Award, Best Female Solo Artist, Breakthrough Artist of the Year) and was nominated for People's Choice Award at New Zealand Music Awards. In the same year she was nominated for Best Solo Artist at NME Awards, Best Kiwi & Independent Spirit at MTV Australia Awards and for six categories on ARIA Music Awards 2009 (she won two of them: Breakthrough Artist – album for "Ladyhawke" and Breakthrough Artist – single for "My Delirium"). Ladyhawke was also nominated for International Female Solo Artist at Brit Awards 2010.
In 4 May 2010, Ladyhawke released a digital live EP entitled iTunes Live from SoHo. Currently she is writing material for a second album.
Official site: http://www.ladyhawkemusic.com
Vaccine
Ladyhawke Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
By the man who couldn’t see
You took my hand and held it tight
You said: “what will people think of me?”
Sit tight, one or the other will win
Cool hand, no time for leaving, we’re in
I think I’m dreaming
You will be my vaccine yea
And I’ll be your in-betweener
We’ll wake of happy air
From all our dreams, all our dreams
From all our dreams, all our dreams
Counting sheep past two a.m.
Hoping you will comfort me
But still with sits and waits
To say: “what will people think of me?”
Sit tight, one or the other will win
Cool hand, no time for leaving, we’re in
I think I’m dreaming
What will people think of me?
You will be my vaccine yea
And I’ll be your in-betweener
We’ll wake of happy air
From all our dreams, all our dreams
From all our dreams, all our dreams
Sit tight, one or the other will win
Cool hand, no time for leaving, we’re in
I think I’m dreaming
What will people think of me?
You will be my vaccine yea
And I’ll be your in-betweener
We’ll wake of happy air
From all our dreams, all our dreams
From all our dreams, all our dreams
From all our dreams, all our dreams
From all our dreams, all our dreams
From all our dreams, all our dreams
From all our dreams, all our dreams
The lyrics of Ladyhawke’s song “Vaccine” seem to describe a dream that the singer is having. In this dream, she is with a man who is unable to see, and she is worried about what people will think of her. Despite this worry, they hold hands, and she feels comforted by him. However, the worry resurfaces later in the dream when she is unable to sleep, and she hopes that the man will comfort her. The dream ends with the repeated refrain of “You will be my vaccine” and “I’ll be your in-betweener,” implying that this person is like a cure for her worries about what others think of her.
The lyrics suggest that the singer is anxious about what people think of her, and that this anxiety is causing her to seek comfort in the man she dreams about. The phrase “what will people think of me?” is repeated several times, and it seems to be a central concern of the song. The dream imagery adds to the sense of emotional distance and unreality, suggesting that the singer’s anxiety is not firmly rooted in reality, but is instead more of a vague and unformed worry. The repeated refrain of “You will be my vaccine” also suggests that the singer is looking for someone to provide her with a sense of safety and security.
Line by Line Meaning
In my bed I dream at night
I have dreams at night while laying in bed.
By the man who couldn’t see
My dreams involve a man who is unable to see.
You took my hand and held it tight
In my dream, you held my hand tightly.
You said: “what will people think of me?”
You expressed concern about what other people will think of you.
Sit tight, one or the other will win
Be patient, one of two things will come out as the winner.
Cool hand, no time for leaving, we’re in
We need to stay calm and face the situation because there's no time to leave, we're already here.
I think I’m dreaming
I'm not sure, but I believe that I'm still dreaming.
What will people think of me?
I'm afraid of what other people will think of me.
You will be my vaccine yea
You will be my protection against the bad things.
And I’ll be your in-betweener
I will be the go-between, trying to keep two parties happy.
We’ll wake of happy air
We'll wake up with a feeling of contentment and happiness.
From all our dreams, all our dreams
All of our dreams will contribute to this feeling.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: PHILLIPA BROWN, PASCAL RICHARD MARCEL GABRIEL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind