Maria Diane Taylor (born May 21, 1976) is an American singer/songwriter fro… Read Full Bio ↴Maria Diane Taylor (born May 21, 1976) is an American singer/songwriter from Birmingham, Alabama. She is also a member of the duo Azure Ray, with Orenda Fink, and Now It's Overhead, both on Saddle Creek Records. She plays several instruments, including the piano, guitar, and drums. Taylor plays with the high E-string removed from her guitar. Taylor previously dated Bright Eyes singer-songwriter Conor Oberst. She is married to Ryan Dwyer and has two children.

Taylor started her musical career at the age of fifteen in the band Little Red Rocket with Orenda Fink which released two albums on Geffen, Who Did You Pay (1997) and It's in the Sound (2000). The group disbanded during the merging of Geffen with Universal Music Group.

Taylor later moved to Athens, Georgia along with her musical collaborator, Fink where they formed the band Azure Ray.

Taylor released her first solo album 11:11 on Saddle Creek Records on May 24, 2005. The album features Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes, Gretta Cohn of Cursive, Andy LeMaster and Mike Mogis as both musicians and producers. Grey's Anatomy named its March 31, 2011 episode Song Beneath the Song after a track from the album and also featured the song on the original soundtrack. Taylor later recorded a new song for Grey's Anatomy's 2005 Christmas episode entitled Christmas After All. Her second solo album, Lynn Teeter Flower, was released on March 6, 2007, also on Saddle Creek. A Good Start, the first track, was subsequently named one of NPR's 10 best songs of the year for 2007. The Ballad of Sean Foley was co-written with Conor Oberst. The following year she released an acoustic album titled Savannah Drive with Andy LeMaster which includes stripped-down versions of songs from her first two albums, plus one new track, Tell Me. On March 31, 2009 she released her third full length, LadyLuck via Nettwerk Music Group featuring the song Cartoons and Forever Plans, co-written by and including guest vocals from Michael Stipe of R.E.M.. LadyLuck reached number 48 on Billboard's "Heatseakers" charts.

Overlook, Maria's 4th solo album, was released August 16, 2011. After moving back to her hometown of Birmingham, Taylor was unable to write for nearly a year, eventually composing the entire album over two weeks during a break in touring with Azure Ray. This release marks the first time Taylor produced her own album. Paste called Overlook "her best, most animated collection in years." [19]

Maria Taylor released her fifth solo record, Something About Knowing on October 29, 2013 on Saddle Creek Records.

After moving back to Los Angeles, Taylor wrote and recorded In the Next Life, released December 9, 2016 on her own label, Flower Moon Records. The album features guest appearances from familiar collaborators Joshua Radin, Conor Oberst, among others. If Only (featuring Conor Oberst) was prominently featured in NBC's This Is Us. NPR, who premiered the full album stream, called it "her warmest and most affecting album... filled with gorgeous, touching songs about family, legacy, fear and the pursuit of contentment."

In November 2017, Taylor joined Ben Lee and an all star band of other musicians as Daniel Johnston's back band during the Los Angeles stop of his final tour.

In April 2018, Paste premiered Real Life (Trump Era) from the Friends and Family Vol. 1 compilation, put out on her label, Flower Moon Records. Released May 11, 2018, other contributors included Azure Ray bandmate Orenda Fink, Nik Freitas, Louis Schefano, Jake Bellows[/artist, and more. Flower Moon Records has since re-released Taylor's earlier albums, 11:11 and LadyLuck. On November 11, 2019, Taylor released her self-titled album, Maria Taylor.

Clean Getaway
Maria Taylor Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I made my place by the door
I didn't know what I was waiting for
It felt just like home
Except no grass, no yard, no pictures hung

I could see across to the park
And there were friends
They were laughing hard

They looked just like my own
With no face, no name, no voice I know

I finally made it
I made a clean getaway
I finally made it
I made a clean getaway

I met someone at the bar
He had a great smile and a great heart
It felt just like love
Except no fear of losing and it wasn't tough

I finally made it
I made a clean getaway
I finally made it
I made a clean getaway

And I miss you
I miss you every single day

Overall Meaning

In the song Clean Getaway by Maria Taylor, the singer finds herself in a new place, which feels like home but lacks familiar features, such as grass, a yard, and pictures. The singer then looks across to a nearby park and sees friends who look just like her own, except without identifying features. It is as if the singer is searching for a sense of belonging and familiarity but is unable to find it in her present surroundings.

The singer then meets someone at a bar who has a great heart and smile. They begin a relationship that feels like love but without the fear of losing or the same level of difficulty the singer may have experienced in previous relationships. The repetition of the chorus emphasizes the singer's feelings of finally making a clean getaway from her past and finding something new and refreshing, yet she still misses someone every single day.

Line by Line Meaning

I made my place by the door
I found a spot to sit and wait

I didn't know what I was waiting for
I was unsure of what the future held

It felt just like home
I found comfort in my surroundings

Except no grass, no yard, no pictures hung
But there were no familiar or personal touches

I could see across to the park
I had a view of the outside world

And there were friends
I could see people enjoying themselves

They were laughing hard
They seemed to be having a great time

They looked just like my own
They reminded me of people I know

With no face, no name, no voice I know
Even though they looked familiar, I didn't know them personally

I finally made it
Eventually, I succeeded

I made a clean getaway
I left my past behind with no regrets or hindrances