Ungerleider played her first show under the name Oh Susanna at the Railway Club in Vancouver in July 1995, and released her first independent recording, a seven-song EP, in 1997. Around this time, she decided to relocate to Toronto after attending Blue Rodeo's Stardust Picnic festival. In 1999, she released her full-length debut, Johnstown, and toured Canada and the United States with fellow musicians Veda Hille and Kinnie Starr, in what they dubbed the "Scrappy Bitch Tour".
At the 19th Genie Awards in 1999, she won the Genie Award for Best Original Song, for her song "River Blue" from the film The Fishing Trip. She subsequently released eight more recordings, Sleepy Little Sailor (2001), Oh Susanna (2003), Short Stories (2007), Soon the Birds (2011), Namedropper (2014), A Girl in Teen City (2017), and Decemberly (2018) a holiday EP with Michael Johnston.
In 2021, she announced that she was retiring the Oh Susanna stage name after learning more about the complicated racial history of the song "Oh! Susanna". She is now releasing under her own name.
Discography:
Oh Susanna EP (1997)
Johnstown (1999)
Sleepy Little Sailor (2001)
Oh Susanna (2003)
Short Stories (2007)
Soon The Birds (2011)
Namedropper (2014)
A Girl in Teen City (2017)
Decemberly (2018) (with Michael Johnston)
billy
Oh Susanna Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You came from the sea
Came with a heart full of hope
And a head full of dreams
I danced in your arms
And then in your arms I did sleep
And you promised me
Wake up, Billy my love
I'm goin' away
I can't stand to see you
Dyin' this way
Your dreams aren't your own, now
They belong to the habit you keep
They belong to the needle
The serum, the sleep
Billy, a letter that came
Said you passed away
Arms so shot full of holes
No life they could hold
I'll cut off your limbs
And bury your body at sea
And leave your arms on the shore
For the buzzards to eat
Billy, you came from the east
You came from the sea
Came with a heart full of hope
And a head full of dreams
Go rest in peace, now
On the bed of the ocean you'll sleep
And you never will wake
And forever I'll weep
The song "Billy" by Oh Susanna tells a tragic story about a man who came from the east with "a heart full of hope and a head full of dreams." He falls in love with the singer who came from the sea, and they danced and slept together. Billy promised her that she would never cry, but he ends up succumbing to the addiction of using drugs. The singer realizes that she cannot watch him destroy himself anymore and decides to leave. She says that his dreams now belong to the needle and the serum, and she cannot bear to watch him die this way. However, the singer receives a letter that tells her that Billy has died due to his addiction. His arms were so shot full of holes that no life could hold. The singer then decides to bury the rest of his body at sea and leave his arms on the shore for the buzzards to eat.
Line by Line Meaning
Billy came from the east
Billy originated from the east part of the country
You came from the sea
The person being addressed originated from the seaside
Came with a heart full of hope
The person being addressed had high hopes when they arrived
And a head full of dreams
The person being addressed had many goals for their future
I danced in your arms
The artist had a romantic relationship with the person being addressed
And then in your arms I did sleep
The singer fell asleep in the embrace of the person being addressed
And you promised me
The person being addressed made a commitment to the singer
Never would I ever weep
The person being addressed promised the artist that they would never make them cry
Wake up, Billy my love
The artist is trying to wake up the deceased person, Billy
I'm goin' away
The artist is leaving
I can't stand to see you
The singer is distraught by the state of the deceased person
Dyin' this way
The deceased person, Billy, is dying due to their addiction
Your dreams aren't your own, now
Billy's aspirations are no longer under his control
They belong to the habit you keep
Billy's addiction is dictating his actions and future goals
They belong to the needle
Billy's addiction is tied to drug use
The serum, the sleep
Billy's addiction led him to use drugs to sleep
Billy, a letter that came
The artist received news of Billy's death in a letter
Said you passed away
The letter informed the singer that Billy had died
Arms so shot full of holes
Billy had track marks on his arms from drug use
No life they could hold
Billy had passed away, so there was no vitality in his arms
I'll cut off your limbs
The artist is describing what they will do with Billy's remains
And bury your body at sea
The artist intends to dispose of Billy's body in the ocean
And leave your arms on the shore
The singer plans to leave Billy's arms behind
For the buzzards to eat
The artist is allowing nature to take its course with the remains of Billy's arms
Go rest in peace, now
The singer is addressing Billy, telling him to rest in peace
On the bed of the ocean you'll sleep
The singer is describing where Billy's remains will be placed
And you never will wake
Billy will never come back to life
And forever I'll weep
The artist will always mourn the loss of Billy
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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