In 2002, Gudrun Gut's label Monika-Enterprise released Masha's first solo album, "Luck", followed by a string of European concerts, a tour with Calexico and collaborations with a. o. Rechenzentrum, ISO68, Kissogramm and Knarf Rellöm.
Together with Mina guitarist Norman Nitzsche, Masha went on to build her own studio, "Villa Qrella", a popular haunt of Berlin's finest, among them The Whitest Boy Alive, Jim Avignon vs. Neoangin, Frank Spilker or Die Türen. Never one to rest on her laurels, she also composed a number of soundtracks (e. g. for the German feature film "Kleinruppin Forever"), released a range of remixes and sampler contributions and created yet another outlet for her musical musings with NMFarner (two albums in 2005 and 2006).
In 2005, Masha Qrella's second solo album, "Unsolved Remained", appeared on Morr Music. Around the same time, she started to perform with a full line-up, taking her new band across Europe and the United States. On her return, Contriva emerged from their lengthy hiatus to record another studio album.
Two years later, in 2007, the Berlin-based "House of World Cultures" commissioned Masha Qrella to interpret several New York Broadway songs by Kurt Weill and Frederick Loewe a project that took on a life of its own. Inspired by the material, she decided to record these songs with her own band. The result of this collaboration, "Speak Low" (2009), is now available on Morr Music.
Inspired and inspirational, Masha already has her next projects in sight. Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming solo album and a collaborative project between her band Contriva and American experimentalists Chessie.
Speak Low
Masha Qrella Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Our summer day withers away
Too soon, too soon.
Speak low when you speak, love,
Our moment is swift, like ships adrift,
We're swept apart too soon.
Love is a spark lost in the dark,
Too soon, too soon,
I feel wherever I go
That tomorrow is near, tomorrow is here
And always too soon.
Time is so old and love so brief,
Love is pure gold and time a thief.
We're late darling, we're late,
The curtain descends, ev'rything ends
Too soon, too soon,
I wait darling, I wait
Will you speak low to me,
Speak love to me and soon.
The lyrics to Masha Qrella's song Speak Low express a feeling of fleeting love and the fear of losing it too soon. The first two stanzas caution the lover to speak softly, as their happy summer romance is coming to an end too quickly. The next stanza paints a picture of love being a spark that is easily snuffed out by the overwhelming darkness of time. The singer feels the constant presence of time, always hovering and waiting to end the happiness she has found in love. The last stanza, however, is an entreaty to the lover to prolong their happiness by speaking low and expressing their love to each other.
The lyrics of this song are full of contrasts and lessons in love. Time is portrayed as both eternal and fleeting, but love is even more valuable because of its short lifespan. The lovers are happy, but always in danger of losing that happiness too soon. The song is full of longing, but also the realization that the moments of love are precious and should not be wasted. The repeated call to "speak low" is a reminder that love is not always loud and passionate, but can also be quiet and gentle.
Line by Line Meaning
Speak low when you speak, love,
Lower your voice when you express your love, imply that love is precious and private.
Our summer day withers away
Our pleasant time together will end soon.
Too soon, too soon.
It's a pity that everything ends very quickly.
Our moment is swift, like ships adrift,
Our time together is like a ship that moves in the water, without direction or purpose.
We're swept apart too soon.
Our moments of togetherness are few and far between, and end too quickly.
Speak low, darling speak low,
Talk quietly, convey your love through actions rather than words.
Love is a spark lost in the dark,
Love is a fragile, fleeting emotion that can easily be extinguished.
Too soon, too soon,
It's a shame that love often ends before it has a chance to grow.
I feel wherever I go
The artist senses that time is fleeting and that love is always present, but difficult to hold onto.
That tomorrow is near, tomorrow is here
The future is always close at hand and the present moment will quickly become the past.
And always too soon.
Everything seems to happen quickly and end abruptly.
Time is so old and love so brief,
Time endures through the ages, while love is fleeting and ephemeral.
Love is pure gold and time a thief.
Love is valuable and rare, while time inevitably takes away all good things.
We're late darling, we're late,
We don't have much time left to express our love fully.
The curtain descends, ev'rything ends
Life is like a play, with a definite end, and our time on stage is limited.
Too soon, too soon,
The end always comes too quickly.
I wait darling, I wait
The artist is longing to spend more time with her love, but time is running out.
Will you speak low to me,
The artist hopes that her love will express their feelings quietly and intimately.
Speak love to me and soon.
Express your love to me through your actions, and do it quickly before it's too late.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Kurt Weill, Ogden Nash
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind