Philip Sayce was born in Aberystwyth, Wales, and grew up in Toronto, Canada… Read Full Bio ↴Philip Sayce was born in Aberystwyth, Wales, and grew up in Toronto, Canada. He started his career recording and touring with Jeff Healey, Melissa Etheridge, Uncle Kracker, and others. In 2009 he released a solo album, "Peace Machine". In 2010 he released "Innerevolution" (Europe/UK only), "Ruby Electric" in 2011, "Silver Wheel Of Stars" in 2012 (EP version), and "Steamroller" was released in 2013. He currently lives in Los Angeles.

Growing up in a musical household and exposed to his parents’ eclectic record collection that included the likes of Eric Clapton, Ry Cooder and Dire Straits, he was particularly drawn to the guitar – being taken by his parents to an Eric Clapton concert left the young Sayce awestruck and in no doubt about which was the instrument for him.
By the time he was 15 he was playing guitar in his first band; he was up and running. He soon became a regular fixture on the Toronto club scene, where his fluid soloing and mesmerising overall musicality turned heads an earned him many fans. With an insatiable appetite for jam sessions at the likes of Grossman's Tavern in Toronto, Sayce began rapidly distilling his own singular guitar style and tonal palette from a melting pot of influences that included such greats as Clapton, B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Jimi Hendrix, Robert Cray, and in particular Stevie Ray Vaughan, to whom he is, understandably, probably most often compared.

While still a teenager, Sayce was held in such high regard that, after jamming on stage with one of his heroes, guitar player and fellow Canadian Jeff Healey, he was invited to join Healey’s band. Sayce was now living the dream. He can still remember the first time he heard Healey – and the effect it had: “It was in a supermarket car park. I was 11 and my parents had gone into the store. This song, See The Light, came on and I was just overwhelmed. I literally punched the radio.”

After three-and-a-half years with Healey’s band, playing with them at the Montreux Jazz Festival and at gigs around the world, Sayce, the apprentice having learned well from the master, felt it was time to move on.

Looking to further expand his musical horizons, in 2001 he moved to Los Angeles. He joined Uncle Kracker, and was with the band when they had their massive US No.1 hit song Drift Away. He starred in and wrote the music for the short film Cockroach Blue, directed by the award-winning Robert Crossman, which received high acclaim when it was shown at the Woodstock Film Festival. Then, in 2003, Grammy and Oscar winner Melissa Etheridge came calling (“very talented – like Stevie Ray Vaughan,” she enthused), and he enjoyed an “awesome” time playing and recording with her band until 2008.

During his stint with Melissa, Sayce released his debut solo album, Peace Machine, using what he describes as Etheridge’s “shit-hot” band and producer Michael Nielsen. Recorded live in the studio in just a couple of days, it’s full of raw, high-energy, low-maintenance retro-blues delivered with startling punch and real style, and showcases Sayce as a soulful, powerfully expressive vocalist as well as a supremely talented guitarist and all-round musician. The album also includes a crunching version of the Neil Young classic Cinnamon Girl, the song often a resonant inclusion in Sayce’s thrilling live shows.

And live is where Sayce, his jam-club years in his pocket, shines brightest, he and his band performing with a potent mixture of power and finesse, the guitarist regularly pulling the trigger and unleashing visceral, mesmerising solos. And while they’re checking out the hot licks, it’s clear that many of the girls in the audience are equally taken by the good-looking guy with the swept-back blond hair and charisma to spare. If you’ve got it…

May 2010 saw the release of, INNEREVOLUTION, recorded with his live band - keyboardist Fred Mandel (Queen, Supertramp, Elton John, Alice Cooper), bassist Joel Gottschalk and drummer Ryan MacMillan (Matchbox 20). This collection of songs, some co-written with Richard Marx, busbee, Mike Bradford, Dave Cobb and Marti Frederiksen among others, further establishes Philip Sayce not only as one of the finest blues guitarists around, but also as a musician, singer and songwriter with tremendous talent and potential.

“Richard came out to a show and we immediately hit it off,” Sayce explains of how he came to write with Richard Marx. “He's a massive talent and to have the opportunity to collaborate and learn from him is something I am grateful for. Anyone I collaborate or co-write with, the goal is to be open and learn, and I've been blessed to work with some of the best of the best.”

More varied than Peace Machine, and overall more sophisticated and more polished in terms of songwriting, sonics and performance, Innerevoltuion is a stylish, engaging and thrilling album that should bring Philip Sayce to the attention of a bigger and wider audience.

With Peace Machine, Innerevolution, Ruby Electric, Silver Wheel Of Stars, and Steamroller, Philip Sayce continues to write his own chapter in the long and continuing history of popular music. And it’s clear that this gifted young musician has many more pages yet to write.

Bitter Monday
Philip Sayce Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Well you are
This tangled thing called life
Can be as dark
As one long endless night
Well you get all
The keys to paradise
But your born
Just watch it pass you by

There's no startin over
No tearing up the deal
Only helter-skelter
With no hands on the wheel

So bitter monday when you wake up
In the bed you made
When everything you want
Is everything you threw away
Yesterday
Yesterday

Yes she's fine
A blue eyed velvet dream
She'll blow your mind
In ways you aint never seen
Oh!
Why does desire
Like the devil lead us on
Aint no second chances
They've already gone

So bitter monday when you wake up
In the bed you made
When everything you want
Is everything you threw away
Yesterday
Yesterday
Yesterday

Oh!
Why does desire
Like the devil lead us on
Aint no second chances
They've already gone
Yeh there're long gone gone now

So bitter monday when you wake up
In the bed you made
When everything you want
Is everything you threw away

Oh!
So bitter monday when you wake up
In the bed you made
When everything you want
Is everything you threw away
What you threw away

So bitter monday when you wake up
In the bed you made
When everything you want
Is everything you threw away

Yesterday
Yesterday

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of "Bitter Monday" by Philip Sayce tell a story of regret and missed opportunities. The first stanza describes how life can be dark and how even though we may have the keys to paradise, we often watch it pass us by. The second stanza introduces a character, a blue-eyed velvet dream, and discusses the concept of desire leading us on. The chorus, "So bitter Monday when you wake up / In the bed you made / When everything you want / Is everything you threw away / Yesterday, yesterday," is a reflection on the consequences of our choices, and how we may wake up one day realizing that everything we wanted is gone because we threw it away in the past.

The use of "bitter" in the title and throughout the song conveys a feeling of regret and the possibility of bitterness towards oneself. The lyrics suggest that there are no second chances and that once the opportunity is gone, it's gone forever. The line "Only helter-skelter / With no hands on the wheel" creates a powerful image of being out of control, unsure of where life will take you. Overall, the song is a sobering reminder to live in the present, make good choices, and to take advantage of opportunities that come our way.

Line by Line Meaning

Well you are
The singer is addressing someone directly, possibly the listener or a person of interest.

This tangled thing called life
Life can be complicated and difficult to navigate, like a tangled mess.

Can be as dark
Life has its dark moments, which can last for a long time.

As one long endless night
Those dark moments can feel like they will never end.

Well you get all
Despite the difficulties of life, there are still moments of joy and fulfillment.

The keys to paradise
These moments of joy and fulfillment can feel like a taste of paradise.

But your born
However, these moments are fleeting and can pass quickly.

Just watch it pass you by
It can be frustrating to watch these moments slip away, but sometimes there's nothing you can do to hold onto them.

There's no startin over
Once something is done or a decision is made, there's no undoing it.

No tearing up the deal
You can't simply walk away from the consequences of your actions.

Only helter-skelter
Life can feel chaotic and out of control.

With no hands on the wheel
In these moments of chaos, it can feel like there is no control over the direction things are headed.

So bitter monday when you wake up
The singer is returning to the earlier idea of life's difficulties and disappointments.

In the bed you made
The person being addressed is facing the consequences of their own decisions and actions.

When everything you want
Despite those consequences, there is still an underlying desire for something better.

Is everything you threw away
However, that desire feels out of reach because of past mistakes and missed opportunities.

Yesterday
The idea of past mistakes is emphasized by repetition of the word 'yesterday.'

Yes she's fine
The singer shifts focus to a new character, a woman who is attractive and desirable.

A blue eyed velvet dream
The woman is described in dreamy, idealized terms, with emphasis on her physical appearance.

She'll blow your mind
The woman is not just beautiful, but has a captivating personality or energy.

In ways you aint never seen
The woman has a quality that is unique and unlike anything the listener has experienced before.

Oh!
This exclamation adds emphasis to the idea of the woman's allure.

Why does desire
The singer returns to the idea of desire, which can be both exhilarating and destructive.

Like the devil lead us on
Desire can lead people into danger or temptation, much like the devil in religious mythology.

Aint no second chances
Like so many other things in life, there may be no opportunity to go back and correct mistakes made while following desire.

They've already gone
The chance to make things right has already passed.

Yeh there're long gone gone now
The same sentiment is repeated with slightly different phrasing for emphasis.

What you threw away
The theme of throwing away something valuable returns, this time applied to intangible opportunities linked to desire.

Yesterday
The repetition of 'yesterday' emphasizes the idea of missed chances and regret.

So bitter monday when you wake up
The song ends with a reminder of the difficulties of life waiting every morning, with no going back and no easy solutions.

What you threw away
As earlier in the song, this line reminds the listener of what is lost and what might have been, but for their own choices and actions.

Yesterday
The repetition of 'yesterday' finishes the song on a melancholy and regretful note.

Contributed by London S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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