Miranda Lee Richards (born April 4, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter.… Read Full Bio ↴Miranda Lee Richards (born April 4, 1975) is an American singer-songwriter. Her 2001 release "The Herethereafter" included original compositions such as "The Beginner" as well as a cover of The Rolling Stones' 1967 single "Dandelion". Her single "The Long Goodbye" reached into the top five in Japan, and the music video for this song was in heavy rotation on MTV Japan. Her album "Echoes of the Dreamtime" was released worldwide on 29 January 2016 on London based record label Invisible Hands Music. "Existential Beast" was released on 16 June 2017, also on Invisible Hands.

Richards grew up in San Francisco, the daughter of Ted and Teresa Richards, stars of the underground comics revolution. Her father created The 40 Year Old Hippie; her mother was one of the founding editors and contributors of Wimmin’s Comix in the 1970’s. “Growing up, I got the message that if you do what you love to do, money will follow, just not a lot of it.” It was a very Bohemian upbringing to put it lightly.

Richards played in school bands, but never considered music as a profession until her senior year of high school, when fate offered a unique hand. Her best friend began dating Kirk Hammett of Metallica, and Hammett taught Richards a few songs on guitar. “As soon as I knew how to play, I started writing and everything just clicked. Eventually I got a piano to expand my musical repertoire.”

Richards recorded her first demo in Hammett’s basement studio. Dave Deresinski, the then manager of the Brian Jonestown Massacre, passed the recording along to singer Anton Newcombe, who asked Richards to sing with the group. Shortly thereafter, Ondi Timoner began filming the BJM for her seminal documentary DIG! (2004). In one scene, a hiker observed the all white-clad members of The Brian Jonestown Massacre and friends gathered on a mountain top location. “Excuse me,” he asked, “is this a cult or a photo shoot?” Miranda ------then candidly replied, “Honestly sir, I don’t know the answer to that question.”

Richards had since moved down the coast to LA to further pursue a music career. “I played clubs and open mics while I worked odd jobs and made demos. A mutual friend introduced me to Rick Parker (producer/musician who went on to work with BRMC and The Von Bondies), and we’ve been working together ever since.” After recording a few sets of demos, she signed with Virgin, and began tracking her debut, The Herethereafter.

The Herethereafter (credits include Jon Brion and David Campbell) enjoyed critical acclaim, and over 40 film and TV licenses that allowed her to continue playing music full time. Since it’s release, Miranda has collaborated in the studio with Tricky, Tim Burgess (Charlatans), Neil Halstead (Mojave Three), Joe Firstman, and The Shore. She joined The Jesus and Mary Chain for the West Coast leg of their 2007 tour, singing duets with Jim Reid on “Sometimes Always” and “Just like Honey.” In the fall of 2007, she toured the UK in support of a vinyl single called “Life Boat” on Sonic Cathedral; in early 2008, she supported Tim Finn (Crowded House), and in late August she supported Neil Halstead, both on solo acoustic tours. The Early November EP was released digitally November 4, 2008 on Nettwerk Records; the full-length sophomore effort, Light of X, is due for worldwide release February 10, 2009.

Light of X is moody and introspective, the kind of music to play while you’re getting dressed up at night, sitting by the phone, and waiting for it to ring. The album fairly shimmers with folk, country, psychedelic, and even classical influences. Richards and Parker assembled a top-notch group of players including Eva Gardner (Mars Volta, Tim Burgess) on bass; main drummer Keith Mitchell (Mazzy Star); Ben Peeler (Wallflowers, Shelby Lynne) on pedal steel, and Josh Schwartz (Beachwood Sparks) on guitar. Rick Parker produced, engineered, mixed the record, and played guitar; Richards composed the material including string arrangements, and played acoustic guitar, piano, and organ.

As a songwriter, Richards has an uncanny knack of finding the diamonds in the dust of every day life and the relationships within. She’s able to look at an average moment and describe it in a way that transforms it into something much more powerful, a talent evident on every tack of Light of X. The album balances Richards’ beautiful, close to the heart vocals, with music that has the wide open, spacious feel of a desert sky or an empty church. Call it Ambient Americana, or Richards’ self coined term ‘Psychedelic Chamber Folk Rock’ if you like, Light of X is an album full of love and loss, desolation and salvation, both moody and comforting.

“Courtney Taylor from the Dandy Warhols calls my genre ‘Pixie Fairy Dust Chick Music,’” Miranda Lee Richards laughs, from her home in Los Angeles. “But I think another fitting description for Light of X might be ‘Psychedelic Chamber Folk Rock.’”

Savorin' Your Smile
Miranda Lee Richards Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

There's no easy path to redemption
There's no easy way out of the trouble in your bones
And you're crumblin' like an old watchtower
You can see a way out but don't remember how to get
Home

I'm Savorin' Your Smile
Yeah, I'm Savorin' Your Smile

You stole the heart of so many lovers
In your kingdoms to come and your kingdoms past
And you're askin' me now why she had to go
I don't have the heart to tell you but I think I might
Know

I'm Savorin' Your Smile
Yeah, I'm Savorin' Your Smile

And you're tryin' to buy a one-way ticket back
You say it's the fault in the heart of every man
And we've been here before and I know we'll be here
Again
You gotta' move on, it's killin' you my friend

I'm savorin' your smile, savorin' your smile

I see you on the street in a future's day
And I almost pass you by, we're strangers again
Well it's clear to me now, some people never change
If you hurt me again it wouldn't feel the same

I'm Savorin' Your Smile

Yeah, I'm Savorin' Your Smile
Yeah, I'm Savorin' Your Smile

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Miranda Lee Richards's song Savorin' Your Smile talk about the difficulty of redemption and the consequences of past actions. The first verse talks about how there is no easy path to redemption and getting out of the trouble that is within oneself. It describes the feeling of falling apart like an old watchtower, where even though there may be a way out, the path is no longer remembered. The chorus admits the singer is savoring someone's smile, who might have had many lovers and lost one. The second verse talks about the singer struggling to tell the person why they might have lost a lover, and how they have been in that situation before and will be in the future. The last verse tells the story of meeting the person again on the streets in the future, and how seeing them again makes the singer realize that some people never change.

Overall, the song speaks to the human condition of struggling with the consequences of one's actions and how some choices cannot be undone. It conveys the idea that change and redemption are difficult, and some people will never change.

Line by Line Meaning

There's no easy path to redemption
Redemption is a difficult journey with no shortcuts.

There's no easy way out of the trouble in your bones
The deep-seated trouble within oneself cannot be easily overcome.

And you're crumblin' like an old watchtower
You are falling apart, like a disintegrating and obsolete structure.

You can see a way out but don't remember how to get Home
You know what you need to do to escape your situation, but you have lost your way back to where you belong.

I'm Savorin' Your Smile Yeah, I'm Savorin' Your Smile
Despite your troubles, I find joy and comfort in your smile.

You stole the heart of so many lovers In your kingdoms to come and your kingdoms past
You have been a conqueror of hearts, in both your future and past endeavors.

And you're askin' me now why she had to go I don't have the heart to tell you but I think I might Know
You are questioning why someone left you, but I am hesitant to reveal my suspicions.

And you're tryin' to buy a one-way ticket back You say it's the fault in the heart of every man And we've been here before and I know we'll be here Again You gotta' move on, it's killin' you my friend
You are attempting to go back to a place you left behind, but you believe the flaw lies within every person, and I recognize this pattern will repeat. You need to move forward, as dwelling on the past is harming you.

I see you on the street in a future's day And I almost pass you by, we're strangers again Well it's clear to me now, some people never change If you hurt me again it wouldn't feel the same
In the future, when we cross paths, we will be strangers once more. I have come to the realization that some individuals are incapable of change, and if you were to hurt me again, it would not have the same effect.

I'm Savorin' Your Smile Yeah, I'm Savorin' Your Smile Yeah, I'm Savorin' Your Smile
Even though we may become strangers, I will always cherish and find comfort in your smile.

Contributed by Colton K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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