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.
I Need Love
Sam Phillips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Locked the door behind me
Put the pain on file
Broken like a window
I see my blindness now
I need love
Not some sentimental prison
Not the political church
I need fire
To melt the frozen sea inside me
I need love
Driving into town, tired and depressed
Like a flare, the streetlight
Bursts into an SOS
Peace comes to my rescue
I don't know what it means
I need love
In these lyrics, Sam Phillips seems to be expressing her need for love, both human and divine, to ease her pain and internal conflicts. She suggests that she has shut out her conscience and locked away her emotions, perhaps as a defense mechanism. She compares herself to a broken window, both vulnerable and transparent. However, now she realizes that her blindness is preventing her from experiencing true connection and healing. She rejects the idea of love as a sentimental prison, seeking instead a love that is liberating and transformative. Likewise, she rejects the idea of religious institutions as a replacement for a genuine connection to God. For her, faith must be personal and deeply felt. She seeks the fire of passion to break through her emotional numbness and create a sense of warmth and vitality in her soul. In the end, she finds a moment of peace on the street, reminded of the power of community and the possibilities of human connection.
Overall, these lyrics speak to the universal human need for love and meaning. They suggest that we can't truly thrive without genuine emotional connection, whether that be with other people or a divine presence. It's a reminder to look beyond superficial connections or external forms of faith, and to truly seek out what we really need to flourish.
Line by Line Meaning
I left my conscience like a crying child
I ignored my moral compass and left it behind, feeling helpless and vulnerable
Locked the door behind me
I shut out the world and kept my troubles to myself
Put the pain on file
I bottled up my emotions and stored them away
Broken like a window
My spirit is shattered and I feel exposed and vulnerable like a broken window
I see my blindness now
I am aware of my previous blindness and denial towards my problems
I need love
I crave for the affection and unconditional support of someone else
Not some sentimental prison
I don't want love that is too sentimental or overbearing
I need God
My soul yearns for spiritual guidance and reassurance
Not the political church
I don't want to be a part of an organized religion that is corrupt and self-serving
I need fire
I need the passion and drive to break free from my emotional stagnancy
To melt the frozen sea inside me
I need the motivation to thaw out the icy, numb feelings that have paralyzed me
I need love
I need love to heal my broken heart and find inner peace
Driving into town, tired and depressed
I am fatigued and discouraged as I drive into town
Like a flare, the streetlight
The bright light of a street lamp catches my attention like a signal flare
Bursts into an SOS
The light appears to blink urgently like it is signaling 'save our souls'
Peace comes to my rescue
The sudden light comforts me and brings me a sense of calmness and tranquility
I don't know what it means
I don't understand the significance of the light's appearance, but I feel its effect
I need love
Despite the unexplainable sighting, I still need love to fully recover from my emotional distress
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: LESLIE A PHILLIPS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind