Rachael Sage’s tenth album, HAUNTED BY YOU, is a song cycle about passion. … Read Full Bio ↴Rachael Sage’s tenth album, HAUNTED BY YOU, is a song cycle about passion. As the NYC-based artist explains, “I fell recklessly in and out of love multiple times while writing this record. I broke a couple hearts…and I also had my heart broken pretty badly.” Nonetheless, the crystalline-voiced singer/songwriter says she has no regrets, revealing she was “due to feel as deeply again as when I first started making music.”

For Sage, who is also a poet, actor and visual artist as well as a longtime record label owner (she founded MPress Records in 1996), music has always been her primary form of self-expression. By the age of three she had taught herself to play the piano, and by her teens, she’d won the ASCAP Pop Songwriting Contest. Upon hearing Sage’s winning entry, legendary producer Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T. Rex) told her she was “extremely talented” and offered to produce her demo. While her parents pressed her to go to Stanford University instead, it was an encouraging moment that gave her the confidence to self-produce her first record, MORBID ROMANTIC.

On the milestone of her tenth album, Sage admits, “I started writing songs to make sense of being bullied in school. I never envisioned music taking me around the world, or that one day I’d play the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Being part of the indie community is humbling though…it keeps you grounded.” Sage, who has collaborated with Phil Ramone and shared stages with Judy Collins, Marc Cohn, The Animals, Shawn Colvin and Sarah McLachlan, has had a prolific career both as a musician and entrepreneur. This year Sage produced the fourth volume of MPress' annual charity compilation series, NEW ARRIVALS, benefiting homeless youth, while her label had its first Billboard charting and Grammy® nominated releases.

HAUNTED BY YOU was tracked with members of Sage’s touring band The Sequins: Quinn (drums), Dave Eggar (cello), Russ Johnson (trumpet), and also features guitarists James Mastro (Patti Smith), Mark Bosch (Ian Hunter) and Jack Petruzelli (Rufus Wainwright); bassists Todd Sickafoose (Ani DiFranco) and Mike Visceglia (Suzanne Vega); mandolin player David Immergluck (Counting Crows); and drummer Doug Yowell (Duncan Sheik). Singer-songwriters Dar Williams, Lucy Woodward, Katie Costello, Ryan Hommel and Seth Glier – as well as actor/director Joshua Leonard – also make guest appearances; John Shyloski (Johnny Winter) and Kevin Killen (Elvis Costello) engineered.

Unlike Sage’s previous albums, including 2009’s critically acclaimed DELANCEY STREET, much of HAUNTED BY YOU was composed on guitar. “I pushed myself to pick up guitar to write this record because I was scared of it and took that as a cue.” The title track, along with “Abby Would You Wait”, “Invisible Light”, “Hey Nah” and “Everything”, were all penned by Sage on a 1966 Martin acoustic inherited from an ex. “I gave myself a pass to try something brand new, and to make mistakes that would hopefully yield something more visceral.”

Sage wrote the dozen songs on the album after separating from her boyfriend of four years, whom she describes as “the kindest, most balanced person I’ve ever dated. He was much more traditional than me though…touring slowly took its toll." Alone, reflecting on her breakup, the 3-time Independent Music Award winner found herself suddenly prolific. “California”, “The Sequin Song” and “Confession” show a more vulnerable, raw side of the singer, reckoning with her newfound freedom, as well as inevitable loneliness.

“After my breakup I had an intense affair with someone I met overseas. I was swept off my feet…but it was an impossible situation.” Strained by long-distance, Sage eventually felt pressured to break off what had become a tumultuous wave of cross-continental phone calls and emails. “Soulstice”, featuring Counting Crows’ David Immergluck on mandolin, “captures that moment where I was as happy as I’ve ever been, even though it was fleeting.”

The concept of soul-mates reappears throughout the record. Sage wrote the Americana-inspired “Abby Would You Wait” about someone with whom she shared one long conversation after a gig, but with whom she “connected so strongly that I saw an entire future.” Likewise, the lush, acoustic guitar-based “Everything” celebrates the shameless joy of a new attraction, “when all you can see is shimmering possibility.”

“Invisible Light”, which both opens and closes the album in two very different musical arrangements (one featuring Dar Williams on guest vocals), is Sage’s favorite song on the record. “I wrote ‘Invisible Light’ while fantasizing about someone who just effortlessly ‘gets’ me and lets me in completely. I’m definitely ready to have my mind blown by that kind of love.”

Upcoming tour highlights include official showcases at SXSW (Austin, TX), Hotel Café (Los Angeles, CA), Joe’s Pub (New York, NY) and Lincoln Center’s ‘Meet The Artist’ series (New York, NY). In addition, Think Coffee will be presenting Sage’s first art show in a decade at their Bowery & Bleecker location, from May 6-June 3rd. HAUNTED BY YOU is due out in the U.S. in May 2012.

Confession
Rachael Sage Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I took you for granted every day of my life
From the moment I met you
I believed you would one day be my wife
Now I’m scared and I’m shattered
‘Cause you’re finally happy
And I’ve gotta learn to let you go
But where will I go now

I am but we were and I’m tired of wanting
It hurts more than I’m capable of flaunting
And I need to be loved
By somebody but you’ve been my only friend

Didn’t call you enough
Should’ve cried instead of acting so tough
Didn’t tell you I loved you even half of the time
Could’ve shared things you might’ve liked
To know about but I was afraid
Of losing everything I’d assumed
Would just be waiting one day

I am but we were and I’m tired of wanting
It hurts more than I’m capable of flaunting
And I need to be loved
By somebody but you’ve been my only friend
Inspiration… confession

She’s someone I’d wanna talk to
If I didn’t know she’d caught you
Like a firefly inside a jar
I see you become who you really are
Hanging high from the rafters
You’re as gossamer as laughter
With a cobweb of questions
Glistening in your eyes

I am but we were and I’m tired of wanting
It hurts more than I’m capable of flaunting
And I need to be loved

By somebody but you’ve been my only friend
Inspiration… confession

Overall Meaning

In "Confession" by Rachael Sage, the lyrics explore the regret and longing that comes with taking someone for granted in a relationship. The singer admits to never truly appreciating their partner, assuming that they would always be together. However, now that the partner has found happiness elsewhere, the singer is left scared and shattered. The realization hits that they must learn to let go, but they are unsure of where to go from there.

The song reflects on missed opportunities and failings within the relationship. The singer acknowledges not calling their partner enough, acting tough instead of expressing vulnerability, and failing to consistently express their love. They were afraid of losing what they thought would always be there, but now they understand the consequences of their actions.

The chorus highlights the singer's desperation for love and how their partner has been their only friend. They crave the affection and connection they have lost and realize the weight of their actions. The last verse introduces another person, someone the singer would like to talk to if they weren't aware that this person caught their partner's attention. This person is described as a firefly caught in a jar, representing the partner who has transformed and embraced their true self.

Overall, the lyrics of "Confession" carry a sense of regret, longing, and the need for self-reflection in the face of lost love. It explores the complexities of relationships and the consequences of taking someone for granted.

Line by Line Meaning

I took you for granted every day of my life
I didn't appreciate you enough and didn't realize your importance to me until now.

From the moment I met you
Since the very first time we met.

I believed you would one day be my wife
I had strong faith that we would eventually get married.

Now I’m scared and I’m shattered
I'm feeling afraid and completely broken.

‘Cause you’re finally happy
Because you have found happiness.

And I’ve gotta learn to let you go
I need to accept that I have to move on from you.

But where will I go now
I'm unsure of my direction in life without you.

Didn’t call you enough
I didn't communicate with you as much as I should have.

Should’ve cried instead of acting so tough
I should have allowed myself to be vulnerable and express my emotions instead of pretending to be strong.

Didn’t tell you I loved you even half of the time
I failed to express my love for you sufficiently.

Could’ve shared things you might’ve liked to know about
I could have opened up and shared things with you that you would have found interesting.

But I was afraid of losing everything I’d assumed would just be waiting one day
I was scared that if I revealed more about myself, I would lose everything I hoped for in our relationship.

She’s someone I’d wanna talk to if I didn’t know she’d caught you
There's someone I'd like to have a conversation with, but I know she has already taken your attention.

Like a firefly inside a jar
You are trapped and constrained, just like a firefly caught in a glass jar.

I see you become who you really are
I witness you embracing your true self.

Hanging high from the rafters
You are at a high point in your life, almost like hanging from the rafters.

You’re as gossamer as laughter
Your happiness and essence are as delicate and elusive as the sound of laughter.

With a cobweb of questions
You have a complex web of unanswered questions.

Glistening in your eyes
These questions are evident and shimmering in your eyes.

I am but we were and I’m tired of wanting
I used to be part of an 'us' but I'm exhausted from longing for what we had.

It hurts more than I’m capable of flaunting
The pain I feel is deeper than what I can show off or display.

And I need to be loved
I crave love and affection.

By somebody but you’ve been my only friend
I desire love from someone other than you, even though you have been my closest friend.

Inspiration… confession
This is an expression of my deepest thoughts and emotions.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Rachael Sage

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind