Sarah Àlai… Read Full Bio ↴Vocalist, violinist, composer, copywriter, radio and TV host.
Sarah Àlainn, originally from Sydney, began studying the violin from the age of 5. She studied under Perry Hart, the star pupil of Szymon Goldberg who at the age of 20 became the concertmaster for the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra.
Winning domestic competitions she soon gained recognition for her talents and enrolled at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music and graduated with a High Distinction from the University of Sydney, whilst studying abroad at the University of Tokyo.
In 2012 Sarah signed a record deal with Universal Music Japan releasing her debut album ‘Celeste’ which reached #1 on the iTunes Japan Vocal Charts. Her second album, SARAH produced by Yasunori Mitsuda, was released in 2014 reaching #1 in the Billboard Japan Classical charts, her 13th entry into the Japanese music charts. She released her self-produced albums ‘f’ and ‘ANIMA’, her single ‘Little Doll’ reaching #1 on the iTunes Classical charts upon the day of its release. Sarah writes lyrics in English, Japanese, Italian and Latin.
With a vocal range spanning over 3 octaves, Sarah’s voice was the subject of an analytical study by Japanese Acoustic Labs where the results ascertained that the effects of listening to Sarah’s singing is therapeutically beneficial, by way of her voice containing 1/f fluctuations (similar to the audio waves found in church bells). Sarah has both perfect pitch and synaesthesia (she sees sound as colours).
Sarah worked together with 16 time Grammy Award winning record producer David Foster on the Disney special anniversary album We Love Disney, singing ‘Colors of the Wind’ from Pocahontas. Sarah has also recorded on tracks with the Vienna Boys’ Choir, and a duet with Andrea Bocelli and Peabo Bryson. In 2016 Sarah performed with Andrea Bocelli on his ‘CINEMA World Tour’ in Japan. She was invited as a violinist on Ludovico Einaudi’s Japan Tour.
Sarah currently hosts an English-language teaching show ‘Kiso Eigo for Adult Learners’ on NHK TV. She also hosts her weekly radio program Peace of Mind〜Saturday mornings with Sarah Àlainn on Tokyo FM/FM Osaka. She has been invited to speak at TEDxUTokyo (TEDx event hosted by The University of Tokyo), where she spoke about ‘Meaningful Silences’, and she has also appeared as a guest lecturer at the Tokyo University of the Arts.
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Sarah Àlainn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Then why can't I paint you?
The words will never show
The you I've come to know.
If a face could launch a thousand ships,
Then where am I to go?
There's no one home but you;
And when my love for life is running dry,
You come and pour yourself on me.
If a man could be two places
At one time, I'd be with you.
Tomorrow and today,
Beside you all the way.
If the world should stop revolving,
Spinning slowly down to die,
I'd spend the end with you,
And when the world was through.
And when my love for life is running dry,
You come and pour yourself on me.
Then one by one the stars would all go out
And you and I would simply fly away.
Sarah Àlainn's song "If" is a piece that mainly talks about the undying depth of love one person has for another. This thought-provoking music piece is a blend of various rhetorical questions that represents the doubts and the questions that arise when one doesn't know what to say or do when faced with the overwhelming emotion that is love.
The lyrics of the song tend to question the mysteries of love and its expression. The first line of the song "If a picture paints a thousand words, then why can't I paint you?," compares the power of a picture to it's worth in expressing love matters. The second sentence "The words will never show the you I've come to know," explains how the depth of the love that the person has for the other is far beyond what words can describe.
The next verse touched on the idea that a face can say a thousand words too, but when the soulmate is gone, there's no place to hide. The singer is caught up between two worlds where they can't get enough of that special person. They'll wish for a lifetime to fuse with their soulmate and spend the end together if it's possible.
In conclusion, "If" by Sarah Àlainn is a beautiful song that expresses the desire to be with someone despite the uncertainty, doubt or the vast uncertainty of love. It's a song that puts the profundity of love into a simple perspective, making it easy for listeners to relate to the deep emotional reflection of the singer.
Line by Line Meaning
If a picture paints a thousand words,
If an image can convey more meaning and emotion than a written description that consists of thousands of words,
Then why can't I paint you?
Then why is it that I can't express my love for you through my own art?
The words will never show
My words can never fully capture the complexity and depth of my feelings for you.
The you I've come to know.
Because the real you that I have come to know cannot be expressed through words or pictures alone.
If a face could launch a thousand ships,
If a person's beauty and charm could inspire armies to go to war,
Then where am I to go?
Then where else am I supposed to turn my attention and devotion?
There's no one home but you;
Because you are the only one that I truly love and turn to for companionship and solace.
You're all that's left me too.
You are the only important thing remaining in my life.
And when my love for life is running dry,
When I feel drained and uninspired in my everyday life,
You come and pour yourself on me.
You come and give me the emotional support and nourishment that I need to keep going.
If a man could be two places
If it were possible for a person to be in two places at the same time,
At one time, I'd be with you.
Then I would choose to be with you every moment of my life.
Tomorrow and today,
Both in the future and in the present,
Beside you all the way.
I want to be by your side, supporting and loving you through everything.
If the world should stop revolving,
If the planet were to suddenly cease its rotation,
Spinning slowly down to die,
Causing everything on Earth to slowly come to a halt and die.
I'd spend the end with you,
Even at the end of everything, the only thing that matters to me is spending it with you.
And when the world was through.
When everything comes to an end and the world ceases to exist.
Then one by one the stars would all go out
The universe itself would come to an end, with all the stars and cosmic objects disappearing one by one.
And you and I would simply fly away.
But even then, we would still be together, flying away into the unknown together.
Contributed by Lila P. Suggest a correction in the comments below.