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.
Night School
Lianne La Havas Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He took a light
Twisted my arms, I couldn't learn to fight
The last known pupil with the teacher of the night
Gave him my soul, familiar price
He knew I'd follow
But I'm the fool too blind to realize
I had to take his life
My soul shown too bright
She did what she thought to be right
He took my voice, had nothing left
Gave me no choice I'd have to cheat to pass his unfair test
Before I knew it I'd been taught to fear the light
So I had to take his life
My soul shown too bright
She did what she thought to be right
Before the daylight came
I drowned his heart in shame
I broke his arms and legs
Now he;s as good as dead
But oh how he still begs
To trade my soul for light
If I bring him back to life
But I should've known he'd lie
The song Night School by Lianne La Havas is a story of a victim of abuse who seeks revenge on her abuser. The singer talks about a teacher from a night school who took advantage of her vulnerability and twisted her arms, silencing her voice and making her learn to fear the light. With time, the singer understands that the teacher has taken away her self-worth and soul, and realizes the only way she can take back her power is by killing the teacher, which she does. And though the teacher begs to trade his life for her soul, she knows it's a lie.
The lyrics are rich in metaphorical language and symbolism. The night school and dark atmosphere represent the teacher's evil ways, while daylight and shame symbolize the singer's transformation and rebirth. The teacher represents an oppressor, who manipulates and torments the singer, robbing her of her dignity and sense of self. However, she rises above the situation and takes matters into her own hands. She becomes a vigilante for justice, taking the life of her abuser.
Lianne La Havas has created a powerful story with Night School, a song that talks about trauma and recovery, revenge and redemption. It is a song that encourages victims of abuse and injustice to find strength within themselves and fight back against their oppressors.
Line by Line Meaning
So far, solo
I have been alone in this journey
He took a light
The teacher (he) showed me a glimpse of light
Twisted my arms, I couldn't learn to fight
The teacher made me feel helpless and unable to defend myself
The last known pupil with the teacher of the night
I was the last student of the teacher who only taught during the night
Gave him my soul, familiar price
I gave the teacher my all, with the knowledge that it had a cost
He knew I'd follow
The teacher was aware that I would always obey him
But I'm the fool too blind to realize
I was foolish and unable to see the truth
That I'd been silenced by the teacher of the night
The teacher had rendered me voiceless
I had to take his life
I felt the need to end the teacher's life
My soul shown too bright
I revealed my true self and motives
She did what she thought to be right
I did what I believed was the right thing to do
He took my voice, had nothing left
The teacher had taken away my ability to speak
Gave me no choice I'd have to cheat to pass his unfair test
The teacher had set up an unfair exam that forced me to cheat in order to pass
Before I knew it I'd been taught to fear the light
Without realizing it, the teacher made me afraid of the light
Before the daylight came
Before the truth was revealed
I drowned his heart in shame
I filled the teacher with guilt and regret
I broke his arms and legs
I harmed the teacher physically
Now he's as good as dead
The teacher is as good as dead
But oh how he still begs
The teacher still begs for his life
To trade my soul for light
The teacher asks me to give up my soul for a chance at redemption
If I bring him back to life
The teacher wants me to revive him
But I should've known he'd lie
I should have realized the teacher was not trustworthy
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DANIEL DE MUSSENDEN CAREY, LIANNE CHARLOTTE BARNES, STEPHEN FRETWELL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Morgan Freeman
I hate that this and a few more of her songs aren't on the album :( they're so good, SHE'S so good
Old Stock White Canadian
I think this artist has not done impressing us with her own very unique way of delivering amazing content. This is the song that made me discover her and am still not tired of listening to it ;)
Joyceboyd23 Boyd
SHE REMINDS ME OF SADE !
THEY DELIVER A SONG
IN A COOL WAY.
ALL OF DAD'S MUSIC IS
BEAUTIFUL.
Shannon Brown
Love this woman! So illustrative!
cinnamon slice
Yet another great track.. 👌👏👏👏👏🔥🔥💕
原田明
I love all her songs.
TheAnchella
just hoooow many extra songs are there on the deluxe version? ha - I did not know that there was a deluxe version.
thank you youtube (and uploaders) :)
candii10
THANK YOU!!! I've been looking for this song for a while =]
appleintheeye1
Thanks for uploading this! This should be everywhere!
Josiah Brady
This song... Same as Me, Liar... Plenty songs that I wish would have been on the album. Also, Weird Fishes.... if that song was written before the album