La Havas was born in London, England to a Greek father and Jamaican mother. She was raised in Tooting and Streatham, spending the majority of her time with her grandparents, following her parents' separation as a child. La Havas' cites her parents' diverse musical tastes as having the biggest influence on her music. She began singing at seven. Her mother played Jill Scott and Mary j. Blige, while her father, an accomplished multi-instrumentalist, taught her the basics of guitar and piano. Lianne wrote her first song at the age of 11 but did not learn to play the guitar until she was 18 years old. At 18, Lianne began attending Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College for Girls in Croydon, where she studied art and planned to take her A-Levels in art foundation. However, she left college and decided to pursue a career in music full-time.
While attending sixth-form in Croydon, a friend of La Havas', (who attended the Brit School) introduced her to other musicians who assisted La Havas in the recording of her first demos. Through that same friend, La Havas was also introduced to British singer, Paloma Faith; she later sang backing vocals on tour for Faith. La Havas was co-writer and performer in 'The Paris Parade' alongside Christian Pinchbeck (who designed the artwork for Lost & Found) and also is now part of the duo Elephant (Memphis Industries). They had a short career but it began La Havas' career in commercial music. In 2010, Lianne signed to Warner Bros. Records, spending two years developing her songwriting skills before releasing music publicly.
La Havas made her television debut on October 21, 2011, broadcast of BBC Two's Later, with Jools Holland, a program that also featured Wisconsin folk band Bon Iver. Following her appearance on Later, with Jools Holland, it was announced on October 25, 2011 that La Havas would be the supporting act for Bon Iver's December 2011 North American tour.
La Havas released her debut EP, Lost & Found, on October 12, 2011 on the Labour of Love label and featured Willy Mason on the opening track, No Room For Doubt. That same month, La Havas released a live EP, titled Live in LA, which was made available for free download on her website. La Havas released her third EP titled Forget, on December 30, 2011 on the label Warner Brothers.
Her official debut single, Lost & Found was released in the UK on April 30, 2012. Her debut album, Is Your Love Big Enough?, was released on July 9, 2012 in the UK on Warner Brothers.
Final Form
Lianne La Havas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, you breathe twin towers, oh, you gave your powers up.
And I can't teach you how to stop it, and you can't make me understand
Break, the withered habit, mm, I need your rabid smile
Your home, (with the family wife and child and wife and)
Your head, (days in the cemetery come the calm the calm the)
First body, last body
I wish the summer was over us in bursts
We're in the middle of nothing we can hold
And the sewers erupting life in gold
I'm gonna happen and happen until my whole give up the ghost
I'm gonna renew my sinew until my cells divide no more
So lean me up and take a picture, I can't move my legs and arms
It's too much information, too - much to be thinking of
And each of us have separate houses, and each of us have separate souls
And some of us do nothing, some - some of us do nothing more
Your home, (sleep as your figure becomes the stone, the stone, the)
Your head, (time with the family, sleep the wheel, the tomb, the)
Take form, (dance with the atrophy cold and warm and warm your)
First body, last body
I wish the cesspit would open like a bible
I wish the rotten would blossom with the tidal
And, I've never been able to divide us
I'm gonna wrestle and wrangle until my legs become unreal
I'm gonna stumble and scramble my way to lactic ecstasy
Yet while I can slumber, rest, move so slowly
It's creeping across his chest, like some cold weed
He's not as afraid as me, like some dancer.
I wish the cesspit would open like a bible
I wish the rotten would blossom with the tidal
And, I've never been able to divide us
I'm gonna wrestle and wrangle until my legs become unreal
I'm gonna stumble and scramble my way to lactic ecstasy
I wish the summer was over us in bursts
We're in the middle of nothing we can hold
And the sewers erupting life in gold
I'm gonna happen and happen until my whole give up the ghost
I'm gonna travel and travel until my cells divide no more
The lyrics of Lianne La Havas's song Final Form can be interpreted in many ways, but one interpretation could be that it is about the struggle of trying to find oneself and shedding the old versions of oneself to become something new. The first verse seems to be directed towards someone who is stuck in their old ways and cannot change, while the second verse talks about the separation between people and their different paths in life. The chorus, "First body, last body," could be a representation of the different versions of oneself over time, and the desire to shed the old to become something new.
The second half of the song takes on a more personal tone, with the singer expressing a desire to break away from their old self and become something new. The line "I'm gonna renew my sinew until my cells divide no more" could represent the idea of completely shedding the old and becoming a new person. Overall, the lyrics of Final Form seem to be about the struggle of finding oneself and becoming something new, shedding the old versions of oneself to become something greater.
Line by Line Meaning
What is that incessant humming? Coming from your manga maw?
What is that constant humming sound coming from your mouth like a comic book character?
Oh, you breathe twin towers, oh, you gave your powers up.
You breathe heavily like two towers, and you gave up your strength.
And I can't teach you how to stop it, and you can't make me understand
I can't explain how to stop it, and you can't make me comprehend.
Break, the withered habit, mm, I need your rabid smile
Stop the old habit, I need your intense smile.
Your home, (with the family wife and child and wife and)
Your dwelling place with the family, including wife and child.
Your head, (days in the cemetery come the calm the calm the)
Your thoughts, thinking about the calmness of days in the cemetery.
Take form, (Time as your figure becomes the stone the stone your)
Become solid like a stone as time passes.
First body, last body
Our bodies change and transform over time.
I wish the summer was over us in bursts
I wish summer would end quickly.
We're in the middle of nothing we can hold
We are in the midst of something that we can't grasp.
And the sewers erupting life in gold
The sewers are spewing out golden colored water.
I'm gonna happen and happen until my whole give up the ghost
I will continue to exist until the end of my life.
I'm gonna renew my sinew until my cells divide no more
I will keep rebuilding my strength until my cells stop dividing.
So lean me up and take a picture, I can't move my legs and arms
Help me stand up and take a photo, my arms and legs won't move.
It's too much information, too - much to be thinking of
It's overwhelming to think about.
And each of us have separate houses, and each of us have separate souls
We have different homes and different souls.
And some of us do nothing, some - some of us do nothing more
Some of us are inactive, some of us do just a little more.
Sleep as your figure becomes the stone, the stone, the
Sleeping until becoming a solid, solid figure.
Time with the family, sleep the wheel, the tomb, the
Family time and sleeping, suggesting mortality and tomb.
Take form, (dance with the atrophy cold and warm and warm your)
Become solid like a stone as time passes and keep yourself warm.
First body, last body
Our bodies change and transform over time.
I wish the cesspit would open like a bible
I wish everything would be revealed all at once.
I wish the rotten would blossom with the tidal
I wish the rotten things in life could grow and change.
And, I've never been able to divide us
I've never been able to separate us.
I'm gonna wrestle and wrangle until my legs become unreal
I will fight until I can fight no more.
I'm gonna stumble and scramble my way to lactic ecstasy
I will keep pushing myself to my physical limits.
Yet while I can slumber, rest, move so slowly
While I can take it easy and move slowly.
It's creeping across his chest, like some cold weed
Something is spreading like a cold weed inside him.
He's not as afraid as me, like some dancer.
He's not as scared as me, almost as if he's dancing through life.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ALEXANDER KAINES ROBERTSHAW, JEREMY JOSEPH PRITCHARD, JONATHAN JOSEPH HIGGS, MICHAEL DAVID SPEARMAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Dayna Tausig
Why was this never released!? I heard it once in a shop and I stopped in my tracks! I'm a HUGE EE Fan. This is a wonderful version.
Sam Davis
Daniela Carrera I think it’s only available in certain places like in the US her original EP isn’t available with all of the songs on it :(
Daniela Carrera
Actually it was released, you can find it in the Lost & Found EP
Shawn Gooden
everything this girl sings becomes golden
Noahm 97
I agree, but this song is gold already
TastyPlainPizza
She always takes covers and makes them her own. She's amazing
Kameryn Shadden
I'm upset that I've been an EE fan for years and am just now discovering this cover. DOPE.
Mad Pistol
This is easily one of her best covers! Such a gorgeous voice, and an amazing arrangement. Love this!
Suya Grille
she has one of those voices that influence others emotions. she's going somewhere even bigger with this God-given talent.
Chris Simpson
Love that she went and made a proper recorded version. Much crisper sound and really brings out the quality of the song. Brilliant cover E.E would love it!