Singer Hannah Reid (born on 30 December 1989) and guitarist Dan Rothman met in the dorms of Nottingham University where they began writing music together in 2009. They later added multi-instrumentalist Dot Major to complete the London Grammar line-up.
Their popularity rose with the 2012 release of "Hey Now" which they uploaded to the internet and instantly found an online cult following. Their self-released 2013 debut EP "Metal & Dust" reached the Top 5 of the iTunes chart. The same year they signed to Ministry of Sound and the single "Wasting My Young Years" appeared as the first release on the label. 2013 also saw them play a sold-out show at the Islington Assembly Hall and make an appearance at the Great Escape Festival in Brighton.
"Strong" was the next single extracted from the album "If You Wait", released on September 9th, 2013.
The band's album "Truth Is a Beautiful Thing" was released on 9 June 2017.
On 19 August 2020, London Grammar released “Baby It's You,” their first single since 2017.
Official site: http://londongrammar.com
Californian soil
London Grammar Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On Californian soil
And I left my pride
With that woman by my side
I never had a willing hand
And I never had a plan
But I'm glad I found you here
But I'm glad I've got you here
But I never had a name
And I never felt the same
They keep on trying oh
And they will keep on trying it oh
And they will keep on trying it oh
And I never felt the same
I am young, I am old
And so you do what you're told
I never had a willing hand
And so you pack up all your bags
But I'm glad I've got you here
Well I'm glad I've got you here
But I never felt the same
And this life is just a game
They keep on trying it, oh
They keep on trying it, oh
And they will keep on trying it oh
Until you never feel the same
In the opening lyrics of California Soil, the singer is reminiscing about a certain someone or something that was left behind in California. She reflects on leaving her soul on the Californian soil and her pride with a woman by her side. This nostalgic and melancholic vibe runs throughout the song, with the singer expressing gratitude for having someone by her side in the midst of the chaos of life. The lack of a plan or a name and feeling like life is just a game also hints at a sense of confusion and uncertainty about the future.
The repeated line "they will keep on trying it" could refer to the idea of society's expectation of success and a certain way of living, which might conflict with the individual's own desires or vision for their life. It almost seems like a warning or a reminder that the pressure to conform to societal norms will continue unabated, and one might never feel truly satisfied until they reject these societal constructs altogether. Overall, the lyrics of California Soil convey a sense of longing for the past, the pain of letting go and the struggle to find meaning and fulfillment in the present.
Line by Line Meaning
I left my soul
I feel like I lost a big part of who I am
On Californian soil
I associate this feeling with my time spent in California
And I left my pride
I also feel like I lost my sense of pride
With that woman by my side
This feeling might be related to a specific woman I was with
I never had a willing hand
I never felt like I had control over my life
And I never had a plan
I didn't know what I was doing or where I was going
But I'm glad I found you here
Despite feeling lost, I'm happy to have found someone who makes me feel less alone
But I'm glad I've got you here
I appreciate having you in my life
But I never had a name
I feel like I lack an identity or a sense of self
And I never felt the same
I feel like I've changed or lost something essential about myself
They keep on trying oh
People keep trying to change or control me
And they will keep on trying it oh
This will continue to happen
And they will keep on trying it oh
It's a persistent problem
And I never felt the same
The constant pressure to conform or change makes me feel like I'm losing myself
I am young, I am old
I feel like I've experienced a lot of life despite my age
And so you do what you're told
I feel like I've been pushed to follow other people's expectations instead of my own desires
And so you pack up all your bags
I've had to leave things behind and start over many times
But I'm glad I've got you here
I appreciate having someone to share this experience with
Well I'm glad I've got you here
You make the journey worth it
But I never felt the same
Despite having someone by my side, I still feel like something is missing
And this life is just a game
I feel like life is something to be played or won, rather than truly lived
They keep on trying it, oh
The pressure to conform never truly goes away
They keep on trying it, oh
It's a constant challenge
And they will keep on trying it oh
But I won't let them change who I am
Until you never feel the same
I won't allow myself to lose my sense of self, even if people keep pushing me to do so
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Daniel Harry Joseph Rothman, Dominic Ashley Ronald Major, Hannah Felicity May Reid
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ollieee1640
Lyrics:
I left my soul
On Californian soil
And I left my pride
With that woman by my side
I never had a willing hand
And I never had a plan
But I'm glad I found you here
But I'm glad I've got you here
But I never had a name
And I never felt the same
They keep on trying ohh
And they will keep on trying it ohh
And they will keep on trying it ohh
and I never felt the same
I am young, I am old
And so you do what you're told
I never had a willing hand
And so you pack up all your bags
But I'm glad I've got you here
Well I'm glad I've got you here
But I never felt the same
And this life is just a game
They keep on trying it ohhh
They keep on trying it ohh
And they will keep on trying it ohhh
Until you never feel the same
(I think this is correct, please correct be below if I got some of it wrong)
Absolutely love this song, London Grammar can do nothing wrong, here to save 2020
Love from Ireland
@annakoszegi5176
With London Grammar every song is a spiritual experience.
@khurshedshomahmadov3268
yeah )))
@lindadelrosso8231
so true!
@georgeegeorgee
seems to me you don't understand the meaning of a "spiritual experience", or you're wired to a low bar
@cassandrahabel1949
Hello
@67punkyd
WELL said! :)
@theoriginalLG19
Cannot express the healing your voice has on my mental health, whenever I feel anxious, stressed or upset your music always brings me joy
@TheHorsebox2
I can see how this is so.
@gnasher688
Liam Gibson - totally relate to this my friend 🙏
@historyben7122
After about a hundred listens, I still can't quite figure out what emotion this is making me feel