Melissa McClelland (born c. 1979) is an American-born Canadian singer and s… Read Full Bio ↴Melissa McClelland (born c. 1979) is an American-born Canadian singer and songwriter who lived in Burlington, Ontario in her youth and now bases her career from Toronto. McClelland's music is influenced by blues and americana. A writer on CMJ's staff blog wrote that McClelland has "a persona reminiscent of a female Tom Waits."

Biography

Melissa McClelland was born in Chicago, Illinois. She spent her youth in Burlington, Ontario before developing her career in Toronto. McClelland married Luke Doucet on June 24, 2006; the two have played together on numerous stages, including at the 2006 Calgary Folk Music Festival. He has produced three of her records, Stranded in Suburbia, Thumbelina's One Night Stand and Victoria Day.

In 2006 McClelland opened for Matthew Good's solo acoustic tour across Canada. During the tour the two singers closed Matthew Good's set with a duet performance of the Nine Inch Nails song "Hurt".

She also works with Sarah McLachlan, providing backing vocals at her live shows. McLachlan makes a guest appearance on the song "Go Down Matthew" from McClelland's album Thumbelina's One Night Stand.

Performing live.

"Skyway Bridge" (off of Thumbelina's One Night Stand) features Greg Keelor from Blue Rodeo. Additionally, McClelland is the only guest artist on Blue Rodeo's 2008 live album, "Blue Road".
In 2007 McClelland opened a tour with Jesse Cook and sang on his recording of "It Ain't Me Babe" (a Bob Dylan cover) which was released on his 2007 album Frontiers. "It Ain't Me Babe" was released as a single from that album, which spent 3 weeks in the top position on Billboard's world music charts.

Also in 2007, McClelland's "Passenger 24" won in The 6th Annual Independent Music Awards for Best Americana Song.
McClelland's song "Rooftop" was featured on the 2005 soundtrack CD of the television series Degrassi: The Next Generation. The song was played on the ending montage of the 2004 episode "Time Stands Still Pt. 2", in which a main character, Jimmy Brooks (Aubrey Graham) was shot by a bullied student, Rick Murray (Ephraim Ellis). She also performed the theme song for the children's reality show This Is Daniel Cook.

Discography

2001: Melissa McClelland (Daddy Warbucks Records/independent)
20 April 2004: Stranded in Suburbia (Orange/Universal)
23 May 2006: Thumbelina's One Night Stand (Orange/Universal)
14 April 2009: Victoria Day (Six Shooter Records)

Stranded in Suburbia

In 2004 McClelland released Stranded in Suburbia on Orange Record Label. In the same year, her side-band Ladybird Sideshow released a live album entitled Ladybird Sideshow Live at the Orange Lounge'.'

Thumbelina's One Night Stand

McClelland's followup album, Thumbelina's One Night Stand was released in 2006. Reviews drew attention to the eclectic nature of the album. Exclaim! Magazine described the album as "impossible to pin down stylistically, as it segues from roots-y rock ("Passenger 24") to country ("Taxi Ride") to chamber pop ("Solitary Life") to folk (a cover of Randy Newman’s "Dayton Ohio") and blues ("Go Down Matthew")."

Victoria Day

In late 2008 Melissa McClelland began work on Victoria Day, her fourth album, and first for Six Shooter Records. Victoria Day was scheduled for release on April 14, 2009. The album was recorded at Canterbury Music by Jeremy Darby, and was produced by Luke Doucet.

Victoria Day has a vintage 1950s sound, combining dixieland with "high lonesome twang". "Seasoned Lovers", from Victoria Day, features vocals from Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith.

What If
Melissa McClelland Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

You call time out
It's coming to closure
I spin you 'round
Till you fall over
And over
And over
And it's over

I'm too scared to
Be brave for you
Courage is not
To be thought through

And if I knew what to do
I wouldn't keep on asking you
And I still try to justify
A heart that's filled with
Karmic fear and doom
And everything's
Too far away too soon
What if

I call time out
Close your eyes
Count to ten
I'll spin you 'round
Till you fall down again
And again
And again
And never again

I dropped a hint
Right on your doorstep
I let light in
Just as the darkness set

And you know I
Want to try
Everything to make you mine
But when you are
I'll push you far away
And pray one day this might stop
And the momentum
Of my hear will drop
What if
What if

What if I love you
What if I love you
What if I love you

I love you
I love you

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Melissa McClelland’s What If appear to describe a relationship at a crossroads. The singer seems to be struggling with the idea of being vulnerable, expressing courage, and taking a risk to possibly commit to this relationship. She appears enmeshed in her fears of what calamities may occur if she were to let down her guard and allow herself to care for this individual deeply. It's a song about the tremendous doubt that can fester within oneself, making what seems so simple, so difficult.

The tone of the song is one of ambiguous ambivalence. On the one hand, the lyrics express longing and emotion, with the repetition of the line ‘what if I love you’. On the other hand, the lyrics express a significant degree of apprehension: 'Karmic fears and doom' and 'I’ll push you far away' when you are finally mine. Thus, the song explores this common human contradiction: the indecision and hesitation that can arise in the face of commitment.

Line by Line Meaning

You call time out
You want to end this

It's coming to closure
This is the end

I spin you 'round
I confuse you

Till you fall over
Until you can't handle it anymore

And over
And again and again

And it's over
It's done

I'm too scared to
I'm afraid

Be brave for you
To be courageous for you

Courage is not
Being brave is not

To be thought through
Something to be rationalized

And if I knew what to do
If I had the answers