Martina Topley Bird is a British vocalist who first gained fame as the feat… Read Full Bio ↴Martina Topley Bird is a British vocalist who first gained fame as the featured female vocalist on trip hop pioneer Tricky's debut album Maxinquaye (a printing error credited her as "Martine"). She was educated at Clifton College where she sang in the choir. It was while she was a young precocious teenager at the school that she met trip hop pioneer Tricky. She continued her collaboration with Tricky on his follow-up albums Nearly God, Pre-Millennium Tension and Angels with Dirty Faces.

Following a falling-out of their professional and personal relationship in 1998, she began pursuing a solo career. It was not until 2003 that she released her debut album, Quixotic (Independiente Records), mainly produced by Martina and production team AMP9 (Alex McGowan, Steve Crittall, Nick Bird) at Space Eko Recording Studios London. Upon its release, it received rave reviews from critics and was a finalist for the 2003 Mercury Music Prize. The song "Sandpaper Kisses" from the album was featured in the video game, Fahrenheit (released in North America as Indigo Prophecy).

The album finally saw a release, of sorts, in the United States in July 2004 when the Palm Pictures label released a re-designed and re-sequenced version with a new title (Anything), a trimmed-down tracklisting and all-new cover art.

The following year she appeared on the Starbucks compilation album, Sweetheart 2005: Love Songs, which features contemporary musicians covering classic love songs. She sang "I Only Have Eyes for You", a song originally by The Flamingos.

Her second solo album, The Blue God, was released in May 2008. The track "Carnies" was released as the first single on 3 March 2008[3]and reached No.20 on the UK Indie Charts. "Poison" was released as the second single and reached No.9 on the Indie Charts.

Lying
Martina Topley Bird Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I walked out of the house in your
Girlfriend's clothes
They fit me better than I would
Have supposed
My mind close the curtain
On a lonely repose
And when I walk around town
Everybody knows

I'm lying with you
Backsliding with you
Not trying with you
I'm lying with you

Out of the house with hangover shame
Don't punish me for not calling you
Come by the house, I'll be there at eight,
Waiting on the stoop for you

I'm lying with you
Backsliding with you
I'm not trying with you
I'm lying with you

Where are you Ilya?
Where are you Ilya?

Telephone's ringing and I'm at work
Look around to see if anybody heard
When I'm undercover I know it's absurd
But I want it and I can't say no
But I want it and I can't say no

I'm lying with you
Backsliding with you
Not trying with you
I'm lying with you

Where are you?
Where are you?

Dadada

Overall Meaning

The opening lines suggest that the singer has worn her lover's girlfriend's clothes, which fit her better than she imagined they would. This may imply that she is trying to impersonate someone closer to her lover, or it could simply be a metaphor indicating that she feels comfortable within his world. However, the use of the feminine article "your" before the word "girlfriend" indicates that someone else is involved or that the lover is also interested in women. The second stanza sounds like a plea for forgiveness after a night of drinking, and the singer's lover hasn't heard from her in some time, indicating some problems with communication. The third stanza has a sense of paranoia and secrecy. The singer is at work, and the phone is ringing. She's trying to keep something a secret, but she wants it too much, and she finds herself being dishonest with herself and her partner. The repetition of the question "Where are you Ilya?" at the end of each verse provokes the listener to assume that Ilya is the singer's boyfriend, and he's blatantly ignoring her.

The chorus implies that the singer is keeping her relationship with her partner secret and isn't interested in fixing it. Moreover, the fact that she talks about her shame indicates that her relationship could be either something society doesn't agree with, or it's just that everything is wrong in accounts of the relationship. In general, the song is about a relationship that is bound with a lot of secrecy and dishonesty. It's about the singer being involved with someone who doesn't feel like coming out in the open with a relationship. The lyrics are also significant because they unfold the question of why people can't say what they genuinely think, and why they believe that they need to lie to protect themselves.

Line by Line Meaning

I walked out of the house in your girlfriend's clothes
I left wearing the clothes of the person you're in a relationship with

They fit me better than I would have supposed
Surprisingly, the clothes fit me well

My mind close the curtain on a lonely repose
I try to distract myself from feeling alone

And when I walk around town everybody knows
People can tell I'm trying to be someone I'm not

Out of the house with hangover shame
I left the house feeling embarrassed for my actions while under the influence of alcohol

Don't punish me for not calling you
Please don't be angry with me for not contacting you

Come by the house, I'll be there at eight, waiting on the stoop for you
Meet me at my house at 8PM and I'll be waiting for you outside

Telephone's ringing and I'm at work
My phone is ringing while I'm at my job

Look around to see if anybody heard
I check my surroundings to make sure no one is listening

When I'm undercover I know it's absurd
I acknowledge that my actions are strange when I'm trying to keep something secret

But I want it and I can't say no
Despite knowing it's not right, I am unable to resist