Panes, who plays mandolin and guitar, is accompanied by Georgie Harris (Viola), Joanne Sy (Cello), Sean Hatton (Drums) and Deborah Panes (Vocals).
Panes is a British songwriter with a guitar to his chest and a heart swelling with hopes and dreams. A common on-paper pitch, perhaps, and one sold a thousand times before. But Dorset-born Panes has something special to offer those willing to wait a while for their favourite songs to settle into place.
Panes’ debut album, ‘Little Giant’, isn’t a collection operating at the vanguard of a cutting-edge, ultimately transient scene worthy of clicks for the next few months. It’s not an album that sets out to trick its audience in any way – what you hear is succinct, honest songwriting, from a place of deep personal expression, resonating with universal truths and values. It’s an embracing set, a welcoming one, which represents everything that its maker has worked towards since first picking up a guitar and exploring his innermost thoughts and feelings through song. No follower of fashion, Panes walks to his own beat.
It’s a strange admission for any artist, but nevertheless: “I’ve never really listened to much music,” says Panes. “Influences from other artists, they’re not really that important. I find that my music comes to me from situations I find myself in – those situations can come to me as songs. In terms of first picking up an instrument, my granny was a classical pianist – we’d go to her house, hear her play, and run around in circles. And my mum used to be in a travelling theatre company, so I was encouraged towards culture, towards the arts. But I always thought: if I want to listen to music, I’ll just write it.”
Don’t mistake confidence for arrogance – such statements come from a sincere place, as Panes’ upbringing in Wimborne, once home to novelist Thomas Hardy, proved more inspirational to his writing than any sessions in the company of a parent’s record collection. The natural beauty of Dorset’s open spaces – and those of the Lake District, a place he loves to visit – have become woven into the fabric of his craft. The peace, the silent solitude: it’s here that Panes feels more alive with ideas than he does in the hubbub of his adopted home of London. There’s a pastoral warmth to ‘Little Giant’ that couldn’t have manifested had its roots been laid within urban limits.
The comfort of home, of a tight and supportive family, punctuates proceedings throughout Panes’ debut LP – which is perhaps inevitable, as the collection was recorded there. Beside producer Rupert Coulson – a man with numerous soundtrack credits, as well as experience of working on records by Portishead, Robbie Williams and Oasis – Panes and his band captured the classic 12-string guitar sounds, rippling percussion and sweeping strings that decorate ‘Little Giant’ in, says the singer, “the music room, down at our house – just a small, wooden-floored room. I thought, why not keep the recording close to where I write the songs?”
He continues: “I’m a really big fan of the idea that you don’t need all the stuff you find in a big studio – it’s about how you use the things you do have. Rupert had a lot of imagination, and got a good grasp of the room and harnessed it. I love working in places that have an atmosphere, and I think it’s good to have that extra, background noise on a record. I’m sure there’s an ambulance on the album, actually.”
He was, briefly, the face of a Burberry campaign, something he describes as “random”. “I was on tour,” he says, “and I got a phone call asking me to do it. I just grabbed the opportunity that was in front of me. I went in a musician, and came out a musician. It’s a short episode in my life, but one that’s had some quite big repercussions.” Indeed, a Google search pulls up many attractively composed black-and-white photographs of Panes sporting fine threads – but it’s music that surges strongest in his veins, above all other passions.
And now that you’ve separated your senses from social media for a while, closed your chattering inbox, just what does ‘Little Giant’ offer above more garden variety singer-songwriter recordings? A little patience provides the answers: this is material that truly connects on an emotional level, its gentle rhythms and compelling cadences topped by vocals that can’t be faked, that come characterised by a complete lack of artifice and affectation. His is a deep voice, one that sounds aged beyond its years, perhaps. And yet, it’s telling of timeless stories, endless ache and forever love. It asks that we all find the right way to see the world around us.
One number that specifically addresses the need for optimism is the single ‘Tiger Striped Sky’. Says Panes: “It’s about the idea where we can look at any situation ahead of us in two ways: either it’s challenging, and off-putting, or you can say that you love a challenge. It’s about the idea that you chose your context, and if you put yourself into a negative context, you’re going to come out with stripes on you.”
The title track is about addressing one’s own shortcomings in order to better themselves. “It’s accepting that you have to realise your own vulnerabilities in order to become stronger,” says Panes. “That’s why there’s the line, ‘Have the heart of a giant / But know you’re a man.’ You have to take things step by step. It’s also got that message of hope, as well.”
These songs are, says Panes, “personal, and vulnerable – but expansive, too. Because I don’t want it to just be about me. Here’s a bit of me, to help you understand a bit of you. I think positivity and hope are things worth giving to people, and I think that the album does transmit a lot of hope.”
Tiger Striped Sky
Roo Panes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Light was pouring down upon the stepping stones
Felt like morning coming for his throne
I don't know why
But it looked like a tiger striped sky
Half the world was pulling on his colors
As nights turned into day to the hours
I don't know why
But if felt like a tiger striped sky
Tell me why
I'm underneath the tiger striped sky
Oh tell me why
I'm underneath the tiger striped sky
Tired of seeing adventures on café walls
Think I'll take a turn from the known road
Think I'll write a tale of my own
I'm going southbound
to where the ocean's flirting with the coast
Tell me why
I'm underneath the tiger striped sky
Oh tell me why
I'm underneath the tiger striped sky
oh oh oh oh, oh oh
oh oh oh oh, oh oh
So I'll be giving up my stripes
Be painting with new colors
Beginning with dove-white
Oh, I'll be giving up my stripes
Be painting with new colors
Beginning with dove-white
Oh, I'll be giving up my stripes
Be painting with new colors
Beginning with dove-white
Oh, I'll be giving up my stripes
Be painting with new colors
Beginning with dove-white
The opening lines of the song, "Pouncing ray to ray through the dappled shadows / Light was pouring down upon the stepping stones," create an image of a tiger crouching in the darkness, ready to pounce. The tiger is a symbol of power and strength, and the dappled shadows evoke the sense of camouflage and cunning associated with the animal. The next lines, "Felt like morning coming for his throne / I don't know why / But it looked like a tiger striped sky," describe the sense of majesty and dominance that the tiger exudes, as well as the beauty of the sky that seems to reflect his power.
The chorus, "Tell me why / I'm underneath the tiger striped sky / Oh tell me why / I'm underneath the tiger striped sky," repeats the theme of being under the tiger's influence or power. The lines "Half the world was pulling on his colors / As nights turned into day to the hours / A glow was coming down, coming down" suggest that the tiger has an influence not just on the immediate surroundings, but also on the entire world. The tiger's colors, which are presumably his stripes, represent his identity and his dominance.
The last verse, "So I'll be giving up my stripes / Be painting with new colors / Beginning with dove-white," speaks to the idea of personal transformation and growth. The singer, inspired by the tiger's power and beauty, decides to shed his own stripes and create a new identity for himself. The dove-white color symbolizes purity, innocence, and perhaps a sense of humility.
Line by Line Meaning
Pouncing ray to ray through the dappled shadows
Leaping from one ray of light to another amidst the interplay of light and shadow
Light was pouring down upon the stepping stones
Wide beams of sunshine were falling directly on the path
Felt like morning coming for his throne
It seemed like the sun was rising to take its rightful place in the sky
I don't know why
The reason for the beauty of the moment was inexplicable
But it looked like a tiger striped sky
The sky had a mesmerizing pattern akin to that of a tiger's stripes
Half the world was pulling on his colors
The sun and its colors were having an impact on half the world at this moment
As nights turned into day to the hours
The night slowly transitioned into day as hours went by
A glow was coming down, coming down
Light was radiating down and illuminating the surroundings
Tell me why
Asking for an explanation behind the beauty of the moment
I'm underneath the tiger striped sky
Being surrounded by and a part of the extraordinary sky pattern
Tired of seeing adventures on café walls
Bored of admiring the adventures depicted on cafe walls in the form of pictures or murals
Think I'll take a turn from the known road
Contemplating the decision to deviate from the familiar path
Think I'll write a tale of my own
Planning to create one's own story filled with unique experiences
I'm going southbound
Heading towards the southern direction
to where the ocean's flirting with the coast
To the shoreline where the waters of the ocean gently brush against the shore
So I'll be giving up my stripes
Metaphorically letting go of one's familiar, safe identity
Be painting with new colors
Embracing and experimenting with new perspectives and ways of being
Beginning with dove-white
Starting the process with a pure, unspoiled beginning
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Andrew Panes
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@alexolia7679
Pouncing ray to ray through the dappled shadows
Light was pouring down upon the stepping stones
Felt like morning coming for his throne
I don’t know why
But it looked like a tiger striped skyHalf the world was pulling on his colors
As nights turned into day to the hours
A glow was coming down, coming down
I don’t know why
But if felt like a tiger striped skyTell me why
I’m underneath the tiger striped sky
Oh tell me why
I’m underneath the tiger striped skyTired of seeing adventures on café walls
Think I’ll take a turn from the known road
Think I’ll write a tale of my own
I’m going southbound
to where the ocean’s flirting with the coastTell me why
I’m underneath the tiger striped sky
Oh tell me why
I’m underneath the tiger striped skyoh oh oh oh, oh oh
oh oh oh oh, oh ohSo I’ll be giving up my stripes
Be painting with new colors
Beginning with dove-white
Oh, I’ll be giving up my stripes
Be painting with new colors
Beginning with dove-whiteOh, I’ll be giving up my stripes
Be painting with new colors
Beginning with dove-white
Oh, I’ll be giving up my stripes
Be painting with new colors
Beginning with dove-white
@ruokuobeiukhezhie3995
Tiger Striped Sky
Roo Panes
Pouncing ray to ray through the dappled shadows
Light was pouring down upon the stepping stones
Felt like morning coming for his throne
I don’t know why
But it looked like a tiger striped sky
Half the world was pulling on his colors
As nights turned into day to the hours
A glow was coming down, coming down
I don’t know why
But if felt like a tiger striped sky
Tell me why
I’m underneath the tiger striped sky
Oh tell me why
I’m underneath the tiger striped sky
Tired of seeing adventures on café walls
Think I’ll take a turn from the known road
Think I’ll write a tale of my own
I’m going southbound
to where the ocean’s flirting with the coast
Tell me why
I’m underneath the tiger striped sky
Oh tell me why
I’m underneath the tiger striped sky
oh oh oh oh, oh oh
oh oh oh oh, oh oh
So I’ll be giving up my stripes
Be painting with new colors
Beginning with dove-white
Oh, I’ll be giving up my stripes
Be painting with new colors
Beginning with dove-white
Oh, I’ll be giving up my stripes
Be painting with new colors
Beginning with dove-white
Oh, I’ll be giving up my stripes
Be painting with new colors
Beginning with dove-white
@triborneemitra2477
that section of youtube with not so famous yet beautiful and talented singers.
@emilycalkins7389
+Tribornee Mitra Totally!
@mervelerdenbiri
👍
@ramayounis9599
My favourite section
@joshBooSTed
Right on man
@k9officerft434
Objectively the best part of youtube
@abdochaabivevo
thank you spotify recommending this amazing chill song , i've been playing for hours ,
@mlgry
+ATCsmusic me too!
@0hardeep
Same here
@librasteps8153
me2