1) UK-based guitarist, member of The Mon… Read Full Bio ↴There are more than one person:
1) UK-based guitarist, member of The Monroe Transfer
2) (Pop)Singer-songwriter from the US
3) A former professional Australian rules football player
1) A guitarist, composer & sound designer for theatre, dance, film, video games & live performance. Check https://nickgill.bandcamp.com/
2) Singer-songwriter Nick Gill released 3 albums and embarked on a 50-date tour before he finished high school. Upon graduation, the Alabama native decided to give Music City a go. “When I moved to Nashville, I felt bombarded by the music industry, another person with the same music career goal. I was at the end of my rope,” Gill confides. He decided to give up. At that very moment, he wrote the song “Row.” The tune’s uplifting message changed his life. Two days later, producer Ed Cash (Vince Gill, Matt Wertz, Amy Grant, Steven Curtis Chapman) contacted him. The duo collaborated on Waves Are Only Water, a stunning EP of Gill’s most poignant compositions couched in an elegantly spare and warmly organic production treatment.
The lyric in “Row,” “Waves are only water,” became Gill’s inner compass as he navigated life, and the music industry, with spiritually-centered ease. “When I hit that point where I was ready to give up, I surrendered to Jesus. After that I wrote ‘Row,’” Gill reveals. “I wrote that lyric right after I became a Christian. Anything you’re going through, the Lord will help you through, it’s just waves in the ocean, little ripples you can get through,” he says.
Nick Gill’s earnest and emotive pop-folk has garnered favorable comparisons to Jack Johnson, John Mayer, Dave Barnes, The Fray, Matt Nathanson, and Mat Kearney. Back home in Alabama, the Mobile Register called his previous album “a whale of a calling card.” Where Y’at Magazine has said: “Gill shows much promise musically as his career has only just begun. There’s great raw emotion communicated through his tracks enabling Gill to sound more like a young Jack Johnson rather than a high school student playing guitar.” Life Is Awesome gushed: “The sheer number of singer/songwriters trying to break into music can make it difficult for one to stand out without a clear differentiating factor. Enter Nick Gill.” Muzikreviews.com noted the: “The lyrical maturity of the album should also get the record some traction.” Legendary producer Ed Cash, who produced Waves Are Only Water, has said: “This is one of my favorite CDs I've worked on, it’s classic and timeless.”
“Wave Are Only Water is like a diary of the past 5 years, from high school to being out on my own,” Gill says. It’s a boldly candid look at love, life, loss, and growing up. “My main thing with lyrics is to always give hope. I like my songs to be positive and uplifting,” he reveals.
The stately and haunting “How It Feels”—with grand strings, tender guitar fingerpicking, and a crystalline piano melody—is a powerful tribute to a friend who took his own life, and within this mournful memoir, Gill finds light, a way to celebrate a life. With rich low tones reaching up to a honeyed falsetto he sings: I know that it hurts, definitely a tragedy, but remembering your life Brings me back to the comedy, do you remember that night on Halloween when we drove through the town with all the beauty queens? “This was the first thing I played after I heard my best friend committed suicide,” Gill says. “It brought me closure.”
The goose-bump inducing love song “By The Way” has an airy ambience, with an atmospheric storm brewing beneath acoustic strums. It reaches its zenith with a soaring chorus. Here he sings with sweeping romantic sincerity: “By the way, you don't need a pot of gold to show me that your love is gold, by the way, By the way, you know that you need the love tonight to make it all alright by the way.” “I wrote that about a girl I liked in high school. She actually walked into class while I was writing the lyrics,” Gill reveals.
The EP concludes with the gorgeous sun-peaking-through-the-clouds poise of “Summer In The Winter Time.” Gill’s lyrics here are unflinchingly positive, he sweetly sings: I made a picnic for you/I made a picnic for two/ come morning well watch the sky turn from black to blue/you are my summer in the winter time/ you are the light that melts my frostbite.
Producer Ed Cash guided Gill back to positivity, and helped Gill find a shimmering and lean production aesthetic. “He challenged me to focus more on lyrics and leave hope in every song,” Gill says. Cash’s tasteful atmospheric embellishments underneath Gill’s expressive vocals and deft and tender guitar accompaniment lend the EP a modern classic vibe, Coldplay meets James Taylor.
“I started working on my first record in 8th grade. I wrote a song about my English teacher, she was crazy,” Gill says laughing, reflecting on his journey. Gill wrote and played all the instruments on this early effort which he recorded in his garage on an eight-track. By the time he was in high school, he did a 50-date Southern tour. “I would play until 3 in the morning, wake up at 7, and be at school at 8. It was tough but it was also a blast,” he says. “Looking back on my life, I see there is an order to my career that I can’t explain. This hasn’t been something I could map out myself.”
Game
Nick Gill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You've been feelin' the pain, you've been feelin' the pain of the layman's claim,
Follow all the rules, follow all the fools and you won't be blamed
Go on you don't need to follow them, go on you can breakaway
Go on you don't need anybody now, or so you say
Chorus:
I don't know why I'm playing in the wrong game now, game now, looking for the end of
Car at night, and I know that you need her now, now, now, to hold her tight.
Verse 2:
You know now, you know now there's never been a better time
Hold back your fears, hold back your fears, she's waiting on the line
Go on tell her that you need her now, go on you can make it fun
Go on you don't need a cover just be yourself and not another one.
In "Game," Nick Gill sings about feeling the pain of conformity and following the rules set by society. The layman's claim refers to the expectations placed on individuals to fit in and conform to societal norms. Gill encourages listeners to break away from these expectations and be true to themselves.
The chorus is particularly poignant, as Gill reflects on feeling lost and helpless in a game he doesn't understand. He sings about tears shed alone in the darkness, waiting for someone to hold onto. The need for affection, company, and support is palpable.
Verse two continues this theme, as Gill advises listeners that there is no better time to be yourself than now. He emphasizes the importance of being honest with oneself and others, particularly regarding the need for connection and love. The line "you don't need a cover just be yourself and not another one" attests to Gill's call for individuality and authenticity.
Overall, "Game" is a song that underscores the importance of being true to oneself, even in the face of societal pressure. It highlights the struggle of conforming to expectations and the need for love and support.
Line by Line Meaning
You've been feelin' the pain, you've been feelin' the pain of the layman's claim,
You have experienced the pain of being judged by others' expectations and opinions.
Follow all the rules, follow all the fools and you won't be blamed
By conforming to societal norms and expectations, you can avoid criticism and disapproval.
Go on you don't need to follow them, go on you can breakaway
You have the freedom to reject conformity and chart your own path.
Go on you don't need anybody now, or so you say
You claim to be self-sufficient and not reliant on anyone else.
I don't know why I'm playing in the wrong game now, game now, looking for the end of
The board.
I am uncertain why I am pursuing something that does not align with my goals or desires.
And I know 'bout the tears that you cry all alone when your waiting up in your
Car at night,
I am aware of the sadness and loneliness you experience while waiting for someone who may not come.
and I know that you need her now, now, now, to hold her tight.
I understand that you crave the comfort and security of being with that person.
You know now, you know now there's never been a better time
You realize that the present moment is the most opportune time to pursue your desires.
Hold back your fears, hold back your fears, she's waiting on the line
Do not let fear hold you back from reaching out to the person you desire, for they are receptive to your overture.
Go on tell her that you need her now, go on you can make it fun
Express your feelings to the person you desire, and don't be afraid to do so in an enjoyable, playful manner.
Go on you don't need a cover just be yourself and not another one.
Be authentic and true to yourself, rather than trying to be someone you're not to impress others.
Contributed by Liam A. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@WoolyBuggerPicker
Fantastic song! jumps right out of the radio, very Teddy Thompson like.
@PoetlaureateNFDL
Nice sound.