Born on the 2nd February 1985 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Gardot took up piano and played as a youngster on the nightclub scene of Philadelphia, influenced by jazz, folk, rock, and pop musics. At the age of nineteen she was a fashion student at the Community College of Philadelphia. While cycling in Philadelphia in November 2003 she was hit by a car whose driver had ignored a red traffic light. In the accident she suffered serious head and spinal injuries, and her pelvis was broken in two places. Because of these severe injuries she was confined to her hospital bed for a year. Her musical beginning was prompted by a tending physician who was concerned with her cognitive impairment as a result of head injury sustained in the accident. He believed that music would help her brain injury improve, as it has been known to show remarkable results in improving people's cognitive ability after such trauma.
Following her doctor's suggestion, Gardot made recordings bedside, while still unable to walk, and eventually released the works as an EP: Some Lessons: The Bedroom Sessions (2005). Gardot's desire to be well, combined with a bit of luck, brought her to the attention of a local radio DJ at the AAA station WXPN (known for launching the careers of artists such as Amos Lee and Norah Jones). Her cognitive powers slowly but surely became pronounced, leading to the independent recording and release of her debut CD, Worrisome Heart, which was reissued in 2007 by Verve records.
Gardot is hypersensitive to light and noise, so wears dark glasses; she also uses a cane to walk. Onstage she requires a special seating unit, and wears a Transcutaneous Electro-Nerve Stimulator, a TENS device, to assist in alleviating her neuralgic muscle pain. Though touring is difficult, she has been performing in major cities on the East Coast of the U.S. to support her recordings. In 2009, working with producer Larry Klein and arranger Vince Mendoza - both known for their work with Joni Mitchell - Gardot followed up her Verve debut with My One and Only Thrill.
In 2012, she released the album The Absence.
If The Stars Were Mine
Melody Gardot Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'd give them all to you
I'd pluck them down right from the sky
And leave it only blue
I would never let the sun forget to shine upon your face
So when others would have rain clouds you'd have only sunny days
If the stars were mine
I'd tell you what I'd do
If the birds were mine
I'd tell them when to sing
I'd make them sing a sonnet when your telephone would ring
I would put them there inside the square, whenever you went out
So there'd always be sweet music whenever you would walk about
If the birds were mine
I'd tell you what I'd do
I'd teach the birds such lovely words and make them sing for you
I'd teach the birds such lovely words and make them sing for you
If the world was mine
I'd paint it gold and green
I'd make the oceans orange for a brilliant color scheme
I would color all the mountains, make the sky forever blue
So the world would be a painting and I'd live inside with you
If the world was mine
I'd tell you what I'd do
I'd wrap the world in ribbons and then give it all to you
I'd teach the birds such lovely words and make them sing for you
I'd put those stars right in a jar and
Give them all to you
Melody Gardot's song "If the Stars Were Mine" is a love song that describes the depths of affection the singer has for someone. She says that she is willing to do anything to make that person happy, even if it meant owning the stars, painting the mountains, or directing the birds to sing just for them. The verse "If the stars were mine, I'd give them all to you" argues that the singer would take the stars down from the sky to offer them to the individual she loves. The second verse suggests she will give them a unique ringing experience, with birds singing beautiful songs whenever they go outside, and accompanying them as they move about in daily life.
The final verse proposes that if the world belonged to the singer, she would transform it to suit the pleasure of the one she loves. She would make the oceans orange, the mountains colorful, and the sky blue to make the world a breathtaking painting that she and her loved one could live in. She goes on to say that she would wrap the world with ribbons and give it all to the person she loves.
Overall, "If the Stars Were Mine" is devoted to all-encompassing, overwhelming love that goes beyond boundaries, and the singer is willing to do everything to keep her loved one happy.
Line by Line Meaning
If the stars were mine
If I had control over the stars
I'd give them all to you
I would offer them all to you as a gift
I'd pluck them down right from the sky
I would take them down from the sky for you
And leave it only blue
The sky would only be blue in the absence of the stars
I would never let the sun forget to shine upon your face
I would make sure the sun always shines upon you
So when others would have rain clouds you'd have only sunny days
You would have sunny days while others have rainy days
I'd tell you what I'd do
Let me tell you what else I would do
I'd put the stars right in a jar and give them all to you
I would give you the stars in a jar
If the birds were mine
If I had control over the birds
I'd tell them when to sing
I would command them to sing at certain times
I'd make them sing a sonnet when your telephone would ring
I would make them sing a beautiful song when you receive a call
I would put them there inside the square, whenever you went out
I would place the birds in public places so that you always hear beautiful music when you go out
So there'd always be sweet music whenever you would walk about
You would always hear sweet music when you walk around
I'd teach the birds such lovely words and make them sing for you
I would teach the birds beautiful words to sing for you
If the world was mine
If I had control over the world
I'd paint it gold and green
I would color it all in gold and green
I'd make the oceans orange for a brilliant color scheme
I would color the oceans orange for a beautiful color combination
I would color all the mountains, make the sky forever blue
I would paint the mountains and sky in a beautiful color scheme
So the world would be a painting and I'd live inside with you
The world would be like a beautiful painting and we would live in it together
I'd wrap the world in ribbons and then give it all to you
I would wrap the world in ribbons as a present for you
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MELODY GARDOT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind