Sam Shaber likes to make her fans happy. This is why, for the last two year… Read Full Bio ↴Sam Shaber likes to make her fans happy. This is why, for the last two years, she has been on a perpetual "Taper's Tour," inviting people to take home her unique blend of raw pop by recording the shows. She also likes to play "all-request" gigs where fans can email requests for their favorite Shaber songs in advance, effectively writing the set-list themselves.

Shaber took this one step further on February 18th, 2006 when she recorded her new live album, in my bones (live in chicago). Fans from all over the country were encouraged to email requests and the result is a collection of previously unreleased songs that have long been crowd favorites, such as the passionately yearning title track "In My Bones;" If I was alone on a desert island/ I wouldn't be alone/I'm never alone/'cause you're in my bones; the upbeat summer anthem "Jersey to O.C.;" Grab the great unknown/Lean in to every breeze/Unturn every stone/From Jersey to O.C.; and the most requested song, "Cryin' Shame," about a lovesick teenage Scottish boy (complete with accent!); It's a cryin' shame/That you don't even know my name/An' ah swear sometimes it smarts/To feel you breathing down my heart.

There are also some tracks of pure Shaber banter, covering everything from high school crushes to Grey's Anatomy to a dinner party filled with sexually charged guests. Always impromptu, these moments are another large reason people love to see Sam live in concert. She is known for sending the audience from roaring laughter to deep saddness and back again in a matter of minutes. After a recent show, an audience member put it best when she sighed, "That was a work-out." Gene Shay at WXPN-fm in Philadelphia says Shaber is "Stark, raving, great!" Folkweb.com calls her "a riveting performer," and Femmusic.com voted her Top Female Performer.

Touring nationally year 'round, Shaber has won awards in the John Lennon, Billboard, and USA Songwriting Competitions for her driving melodies, smart lyrics, and soaring voice. She also won the ear of Columbia recording artist/producer Shawn Mullins ("Lullabye"), who produced her last album, eighty numbered streets, released in 2003 to great critical acclaim. Said Paste Magazine, "eighty numbered streets is confessional and emotional, but Shaber's salty falsetto and the stark beauty of this CD won't leave you drowning in your own tears." Daughter of late-screenwriter David Shaber (The Warriors, Nighthawks) and artist Alice Shaber, Sam uses her observer's eye and sharp wit. Her strong guitar style and broad voice have won comparisons as diverse as Alanis Morissette, Joni Mitchell, and Stevie Wonder. And her passion for showing an audience a good time is never more clear than in this intimate, raw, live release. Because in my bones is put together without pauses, the listener lives an entire show from beginning to end, a true document of one night, one Shaber, in Chicago.

Rain and Sunshine
Sam Shaber Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Lately, I've not been too well
And how are you, Maribel?
So much has changed, so soon since you've flown
I find myself so alone

Now I believe in rain and sunshine and gravity
That's what took you from me

I've got this story that I tell
About where we went, Maribel
And an open road through an Arizona valley
They say their god works mysteriously

But I believe in rain and sunshine and gravity
That's what took you from me

And now if roses cast their spell
I sense you there, Maribel
And everywhere I carry you inside me
Your body is bound, but your beauty is free

And I believe in rain and sunshine and gravity
That's what took you from me

I believe in rain and sunshine and gravity
That's what took you from me

Overall Meaning

In the opening lines of Sam Shaber's song "Rain and Sunshine," she shares her current state of being, mentioning that she hasn't been doing too well lately. However, she turns the attention to Maribel, asking how she's doing, indicating that Maribel might be the one who has left or passed on. Sam goes on to express that things have changed quite quickly since Maribel's departure, leaving her feeling quite alone.

The singer goes on to reflect on the fact that Maribel was taken from her, believing that it was the forces of nature that made it happen - rain, sunshine, and gravity. She continues to tell the story about a road trip they went on together and how, even though people say that a god's work is mysterious, she believes it was the natural order of things that led to Maribel's departure.

As the song progresses, Sam expresses an ongoing longing for Maribel's presence, mentioning that if roses cast a spell or something similar, she feels Maribel's presence there, indicating that her memories of Maribel are always with her. She concludes the song by reiterating her belief in the natural elements of rain, sunshine, and gravity as the cause of Maribel's absence.

Line by Line Meaning

Lately, I've not been too well
I have not been feeling well recently.

And how are you, Maribel?
How are you doing, Maribel?

So much has changed, so soon since you've flown
Since you left, so much has changed quickly.

I find myself so alone
I feel very lonely.

Now I believe in rain and sunshine and gravity
I now have faith in the fact that life has ups and downs and that things fall or rise due to gravity.

That's what took you from me
That's what caused me to lose you.

I've got this story that I tell
I have a story that I often share.

About where we went, Maribel
The story is about the places we visited, Maribel.

And an open road through an Arizona valley
The story includes a description of an open road going through a valley in Arizona.

They say their god works mysteriously
Some people believe that their god works in mysterious ways.

But I believe in rain and sunshine and gravity
But I have faith in the fact that life has ups and downs and that things fall or rise due to gravity.