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.
OUT OF TIME
Sam Phillips Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Starting up the hill
an echo standing still
Love has turned on us like the wild
Listen to the scream
of our desperate dream
Did we say forever and what ever did we mean
Someone take me out of time
I dreamed of eyes like his open windows
Secrets looking through
dark sky burning blue
But I kept them to myself
quiet pieces
To the urgent voice
violent with choice
Tonight I'll leave you there where I found you
Starting up the hill
an echo standing still
Our shadows cry for us as the dust moves
Time won't tell us why we let love go by
In the song "Out Of Time" by Sam Phillips, the lyrics are describing the end of a relationship. The singer is walking away from a lover, leaving them in the same place where they originally met, and reflecting on the nature of love and commitment. Phillips uses vivid imagery and metaphors to convey a sense of sadness and uncertainty about what the future holds.
The opening lines suggest that the singer has accepted that the relationship is over and is moving on. They describe leaving the other person behind as they "start up the hill," which could be a metaphor for life's journey or a physical location. The image of an "echo standing still" suggests that the singer is leaving behind something that will continue to reverberate long after they are gone.
The second verse shifts into a dreamlike sequence where the singer reflects on what could have been. They imagined a love with eyes like "open windows," but kept those feelings to themselves. The urgency of the voice and the choice suggest that the singer wanted something more but didn't know how to ask for it. In the end, however, it didn't matter as love turned on them like the wild.
The chorus brings the song's themes together, as the singer declares that "we're out of time" and pleads for someone to take them out of time. The shadows crying and the dust moving suggest a sense of loss and fleetingness. Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of sadness and acceptance about love's end, while also acknowledging the powerful emotions that come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Tonight I'll leave you there where I found you
I will leave you in the same place where I met you tonight
Starting up the hill an echo standing still
While climbing up a hill, I heard an echo that seemed motionless
Love has turned on us like the wild
Love has betrayed us like the wilderness that is uncontrollable
Listen to the scream of our desperate dream
Our unfulfilled dream is now causing us to lament loudly in desperation
Did we say forever and what ever did we mean
Did we really promise to stay together forever? And if yes, what did we truly mean by that?
Now my friend we're out of time
My dear friend, we have run out of time
Someone take me out of time
Help me escape from time
I dreamed of eyes like his open windows
I had a dream about eyes that resembled his, like open windows
Secrets looking through dark sky burning blue
The secrets were visible, looking through a dark sky that was burning blue
But I kept them to myself quiet pieces
I chose to keep those secrets to myself, quietly and in fragments
To the urgent voice violent with choice
In response to the anxious voice, full of options and decisions to be made
Our shadows cry for us as the dust moves
As we walk, our shadows seem to be crying for us while the dust moves
Time won't tell us why we let love go by
Time cannot explain to us why we allowed love to slip away
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: LESLIE PHILLIPS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind