Harmer gained her first exposure to the musician's lifestyle as a teenager, when her older sister Mary started taking her to concerts by the then-unknown The Tragically Hip. At the age of 17, she was invited to join a Toronto band, The Saddletramps. For three years, she juggled The Saddletramps with her studies in philosophy and women's studies at Queen's University.
After leaving The Saddletramps, Harmer put together a band of her own with several Kingston, Ontario musicians, and settled on the name Weeping Tile. The band released its first independent cassette in 1994. Soon afterward, they signed to a major label, and the cassette was re-released in 1995 as eepee. The band quickly became a popular draw on the rock club circuit and on campus radio with their subsequent albums, but never broke through to the mainstream, and broke up in 1998 after being dropped from their label.
Also in 1998, Harmer recorded a set of pop standards as a Christmas gift for her father. After hearing it, her friends and family convinced her to release it as an album, and in 1999 she released it independently as Songs for Clem. Harmer quickly began working on another album, and in 2000, she released You Were Here.
A poppier, more laid-back effort than her work with Weeping Tile, You Were Here became Harmer's mainstream breakthrough, spawning the hits "Basement Apartment" and "Don't Get Your Back Up". The album also appeared on many critics' year-end lists, including TIME magazine, which called it the year's best debut album. It was eventually certified platinum for sales of 100,000 copies in Canada. Almost half of the album (including both of its major hits) consisted of songs she had previously recorded with Weeping Tile or The Saddletramps.
In 2004, she released All of Our Names. The album included the singles "Almost", which made the top 20 on Canadian pop charts, and "Pendulums". The album has a rustic earthy live-of-the-floor sound with some of the instrumentation, programming pre-production recording conducted in her home Northeast of Kingston, Ontario. The album was co-produced by Gavin Brown [Metric, Billy Talent, The Tragically Hip,]
Her fourth album, I'm A Mountain, was released in Canada on November 8, 2005. Sarah has performed and canvased in support of the NDP and Marilyn Churley, her friend in the fight for the protection of the Niagara Escarpment. The album states that it has been: "Engineered, mixed and produced by Sarah Harmer and Martin Davis Kinack at her house."
In 2010, Sarah released her fifth release, Oh Little Fire, which was co-produced by Gavin Brown, who assisted with her earlier All Our Names and features Neko Case on guest vocals.
Sarah, during her five year break between her last two recordings, appeared as a guest vocalist on other artists' albums, including Blue Rodeo, Neko Case, Bruce Cockburn, Great Big Sea, Rheostatics, The Skydiggers and The Weakerthans.
Discography
1999 - Songs for Clem
2000 - You Were Here
2004 - All of Our Names
2005 - I'm A Mountain
2010 - Oh Little Fire
Uniform Grey
Sarah Harmer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There are no bearings to the day
I came down from the air
And I leave by boat
Now I'm down with your rainy town
Out on the spit with the biggest port around
My friend is on the way, he's bringing my coat
Oh and you don't do what I want you to
I haven't been through what you've been through
And we could use that as an excuse
If that's what you choose
If that's what you choose
Well it was kinda hard to pull away,
He said "Buck up baby,it's okay,"
The sunlight on the floor will always fall
And I meant to write it on the plane
High above my earthly pain,
But I slept right through the flight and that was all.
Oh but you don't do, what I want you to
But I haven't been through what you've been through
And we could use that as an excuse
If that's what you choose
If that's what you choose
It's perfectly suited, this uniform grey
There are no bearings to the day
I came down from the air
And I leave by boat
Now I'm down with your rainy town,
Out on the spit with the biggest port around
My friend is on the way, he's bringing my coat
He's bringing my coat
He's bringing my coat
He's bringing my coat
Sarah Harmer's "Uniform Grey" is a song that talks about a feeling of disorientation upon arriving in a new place. The singer describes the uniform grey of the surroundings and the lack of bearings in the day, hinting at a sense of being lost or uncertain. The opening line, "It's perfectly suited, this uniform grey," could be interpreted as the singer trying to find solace in the dullness of their new environment, perhaps searching for some sense of conformity or predictability amongst unfamiliar surroundings.
The song goes on to describe the singer's arrival in a "rainy town" with a big port, and their plan to leave by boat. The singer appears to be waiting for a friend to arrive with their coat, emphasizing the feeling of being exposed and out of place in this new location. The line "And I leave by boat" adds to the idea of escape and suggests that the singer is searching for a way out of this uncomfortable situation.
The chorus repeats the line "But you don't do what I want you to" followed by "I haven't been through what you've been through" and "we could use that as an excuse if that's what you choose." In this way, the singer acknowledges that their own priorities and desires may not match up with those of the people around them. At the same time, the lyrics suggest that there may be underlying reasons for this disconnect, and that it's possible to find reasons for understanding and compassion even when it seems like others are not acting how we want them to.
Line by Line Meaning
It's perfectly suited, this uniform grey
The singer believes that the dreary, monotonous environment they find themselves in fits them perfectly.
There are no bearings to the day
The singer doesn't feel any sense of direction or purpose in their day-to-day life.
I came down from the air
The singer arrived by airplane.
And I leave by boat
The artist will be departing by boat.
Now I'm down with your rainy town
The artist is now in a depressing, rainy town, feeling low.
Out on the spit with the biggest port around
The singer is standing on a narrow strip of land and looking out at a large port nearby.
My friend is on the way, he's bringing my coat
The singer's friend is coming to bring them a coat.
Oh and you don't do what I want you to
The artist is frustrated with someone who is not meeting their expectations.
I haven't been through what you've been through
The artist acknowledges that they don't fully understand the other person's struggles.
And we could use that as an excuse
The artist recognizes that they could use their differences as an excuse not to try to understand each other better.
If that's what you choose
The singer acknowledges that the other person may choose to continue not understanding each other.
Well it was kinda hard to pull away
The artist found it difficult to leave their previous location.
He said "Buck up baby, it's okay,"
The singer's friend tried to comfort them when they were struggling to leave.
The sunlight on the floor will always fall
The singer is focused on the way sunlight falls on the floor, which could symbolize the passage of time and the inevitability of change.
And I meant to write it on the plane
The singer had intended to write something while they were on the airplane.
High above my earthly pain,
The artist was hoping to escape the pain and problems they face in their everyday life.
But I slept right through the flight and that was all.
The artist didn't achieve their goal of writing because they slept through the entire airplane ride.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind