Nitin attended Sir Joseph Williamson's Mathematical School and studied law at Liverpool University for a short time. He then went to London, where he met Sanjeev Bhaskar. The pair became friends and created a comedy double act, The Secret Asians, together. The show sought to turn absurdly dated Asian stereotypes on their heads. It led to a contract with BBC radio and eventually grew into the award-winning BBC TV sketch show Goodness Gracious Me.
During that time he met up with an old school friend, acid jazz keyboards-player James Taylor. He joined Taylor for a 40-date tour in as part of The James Taylor Quartet. It introduced him to the jazz club scene and provoked him into forming his own band, The Jazztones. He moved on to join forces with tabla master Talvin Singh to form the Tihai Trio and, after that collaboration ended in 1993, released his debut album, Spirit Dance on his own label. Shortly afterwards, he signed with Outcaste Records.
Sawhney's music is intensely political, commonly approaching themes of multiculturalism, empowerment, identity, immigration, poverty, and spirituality. He is active as an artist in residence for five different performing arts organisations in Europe and Asia, and along with George Martin is a patron for the British Governments Access-to-Music Program which brings music education to the inner-city students.
Sawhney's skills include classical and jazz piano and flamenco guitar. He has released six studio albums, as well as countless remixes and collaborations. After releasing Beyond Skin on London's Outcaste Records in 1999, he was signed by V2 to do six albums. His first album with the Virgin subsidiary, the millennial/apocalyptical Prophesy, in 2001 won a MOBO Award and a BBC Radio 3 Music Award.
Sawhney's music is influenced by his roots in India, utilising and featuring Urdu and Hindi lyrics, Qawwali singing, tablas and other instruments from the subcontinent, and Raga phrasings in music which is often primarily meant for the dance floor.
Sawhney's work in production and arrangement has led to his working in film and television scores. He has scored television ads for Sephora and Nike, as well as more than 25 films from his London-based Spirit Dance Studios. He was nominated for an Ivor Novello Award for Film and TV Composition in 2004 for his music on Channel Four's film, Second Generation. From there, he has begun to see acceptance from the "classical" community, and in 2004 he was commissioned by the city of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra and the Britten Symphonia to compose new performance works. London's Royal National Theatre invited him to write, direct, and score a work to be opened in 2005.
For photographs and additional information visit Nitin's official site, www.NitinSawhney.com
Teardrop
Nitin Sawhney Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Love is a doing word
Fearless on my breath
Gentle impulsion
Shakes me, makes me lighter
Fearless on my breath
Teardrop on the fire
Fearless on my breath
Night, night of matter
Black flowers blossom
Fearless on my breath
Black flowers blossom
Fearless on my breath
Teardrop on the fire
Fearless on my
Water is my eye
Most faithful mirror
Fearless on my breath
Teardrop on the fire
Of a confession
Fearless on my breath
Most faithful mirror
Fearless on my breath
Teardrop on the fire
Fearless on my breath
It's tumbling down (as in love falling apart)
It's tumbling down (as in love falling apart)
The lyrics of Nitin Sawhney's song Teardrop beautifully describe the complexities of love and its overwhelming impact on one's emotions. At the heart of the song is the idea that love is not just a noun, but a verb, a doing word. This idea is emphasized by the repetition of the phrase "love is a doing word" throughout the song. Love requires action, it is not simply something that exists between two people, it is something that must be actively maintained and nurtured.
The imagery used in the lyrics is striking and powerful. The line "water is my eye, most faithful mirror" suggests that the singer sees their own emotions reflected in water, the most natural and pure reflection. The repetition of the phrase "fearless on my breath" suggests a sense of courage or bravery in the face of love's overwhelming power. This is emphasized further by the line "gentle impulsion shakes me, makes me lighter". Love has the power to both uplift and shake us to our core.
The lines "night of matter, black flowers blossom" suggest a sense of darkness and despair, as if the night itself is a weight upon the singer. This is contrasted with the idea of the "teardrop on the fire", suggesting a sense of release or catharsis. The idea of a "confession" also suggests a sense of catharsis, as if the singer is unburdening themselves of a deep and heavy weight.
Overall, the lyrics of Teardrop by Nitin Sawhney evoke a sense of intense emotion and overwhelming power, suggesting that love is not something to be taken lightly, but instead something to be cherished and nurtured.
Line by Line Meaning
Love, love is a verb
Love is an action that requires you to do something
Love is a doing word
Love is not just a feeling, it requires effort and action
Fearless on my breath
Despite any fear or apprehension, I continue to move forward with courage
Gentle impulsion
A soft, gentle urging that motivates me to take action
Shakes me, makes me lighter
The impulsion moves me to my core, lifting a weight from my being
Teardrop on the fire
A small, emotional release that ignites a fire within me
Night, night of matter
The darkness and heaviness of the world and all its problems
Black flowers blossom
In the midst of darkness, unexpected beauty can still arise
Water is my eye
The way I see and perceive the world is fluid and constantly changing
Most faithful mirror
Water reflects back to me the most honest and true image of myself
Of a confession
This teardrop is a release of a deep, personal truth or secret
It's tumbling down (as in love falling apart)
Things are falling apart and becoming chaotic or unstable in my romantic relationship
It's tumbling down (as in love falling apart)
The situation is becoming more dire and unstable in my romantic relationship
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: ELIZABETH FRASER, ROBERT DEL NAJA, GRANTLEY MARSHALL, ANDREW VOWLES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Sjstephane
I fell in love with nitin's music when I was around 15.... in '99 .. And even now .. the feeling didn't faded a bit ! Timeless !
colorgreen 7
yeah
Tom Emrich-Mills
This song embodies peaceful, concentrated thought better than anything i can find. Beautiful...
colorgreen 7
you still enjoy the song?
Floating Lotus 🌺
Pure Masterpiece! Adore Nitin ❤️
Rhythmic Mystery
Thank you so much for this upload! Thank you Nitin for this awesome piece of music! I'm speechless ...
Lizz Ard
Oh my goodness I thought this song was lost to me many years ago and finally is has resurfaced in my brain. Thank you for such a lovely track. So beautiful.
You’re Beautiful
Totally underrated song 💕
Dee Patel
a tune in which you can have moments to reflect.
colorgreen 7
you still enjoy the song?