Nikki Lane (born 17 October 1983 in Greenville, South Carolina) is an Ameri… Read Full Bio ↴Nikki Lane (born 17 October 1983 in Greenville, South Carolina) is an American country music singer-songwriter.

One glorious day some years back, a teenage high school dropout Nikki Lane (nee Nicole Lane Frady) packed a trailer with her worldly possessions. With one hand firmly gripping a steering wheel and the other flipping the bird, she said so long to her home, Greenville, South Carolina, The South and any sort of life it had suggested she should live. Western bound, she was headed to Los Angeles for no other reason than just because.

Flash forward to today and we find Lane an empowered artist, having escaped any sweet and sour small town trappings for some serious see-my-name-in-lights grandeur and artistic fulfillment. Signed recently to the flourishing Los Angeles-based indie label, IAMSOUND Records, Lane's bold vocal chops and wildly infectious personality have been making a stir in circles spanning across country to rock to indie and back again. Working with producers David Cobb (Shooter Jennings, The Secret Sisters) and Lewis Pesacov of Fool's Gold, the first release of these efforts was the four-song EP, Gone, Gone, Gone, released July 19th and will be followed by the 11-track full length "Walk of Shame" out September 27th.

Throughout "Walk of Shame," Lane weaves in and out of ballads of heartache, one-night stands, leaving, lust and longing. She plays the rambler and sometimes drunkard with such an ardent aptitude she'd fit right in alongside classic country icons like Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton. On the title track she swears never again will she wake in a stranger's bed, "with a bass drum thumping in her head" as the music drives us out of that alien apartment and down the street into the break of dawn. In "Gone, Gone, Gone," while a blistering slide guitar cries on, she croons on the chorus her tale of leaving The South, promising, "And if I leave this town I'll be gone, gone, gone and I won't be back for far too long." Meanwhile, hitting a more delicate note, Lane shows off softer sentiments and solid song-writing skills on "Save You," crooning helplessly, "Well your bad habits they're all stacking up and it's plain to see you just can't get enough. And I'm trying to break through but I'm losing sight. Oh what can I do to make it all right? How can I save you from yourself?"

Sometimes the victim, sometimes the aggressor, always the Southern sweetheart, Lane rolls through song after song, belting out her earnest poetics with such warmth and tenderness to become entirely absorbed in this music is only natural. "They're all stories," she says. "That's the only way I know how to write. All my songs have a beginning middle and an end. I want to tell you what happened to this person and what the result was."

"You grow up in The South, you grow up in a small town, your expectations are a little bit limited," she continues. "People expect you to go to a four-year college, get married and follow that Southern way of life. I didn't know exactly what I wanted to do but I knew it wasn't being offered to me."

And so we return to her story: Lane settled in L.A. and without clear direction she worked various day-to-day jobs and dabbled in fashion, getting shoes manufactured in China and painting them to sell under the Nikki Lane moniker. Five years passed and she started writing music but forsook that path after just two promising shows for a corporate job offer across the country in New York City.

"I'd always wanted to live in New York and somehow ended up talking my way into a really well paying job," she says. "That was an opportunity I couldn't say no to. And so I moved and for a year didn't even touch music. It was like something I'd just tried once. I'd written a couple songs and that was the end of it."

But like any good country singer, heartbreak brought her back to music when her boyfriend left her to record an album in Atlanta. "I was like, fuck that," she says, "Why does he get to make a record in Atlanta while I'm sitting in New York crying? So I just sat down with a guitar, I didn't have anything going on, I didn't have many friends in the city that weren't his friends, it's freezing in New York and I'd quit my job, so basically for three months I holed up in this apartment and I just wrote."

She started learning Waylon Jennings, Loretta Lynn, John Prine and Merle Haggard tunes, the sort of classic country songs that have steeped her own writing now, trying her best to strum along and building her confidence along the way. "And all of a sudden it hit me and I started writing like crazy," she says, "I wrote a whole album in a month's time and just decided I was going to make a record in Nashville. It was like my revenge record."

Empowered, in February, 2009, Nikki went to Nashville, recorded an album she self-released titled No Room for Cowboys, and returned to New York a musician. That's essentially where IAMSOUND found her and signed her and set to build the material that would become "Walk of Shame." The album serves as a forceful farewell to The South, says Lane. "We sat down and wanted to write something about leaving a place and being like, you'll be fine, I'm not coming back."

And as if Lane's history wasn't enough evidence of her well-proven knack for leaving, on her arm rests a tattoo that reads, "Wanderlust calls again." "I feel like everyday I might be better off if I could get up and go," she says. "I've had a really hard time staying put because the different scenery is what's inspiring."

Lane now lives in Nashville where she also owns and operates a vintage boutique called High Class Hillbilly, selling pieces she has collected while touring the country.

Nikki Lane's "Walk of Shame" will be released on IAMSOUND September 27th, 2011.

Love's On Fire
Nikki Lane Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I tell you, this road is a long full darkness
Got me so strung out
I know you think that it's just one big party
But that's not what it's all about

I know you say you don't wanna leave
But the house just gets so quiet
I lay around and hope you phone me

Won't you sing me to sleep tonight?

Love's on fire
Love's on fire
Traveling rounds got us burning down
Got us hanging by a while
Started a spark bu the wind came round
And now our love's on fire
Now our love's on fire

You and me, we got so much love
But we got no money to burn
I'm going away so I can make us something sure
After we has good time

The days and the nights, they just crawl along
It's been a week without a car

Few times I wonder if I'm better off alone
Do you think of me at all?

Overall Meaning

In "Love's on Fire" by Nikki Lane, the singer opens up about the difficulty of being a musician on the road and the toll it takes on her relationships. She describes the long and dark road, which has left her feeling strung out, and laments that her partner thinks it's all just fun and games. Lane acknowledges that the partying is a part of it, but it's not the whole story. She longs for a call from her lover to sing her to sleep and ease the loneliness that has engulfed her.

Line by Line Meaning

I tell you, this road is a long full darkness
I'm on a difficult journey with an uncertain destination.

Got me so strung out
It's stressing me out and taking its toll on me.

I know you think that it's just one big party
You assume my life is easy and fun, but it's not.

But that's not what it's all about
It's actually a challenging and lonely lifestyle.

I know you say you don't wanna leave
You don't want to part ways with me right now.

But the house just gets so quiet
Without you, I feel alone and the silence is deafening.

I lay around and hope you phone me
I spend my time waiting for your call, hoping to hear from you.

Won't you sing me to sleep tonight?
Could you please comfort me with your voice and help me sleep?

Love's on fire
Our love is burning strongly.

Traveling rounds got us burning down
Our constant touring and time apart is wearing us out emotionally.

Got us hanging by a while
We're struggling to keep our relationship together amidst the challenges.

Started a spark but the wind came round
Our love started strong but has faced obstacles and challenges.

And now our love's on fire
Despite the challenges, our love is still burning hot.

Now our love's on fire
Our love is still burning hot.

You and me, we got so much love
We share a deep love for each other.

But we got no money to burn
We don't have the financial means to solve our problems immediately.

I'm going away so I can make us something sure
I'm leaving to sort out our future, to create something stable.

After we had a good time
After we've enjoyed life together to the fullest.

The days and the nights, they just crawl along
Time seems to drag on slowly, making everything harder.

It's been a week without a car
I'm traveling without transportation, adding difficulty to my journey.

Few times I wonder if I'm better off alone
Occasionally, I question if it would be easier to be by myself.

Do you think of me at all?
I'm curious if you miss me as much as I miss you.

Writer(s): Nikki Lane, Dan Auerbach

Contributed by Sadie R. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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TRACKS

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04You Can't Talk To Me Like That3:36

PT3M30S

08Sleep With A Stranger3:35

09Man Up4:08

10Out Of My Mind3:59

11Wild One3:30

12Want My Heart Back2:59

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Ke Ke

[Verse 1: Dan Auerbach]
I tell you, this road is an awful partner
Got me so strung out
I know you think that it's just one big party
But that's not what it's all about

[Verse 2: Nikki Lane]
I know you say you don't wanna leave
But the house just gets so quiet
I lay around and hope you phone me
Won't you sing me to sleep tonight?

[Chorus: Nikki Lane & Dan Auerbach]
Love's on fire
Love's on fire
This traveling round got us burning down
Got us hanging by a wire
Started with a spark but the wind came round
And now our love's on fire
Now our love's on fire

[Verse 3: Dan Auerbach]
You and me, we got so much love
But we got no money to burn
I'm going away so I can make us something
Sure as the wheels do turn

Glass Animals “Heat Wave' Official Lyrics & Meaning | Verified

[Verse 4: Nikki Lane]
The days and the nights, they just crawl along
It's been a week without a call
Sometimes I wonder if I'm better off alone
Do you think of me at all?

[Chorus: Nikki Lane & Dan Auerbach]
Love's on fire
Love's on fire
This traveling round got us burning down
Got us hanging by a wire
Started with a spark but the wind came round
And now our love's on fire

[Bridge: Nikki Lane & Dan Auerbach]
How could we know
How love was supposed to go
Oh I know, i know it ain't easy
Oh I know, i know it ain't easy

[Chorus: Nikki Lane & Dan Auerbach]
Love's on fire
Love's on fire
This traveling round got us burning down
Got us hanging by a wire
Started with a spark but the wind came round
And now our love's on fire
And now our love's on fire
And now our love's on fire