Phillips began her musical career as a vocalist in the early 1980s, singing background parts for Christian artists such as Mark Heard, Randy Stonehill, and others. After a short time, Phillips was signed to a solo contract with Myrrh Records (under her given name) where she went on to record four Christian pop albums: Beyond Saturday Night, Dancing with Danger, Black & White in a Grey World, and, The Turning, which teamed her with producer and future husband T-Bone Burnett. Throughout the Myrrh period, Phillips wrote more and more of her own songs and several were Top 10 singles on Christian radio.
Since Cyndi Lauper was popular at the time and also had an high-pitched, idiosyncratic vocal style, Myrrh insisted on promoting her as "the Christian Cyndi Lauper." Phillips was never comfortable with this image, and it was a bone of contention between her and the label. She began using the name "Sam" professionally in 1988 when she left Myrrh Records and signed with Virgin Records, partially in order to distance herself from her somewhat embarrassing Myrrh-imposed persona.
Like many Christian artists before her, she expanded into more secular content at the new label. She released The Indescribable Wow, which featured the orchestrations of Van Dyke Parks. Cruel Inventions, which was released in 1991, included a guest appearance from close friend Elvis Costello, and she (with her husband) supported Costello on his 1991 tour. 1994's Martinis & Bikinis was widely praised by music critics and was even nominated for a Grammy Award; this was Phillips' first nomination.
In 1995, Phillips made her silver screen debut in the Bruce Willis blockbuster Die Hard With a Vengeance, in which she played a mute terrorist. She was originally supposed to have a speaking part in the film but it was decided that her character would be silent, since it made her appear much more imposing and lethal, although it also placed her in a more stereotypically femme fatale role at the same time.
In 1996, Phillips released Omnipop (It's Only a Flesh Wound Lambchop), which was more experimental musically and ended up being her worst-selling album to date. After releasing a contractual obligation "best-of" album for Virgin in 1999, the label dropped Phillips from their roster.
In 2001, Phillips signed with Nonesuch Records and released a stripped-down acoustic album called Fan Dance, which featured some of the most critically acclaimed songwriting of Phillips' career. Van Dyke Parks contributed string arrangements for a track or two. Phillips also began writing music for and scoring the television series Gilmore Girls, and even appeared on-screen during the final episode of season six, performing Taking Pictures. In 2004 she released A Boot and a Shoe, another collection of acoustic cabaret songs in the same vein as her previous album.
Sam returned with a new album don't do anything in 2008. In October 2009 Sam launched Long Play, an exclusively web-based membership site which promised subscribers 5 digital EPs and 1 full-length digital album over the course of about one year. A physical "best of" compilation of Long Play songs, titled Solid State, was released in June 2011.
Black Sky
Sam Phillips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They hide three mystics the earth sends from her grave
To tell us the future has been stolen away
By diggers, drillers and sellers
But we won't stop till we're under a black sky
He took my picture in the cemetery sun
My body was tempted to crumble into one
Returning ashes to ashes
We won't stop 'till we're underneath a black sky
The commerce the intrigue
Self-slaughtered souls cry out to dead poor men
For a drink at the water hole
But their tongues will burn dry
As the day they were sold for
Forests raped into deserts
We won't stop 'till we're underneath a black sky
Sam Phillips's song Black Sky is a hauntingly beautiful song that speaks to the darker realities of our world. The opening lines of the song assert that the trees are listening every time a missile is made. The trees become the unwilling witnesses to humanity's endless thirst for war and destruction. Three mystics arise from the earth to warn us that the future has been stolen away by those who would exploit the planet for their own gain. These "diggers, drillers, and sellers" signify those who pillage the earth's resources without any thought for the consequences. However, the song suggests that in spite of all this destruction, humanity will not relent until we are under a black sky- until the consequences of our actions catch up with us.
Phillips' song takes on a new tone in the second verse, speaking to the inevitability of death and destruction. She describes her body as "tempted to crumble into one", suggesting that we are all just dust that will one day return to the earth. However, this destruction is not purely allegorical- in the third verse, she speaks to the very real destruction wrought by those who seek to exploit natural resources. Commerce and intrigue lead to "forests raped into deserts", creating a legacy of destruction that will last long after those who perpetrated it have passed away. In the end, the song echoes the refrain that we "won't stop till we're underneath a black sky", suggesting that humanity is willing to continue on this path of inevitable destruction.
Line by Line Meaning
The trees are listening each time a missile's made
The trees stand silently when a missile is made, listening to the sound of destruction caused by humans.
They hide three mystics the earth sends from her grave
The trees protect three wise individuals sent by nature who understand the world's secrets and mysteries.
To tell us the future has been stolen away
The mystics warn that our future has been taken away by those who exploit and sell our resources, leading us to an uncertain future.
By diggers, drillers and sellers
The people responsible for the theft and destruction of our future are those who make a profit by excavating and drilling the earth and selling its resources.
But we won't stop till we're under a black sky
Despite the warnings, we will continue to exploit the earth and exhaust its resources until we are left under a black sky devoid of any life.
He took my picture in the cemetery sun
The singer's picture was taken in the bright sun of a graveyard.
My body was tempted to crumble into one
The singer's mortality was emphasized as they almost disintegrated into the earth.
Reunion of dust until creation's done
Death is inevitable, and our bodies will decompose and rejoin the earth's soil until new life is born.
Returning ashes to ashes
We all come from the earth and will eventually return to it, no matter how much we exploit it and our surroundings.
We won't stop 'till we're underneath a black sky
We will continue to destroy the earth for personal gain until we are surrounded by a black sky that signifies the end of any life on this planet.
The commerce the intrigue
Money and power drives human curiosity, causing us to exploit the earth for profit and personal gain.
Self-slaughtered souls cry out to dead poor men
People who feel stuck and hopeless in their lives, often being taken advantage of by those higher up the business chain, feel like they are dead themselves.
For a drink at the water hole
People will go to great lengths and sacrifice anything, even their lives and wellbeing, for a chance to obtain something essential like water.
But their tongues will burn dry
Despite the sacrifices made to gain access to water, the water source itself will eventually dry up and be gone.
As the day they were sold for
The individuals were sold out or taken advantage of just as they were on the day they were born.
Forests raped into deserts
An ecosystem is often destroyed for the sake of making a profit or to gain access to its resources, with forests being turned into deserts due to deforestation.
We won't stop 'till we're underneath a black sky
Our greed will cause us to continue exploiting the earth's resources until a point where nothing is left, and everything is consumed, leaving us surrounded by a black void and an end to our existence.
Lyrics © WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: LESLIE PHILLIPS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind