Madi Diaz (born May 14, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and musician… Read Full Bio ↴Madi Diaz (born May 14, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. Raised and home-schooled in Pennsylvania's Lancaster county, she is the daughter of musician Eric Svalgard (keyboards in the noted Frank Zappa cover band Project/Object) and schoolteacher Nancy Diaz. Encouraged by her parents, Diaz began commuting to Philadelphia in 2002 to attend The Paul Green School of Rock Music, where her father volunteered (today her father runs the Wilmington, DE, branch of the school, where Diaz's brother Max is also an instructor).

Her somewhat contentious relationship with Green himself would be captured for audiences to see in the 2005 documentary film Rock School. Even at that young age, Madi had forceful ideas about her music, an instinct that has served her well in avoiding lazy categorization.

Green's School of Rock led to a scholarship at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, where Madi would spend the next three years. Beyond musical education, it was at Berklee that she met producer Frank Charlton and engineer Martin Cooke, with whom she would record her first solo album, Skin and Bone, in early 2007. Joining her for the sessions was another Berklee student, Kyle Ryan, her songwriting and performing collaborator ever since.

Skin and Bone is a sparkling debut, capturing a rootsy side of Diaz as singer-songwriter and drawing comparisons to the work of artists like Patty Griffin. But just as soon as Skin and Bone arrived, Diaz was already moving forward. She and Ryan began co-writing with others, and the pair, often joined by bass player Adam Popick, started to play regularly in and around Boston. A chance meeting at a show in New York City lead Madi to her manager Ty Stiklorius (part of John Legend's management team) and in turn to a publishing deal with Cherry Lane (Ryan, too, signed with Cherry Lane).

With support from her new management and publisher, doors began to open and interest in Madi grew, especially after people saw her perform at places like the Rocky Mountain Folk Festival, WXPN Phildelphia's XPoNential Music Festival and the Living Room in New York City's Lower East Side.

Diaz and Ryan began co-writing with folks like Sarah Siskind, Garrison Starr and David Mead, and recording demos with producers Gary Paczosa (Dixie Chicks, Alison Krauss), Marshall Altman (Matt Nathanson) and Jay Joyce (Patty Griffin). Those sessions eventually spurred Diaz and Ryan to uproot from Boston and move to Nashville, where they continued to write new material and ingratiate themselves into the local scene through local gigs at The Basement and Mercy Lounge. Nashville producers, Ian Fitchuck and Justin Loucks (Landon Pigg, Griffin House, De Novo Dahl) became friends and soon collaborators, the first byproduct of which is Diaz and Ryan's new EP, Ten Gun Salute.

The sound of Ten Gun Salute might surprise those who have heard Skin and Bone, as Madi and Kyle veer off into new sonic territories. Toy pianos plink. Fat basslines oomph. Americana overtones give way to imaginative pop structures. All the while there's that amazing voice weaving through. From the simple and sublime "Heavy Heart," to the instantly memorable "Nothing At All," the evocative storytelling of "Love You Now" to the damn-near-epic title track, Ten Gun Salute finds Diaz soaring.

Gone Away
Madi Diaz Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Gone, gone away, gone away in the night

in the night, in the night, in the night, is the light

is the light you won’t ever see

hand, in your hand, in your hand, in your hand

is the sound, is the sound, is the sound, is the sound

is the sound that leaves all of us

are you or are you not my friend

can you understand me

without some kind of magic hearing aid from across the sea of japan?

down, down, down you go

in the way, in the way, in the way that you flow

that you flow

and i won’t say “i”

you won’t listen when i’m talking to your face

and you won’t pretend

taking care of yourself can be a chore

for all your friends’ weekends

gone, gone away, gone away in the night

in the night, in the night, in the night, is the light

is it all you hoped it would be

you will not see me

Overall Meaning

The song "Gone Away" by Madi Diaz tells the story of a friendship that has faded away. The first verse describes how the friendship has disappeared into the night, with no hope of being seen again. The use of repetition in the lyrics, specifically "in the night" and "is the light," creates a sense of finality and distance. The second verse delves deeper into the issues that have caused the friendship to deteriorate. The singer questions whether or not the other person is still a friend and if they can understand her without the aid of some kind of "magic hearing aid." She goes on to describe how the other person has become distant and is no longer willing to listen to her, even when she's talking directly to them.

The third verse seems to reference the idea that the other person has become selfish and self-absorbed. The lyrics "taking care of yourself can be a chore for all your friends' weekends" suggests that the other person is not only neglecting their friendship with the singer but also neglecting their responsibilities to other friends as well. The repetition of "gone away" throughout the song serves as a reminder of the irreversible nature of lost connections, of the time and moments we can never get back.

Overall, "Gone Away" is a sad and poignant song about the pain of losing a friendship. The repetition and imagery used throughout the lyrics create a sense of finality that drives home the message of the song.

Line by Line Meaning

Gone, gone away, gone away in the night
Vanished, vanished into the obscurity of the night

in the night, in the night, in the night, is the light
The darkness of the night is the prominent thing around

is the light you won’t ever see
You won't get to witness the brightness of the light

hand, in your hand, in your hand, in your hand
Holding hands with somebody

is the sound, is the sound, is the sound, is the sound
A particular noise that echoes in our ears

is the sound that leaves all of us
The noise that makes everyone feel abandoned by their dear ones

are you or are you not my friend
Can I trust you as a friend or not?

can you understand me
Do you comprehend my thoughts and feelings?

without some kind of magic hearing aid from across the sea of japan?
Can you understand my deepest emotions without any assistance?

down, down, down you go
Your position descends

in the way, in the way, in the way that you flow
In the direction that you're going