Blasko was first heard in the mid-1990s fronting Sydney band, Acquiesce, after an initial tour of France with founding members Dave Hemmings, Paul Camilleri, and her sister Kate Halcrow. With material written by Blasko and Camilleri, they recorded a single and an EP with producer Hugh Wilson, receiving some local attention.
In 2002, Sarah decided to go solo. Material for the Prelusive EP - a result of initial explorative collaborations with Wilson but fully realised with Nick Schneider and Steve Francis - was originally recorded as demos. However, after becoming disillusioned with the indecisiveness and lack of solid commitment from the labels she met with, Blasko decided to release and promote the material independently. With the financial assistance of then-manager Craig New, she also produced a music video for the leading track, "Your Way".
The track was picked up by local community stations such as 2SER, as well as the national youth broadcaster, Triple J – who also gave light rotation to two other EP tracks, "Will You Ever Know" & "Be Tonight". "Your Way" was also featured on the test loop of fledgling Sydney community radio station 2FBi, when the station began to broadcast full-time.
After this initial success, Sarah was approached by and eventually signed to Brisbane-based label, Dew Process, who repackaged and re-released the EP. There are minor variations to the packaging of the major label release, which make the independent release slightly more valuable to collectors.
In late 2004, Blasko released her debut album, The Overture & the Underscore, recorded in Hollywood at the studio of engineer Wally Gagel. She co-produced the album with Gagel and fellow songwriter, Robert F Cranny.
The album was met with critical acclaim and received gold accreditation in Australia, despite limited commercial radio play. In 2005 Blasko was rewarded for her work with four ARIA nominations. Of particular note was her nomination for Album of the Year.
Sarah spent most of April 2006 recording her second album in Auckland, New Zealand at Roundhead Studio, the studio of Crowded House frontman Neil Finn.
Sarah produced the album with Robert F Cranny , and "Flame Trees" collaborator and Midnight Oil guitarist and keyboard player, Jim Moginie . The recording session was engineered by Paul McKercher, who has worked with numerous Australian bands including Glide, The Cruel Sea , You Am I and more recently Augie March.
The final addition to this all-Australian team was New York-based producer/engineer, Victor Van Vugt, who mixed the record. Van Vugt has worked on a number of Beth Orton records and has a long association with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds , mixing a number of their albums as well as some Mick Harvey solo work and production efforts such as PJ Harvey’s Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea.
The album was nominated for the 2006 J Award, and debuted at number 7 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It led to her first ARIA win for Best Pop Release at the 2007 ARIA awards and a nomination for Sarah for Best Female Artist.
After some posts detailing on her blog that Sarah would be soon releasing new material on a third album, on July 10, 2009 she released 'As Day Follows Night'. Produced by Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn & John and recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, the album was performed with a band of local Swedish musicians with comparatively little electronic production in contrast to her previous works. The end result was an album retaining Sarah's signature style of pop and trip hop, while adding some jazz influences to the mix. This release, along with her extensive touring across Australia resulted in her receiving the ARIA award for Best Female Artist and being nominated in two other categories.
Diverging from previous efforts, Sarah made a conscious effort on her third album to make her songs more intimate, closing the distance between herself and the listener. In an interview to The Brag magazine by Mike Gee, she states 'Generally the songs are more open and I didn't want to obscure them too much... I wanted the songs to be straight to the point. I wanted them to be like classic old pop songs in that they had that structure.'
In 2011, Sarah collaborated with two other artists, Sally Seltmann and Holly Throsby, to form a group named Seeker Lover Keeper. They released a namesake album in June of that year and promoted the record by touring churches around Australia.
October 2012 saw the return of Sarah's solo work in which she released her fourth independent record, 'I Awake'. In an effort to explore her family's heritage, she recorded the songs with the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra. However, she was aware that recording such an album was risky. Sarah stated in an interview that she did not want the album to be 'watered down' or 'unnecessary'.
She is currently promoting the record by touring Australian cities in which she invited their respective orchestras to provide backing music. Most recently, she performed live in the Sydney Opera House where the concert was streamed live via Youtube. Soon, Sarah will embark on a European tour to promote her album overseas.
I Never Knew
Sarah Blasko Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This love I feel, Wont reach into your heart.
Though it hurts inside, To find my pride so altered.
I let you go, to find your way alone.
I never knew it would hurt like this
To let someone go against my wishes
All I can do is hope and pray
It's not enough, it's not enough for now.
When I open up, it leaves me in the cold.
'n though it hurts inside, I summon all my pride.
To let you go, let you be alone.
But I never knew it would hurt like this,
To let someone go against my wishes.
All I can do is hope and pray,
That you'll find your way.
Oh, woah, woaa oh oh...
I never knew it would hurt like this
To let someone go against my wishes
All I can do is hope and pray
That you'll find your way.
I never knew it would hurt like this
To let someone go against my wishes
All I can do is hope and pray
That you'll find your way.
The lyrics of Sarah Blasko's song "I Never Knew" express raw emotion about the pain of letting go of someone you love. The singer acknowledges that their love is not enough for both of them and that it won't reach into the other person's heart. Despite feeling hurt by their loss of control and altered pride, they let the other person go to find their own way. The singer notes that opening up only leaves them in the cold, but they still summon their pride to let the other person be alone. Ultimately, the singer expresses the deep pain and sadness they feel at having to let go of someone they still love, despite it going against their wishes.
The song captures the difficulty of coming to terms with the end of a relationship and the heartbreak that follows. By acknowledging that their love isn't enough, the singer shows a sense of self-awareness and maturity that is often difficult to achieve in these situations. The idea of "letting go" is a central theme in the lyrics, and the singer learns that sometimes the best thing you can do for someone you love is to give them the space they need to find their own way.
Overall, the lyrics of "I Never Knew" are a poignant and honest reflection on the pain of letting go of someone you love. The singer acknowledges their own feelings of hurt and loss, while also recognizing that it's necessary to let the other person go. It's a powerful message that many people can relate to, and Sarah Blasko's emotive delivery adds an extra layer of depth and emotion to the song.
Line by Line Meaning
It's not enough, It's not enough for both of us.
Our love is not enough to sustain us both.
This love I feel, Wont reach into your heart.
My love for you is not reciprocated.
Though it hurts inside, To find my pride so altered.
It hurts to realize that my pride is affected by our situation.
I let you go, to find your way alone.
I am letting you go so you can find your own path.
But I never knew it would hurt like this,
I didn't anticipate the pain of letting you go.
To let someone go against my wishes.
It's hard to let you go when it's not what I want.
All I can do is hope and pray,
All I can do is hope and pray for the best for you.
When I open up, it leaves me in the cold.
When I try to express myself, I feel unheard.
'n though it hurts inside, I summon all my pride.
Even though it's painful, I am trying to maintain my dignity.
Let you be alone.
I am allowing you to be on your own.
Oh, woah, woaa oh oh...
The song's instrumental break.
Contributed by Sadie T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.