Nerissa and Katryna Nields are the sisters and singers from the folkband th… Read Full Bio ↴Nerissa and Katryna Nields are the sisters and singers from the folkband the Nields.
In the summer of 1998, Nerissa and Katryna were asked to play Lilith Fair, but leave the boys at home. The performance was a success, and the sisters decided to do some shows on their own. This duo configuration, which Dar Williams jokingly dubbed "the Probe effect" (a term familiar to followers of Star Trek) allowed Nerissa and Katryna to travel to places in the country (especially the West Coast) that the full band hadn't been able to get to as often as their usual haunts in the East. Within a year, the duo was opening for Cry Cry Cry, doing a tour of Alaska, playing the Newport Folk Festival and becoming a bona fide act of its own.

Katryna joined Nerissa in the studio in the fall of 2001 to record their first record as a duo. Love and China was produced and engineered by Dave Chalfant (husband of Katryna and member of the Nields). Love and China was released in the spring of 2002 on Zoë, and Nerissa and Katryna spent much of the next year on the road touring in support of it.

Also in 2002, Nerissa was approached by Scholastic to write a young adult novel, Plastic Angel, based on the song "This Town Is Wrong" (from If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home Now). She had already been at work on a semi-autobiographical novel about a touring band, and jumped at this chance. Since the protagonist of Plastic Angel is a songwriter, it naturally follows that a CD should accompany the book. Nerissa and Katryna recorded the companion CD in the fall of 2003 (with Dave Chalfant once again producing), and This Town Is Wrong was released in 2004. The book was published in the spring of 2005.

2007 has seen the release of two separate CDs. The first is All Together Singing In The Kitchen, a collection of songs for all ages. The latest release is Sister Holler. Their fourteenth album to date brings them back to their folk roots while at the same time showcasing their growth as musicians and songwriters. The premise of the album is that Folk music has always been passed down orally, and as such, it changes with each generation of singers and songwriters. Each song was inspired by a pre-existing song: there's a revised version of the old spiritual, "Ain't That Good News," a modern sea chanty — even a version of Pachelbel's Canon in D.

Bio mostly taken from their official website: www.nields.com.

When I Let You Into My Closet
Nerissa & Katryna Nields Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

When I let you into my closet
Right behind the leopard skin coat
Will you still revere and adore me?
Will you just become more remote?

Will you see the actual me
And will you walk away?
Will you see what I've been hiding

And tell me it's okay?

Show me a sign, give me a key
Tell me that you love me for me
I want to be who I really am
Maybe that'll fit into your plans
Maybe that'll fit into your plans

When I give you my combination
Will you keep it all to yourself
Will you leave me poems and candy?
Will you tell it to somebody else?

Will you make me into a fool
Or will you hold my hand?
When I tell you that I am lonely
Will you understand?

Show me a sign, give me a key
Tell me that you love me for me
I want to be who I really am

Maybe that'll fit into your plans
Maybe that'll fit into your plans

Overall Meaning

The song "When I Let You Into My Closet" by Nerissa and Katryna Nields speaks about opening oneself up to vulnerability by sharing the deepest and darkest secrets that have been hidden from the world. The closet represents a metaphorical space where one keeps their most intimate parts of themselves. The leopard skin coat is used as an item that is used to conceal oneself from others. The lyrics are essentially asking whether one will still be admired and loved when they reveal their true self to someone else.

The singers question if the revelation would push the person away or bring them closer. They wonder if the other person would keep their secrets to themselves or share it with others. The fear of being exposed, judged or made a fool of, makes one apprehensive of opening up their closet to others. One wants to know if they will be accepted for who they are or rejected for what they have hidden away.

When the song says, "Show me a sign, give me a key, tell me that you love me for me," it emphasizes how one seeks acceptance and unconditional love. They wish for someone to understand them, and, in doing so, help them become more comfortable in their skin. The song is a poignant reminder of how difficult it can be to allow oneself to be seen by others, but also how rewarding it can be when someone accepts us for who we truly are.

Line by Line Meaning

When I let you into my closet
When I let you see the hidden parts of me

Right behind the leopard skin coat
Beyond the superficial exterior

Will you still revere and adore me?
Will you still respect and love me?

Will you just become more remote?
Or will you distance yourself from me?

Will you see the actual me
Will you see the real person within?

And will you walk away?
Or will you stay with me regardless?

Will you see what I've been hiding
Will you discover my secrets?

And tell me it's okay?
And accept me for who I am?

Show me a sign, give me a key
Give me a sign that you understand me

Tell me that you love me for me
Assure me that you love me unconditionally

I want to be who I really am
I want to be my true self