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.
Expectations
Sam Phillips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You lock me up with your expectations
Loosen the pressure you choked me with
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
You stripped my heart with your accusations
You shut me into an affectation
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
Let me pull down on your high ideals
To sweet earth honest and wide
Tumble with me in an undoubted craze
Don't hold back the tide
You might get caught in sweet captivation
If you let your mind take this aberration
Loosen the pressure you choked me with
I can't breathe
I can't breathe
You lock me up with your accusations
You lock me up with your accusations
You lock me up
You lock me up
You lock me up
Sam Phillips's song "Expectations" is a powerful anthem about the weight of others' expectations and how it can suffocate and stifle an individual's creativity and potential. Throughout the song, Phillips uses vivid and evocative language to describe the pressure she feels from others to conform to their ideals, expectations, and judgments. The lines "You lock me up with your expectations/ Loosen the pressure you choked me with/ I can't breathe" and "You stripped my heart with your accusations/ You shut me into an affectation" capture the feelings of being trapped and constrained by the expectations of others, helpless to be the person one truly is without facing criticism, judgment, and ridicule.
Phillips urges her listeners to break free from these suffocating expectations and let their minds and spirits run wild. She sings, "Let me pull down on your high ideals/ To sweet earth honest and wide/ Tumble with me in an undoubted craze/Don't hold back the tide," encouraging her audience to let go of their preconceived notions and allow themselves to be caught up in the "sweet captivation" of new experiences and ideas.
Overall, "Expectations" is a passionate and stirring song about the dangers of allowing oneself to be defined by the expectations of others and the importance of breaking free from those constraints to pursue one's own unique path.
Line by Line Meaning
You lock me up with your expectations
You confine me with what you demand from me
Loosen the pressure you choked me with
Ease up on the intensity that is suffocating me
I can't breathe
I feel constricted and unable to express myself
You stripped my heart with your accusations
You emotionally wounded me with your unjustified blame
You shut me into an affectation
You trap me into an artificial display to please you
Let me pull down on your high ideals
Let me bring you back to earthly realities, truthful and open
To sweet earth honest and wide
To a place of sincerity and clarity
Tumble with me in an undoubted craze
Be wild with me in a rush of certainty
Don't hold back the tide
Don't resist the natural flow of things
You might get caught in sweet captivation
You may find yourself captivated by the joys of surrendering control
If you let your mind take this aberration
If you allow yourself to consider this unconventional possibility
You lock me up with your accusations
You confine me with your unjustified blame
You lock me up
You trap me and limit my choices
You lock me up
You restrain me and prevent me from reaching my full potential
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: LESLIE PHILLIPS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind