Love and loss are the fuel that lights her songwriting fire. Rhythm and melody come as naturally to her as a morning latte in a Greenwich Village café. And a well-travelled journey through life provides a rich seam of experience to mine.
She’s a native New Yorker with a fondness for old-time music and vintage clothes, who’s seen the world and absorbed its musical influences: country and jazz, blues and soul, and more besides. You can hear as much of it – or as little – as you care to find in her music. Because, for all its familiar scents and flavours, her songs are distinctly her own.
Nell Bryden was born and raised in a bohemian quarter of Brooklyn where her mother Jane was a classical soprano who sang at Carnegie Hall and her father Lewis a renowned landscape painter whose works hang in some of America’s finest museums, galleries and private collections.
At only four weeks of age, her mother brought her on a concert tour of South America, planting the seed that has so beautifully blossomed on ‘What Does It Take’. “I always knew I would end up on stage,” says the ebullient singer. “As a child I used to put on plays with my friends – back when I was seven I wrote and directed a version of The Little Shop Of Horrors.”
For ten years she studied the cello and dreamed of becoming an opera singer until the day she first heard Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin. “And that was that. I was 15 and that was the first time I realised it’s more about your personality than your technical prowess. People fell in love with Janis because she gave it everything.”
By the time she left high school, Nell still wanted to be the new Maria Callas, but that changed on a gap year trip to Australia, where she turned her travel diary into song lyrics, bought a cheap guitar, and began to sing her own songs for the first time.
Further travels broadened an already inquisitive mind: to Arizona, where she made daily free-fall jumps and lived on a drop zone; to Thailand to work in a refugee camp; to university in Boston, where she graduated in English Literature with honours and began to play in public for the first time.
Back in New York City, she poured out songs in the aftermath of 9/11, delving into old American country music for solace, and recorded an album in Nashville. “But,” she admits, “I still hadn’t found my voice.”
She started another album in New Orleans, where the Big Easy’s musical melting pot – “jazz, blues, folk, country, cajun, zydeco… everything except rock!” - inspired her to find her true voice for the first time.
Then came Ireland, which took her to its music-loving bosom when she booked herself a month-long tour through the internet, and arrived in a foreign land with “just my suitcase and my acoustic guitar.” She travelled from gig to gig by bus, and stayed on couches “that every passing musician had slept in for the last ten years.” But it worked: “I played 30 venues and all of them booked me to come back.” So she did – time and again.
Lastly came Iraq, following a chance meeting with a US Army colonel at South By South West, where she set aside her political preconceptions to entertain the troops – not once, but twice – and became, in the process, a Forces Sweetheart.
Her greatest stroke of good fortune, however, came in her own backyard. “I was back at my dad’s studio, out of cash, going through some of his old paintings, when I found an unfamiliar one at the back of a box in his attic.”
It turned out to be a gift that her father had got her as a baby, and forgotten all about. In the intervening years its painter, Milton Avery, had posthumously become a major artist. “So I took it to Sotheby’s and it was sold at auction for $270,000.”
Nell used the cash to re-record the album she had left uncompleted in New Orleans, this time with Grammy-winning record producer David Kershenbaum at the helm. The result is ‘What Does It Take’, a collection of songs and styles spanning her many years on the road.
It displays a confidence that can only come from years of constant touring, and a sound that taps into the musical past while remaining very much of its time.
“I don’t see myself as a heritage act,” stresses Nell, “but most of my influences are songs that come from an earlier era. I just feel they crafted songs so well then.”
Sirens
Nell Bryden Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The river so deep and the sky perfect blue
If we leave behind the dust in the sky
From the sound of Sirens the city will rise
Hold your hand in mine, we?ll swim against the tide
From the sound of Sirens love will survive
And when your heart is on the run
I will always be the one to carry you home
Streets lie so empty, the lost avenues
The lights of Saint Vincent are too much to lose
If we leave behind the dust in the sky
From the sound of Sirens the city will rise
Hold your hand in mine, we?ll swim against the tide
From the sound of Sirens love will survive
(Chorus)
If we leave behind the tears in our eyes
From the sound of Sirens the city will rise
Hold your hand in mine, we?ll swim against the tide
From the sound of Sirens love will survive
(Chorus)
In Nell Bryden's song "Sirens," the lyrics describe a dream-like world where the river is deep and the sky is perfect blue. The singer speaks of swimming against the tide with a loved one, choosing to leave behind the noise and chaos of the city, symbolized by the sound of sirens, and instead embracing the purity of the natural world. The lyrics touch on themes of resilience and hope, promising to always be there to "carry you home" when your heart is on the run and its chains have come undone.
The chorus emphasizes the power of love to survive, even in difficult circumstances, and encourages the listeners to leave behind their tears in order to rise together with the city. The imagery of empty streets and lost avenues is juxtaposed with the lights of Saint Vincent, which the singer cannot bear to lose. The song closes with another repetition of the chorus, emphasizing the recurring themes of hope, romance, and resilience in the face of difficulty.
Line by Line Meaning
Last night I dreamt I was floating with you
I had a dream last night that we were floating together peacefully.
The river so deep and the sky perfect blue
In my dream, the river was deep and the sky was a perfect blue color.
If we leave behind the dust in the sky
If we forget about everything else that's troubling us.
From the sound of Sirens the city will rise
Despite the noise of the sirens, the city will still go on as usual.
Hold your hand in mine, we?ll swim against the tide
If we stick together, we can overcome anything.
From the sound of Sirens love will survive
Even with the chaos around us, our love will continue to endure.
And when your heart is on the run
When you feel like you can't handle life's challenges.
When it's chains have come undone
When you feel like you've lost control.
I will always be the one to carry you home
I will always be there to support and comfort you.
Streets lie so empty, the lost avenues
The streets and avenues are empty and lost, representing a feeling of hopelessness.
The lights of Saint Vincent are too much to lose
Even though times are tough, there are still things of great value to us.
If we leave behind the dust in the sky
If we forget about everything else that's troubling us.
From the sound of Sirens the city will rise
Despite the noise of the sirens, the city will still go on as usual.
Hold your hand in mine, we?ll swim against the tide
If we stick together, we can overcome anything.
From the sound of Sirens love will survive
Even with the chaos around us, our love will continue to endure.
(Chorus)
Repeating the main idea that love can survive any obstacle.
If we leave behind the tears in our eyes
If we don't dwell on our sorrows.
From the sound of Sirens the city will rise
Despite the noise of the sirens, the city will still go on as usual.
Hold your hand in mine, we?ll swim against the tide
If we stick together, we can overcome anything.
From the sound of Sirens love will survive
Even with the chaos around us, our love will continue to endure.
(Chorus)
Repeating the main idea that love can survive any obstacle.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: JOHN PAUL JONES, MARK TAYLOR, PATRICK RICHARD MASCALL, VIRGINIA NELL BRYDEN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MariaDiazskn
Last night I dreamt I was floating with you
The river so deep and the sky perfect blue
If we leave behind the dust in the sky
From the sound of Sirens the city will rise
Hold your hand in mine, we?ll swim against the tide
From the sound of Sirens love will survive
And when your heart is on the run
When it's chains have come undone
I will always be the one to carry you home
Streets lie so empty, the lost avenues
The lights of Saint Vincent are too much to lose
If we leave behind the dust in the sky
From the sound of Sirens the city will rise
Hold your hand in mine, we?ll swim against the tide
From the sound of Sirens love will survive
(Chorus)
If we leave behind the tears in our eyes
From the sound of Sirens the city will rise
Hold your hand in mine, we?ll swim against the tide
From the sound of Sirens love will survive
@8660Emma
No one can beat Nell Bryden signing this amazing song. This song is sung from the heart of Nell Bryden. xx
@agnieszkajoannapytlik6639
I'm a pole living in the uk and this songs brings hope and trust. It also brings the unspeakable.
@Synnoveah
I think both artists are very good in their own right.
@Vf46
I love how this girl sings this song, but Cher will ROCK this song! Her voice is so well sutied for it. It's an emotional song, and Cher has an emotional voice that makes you feel, I can't wait for the Goddess' version!!
@tigers66
Simply love this, Nell is superb, getting the rcognition she deserves in the UK.
@Ed-Mace
I heard this song tonight on Boston public radio 9-11-2022 and had to find out who sang it because it is beautifully performed and the voice stayed in my head. Heartfelt and touching. Thank you.
@neilperrin1871
Plz check out the live version with the BBC orchestra online.. Its simply breathtaking.
@kevingill648
Beautiful song in remembrance of all the people who sadly lost their lives on September 11th 2011. May we never witness anything like this again! RIP
@jerricklim
Seriously. one of the best songs i've heard.
@sonicrules666
This is a flat out incredible song, she's fantastic live, big star written all over her, everyone needs to hear this song, it's changed her life, the reason she was on tour with Gary Barlow recently was due to this song, this song deserves mass exposure!