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
You Were Here
Sarah Harmer Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
White noise on the eyes
From gas station lights and reflected ice glare
So that I can walk home by moonlight
Alone
Or can we go out to where the wind howls and stand to lean up against the trees
They've grown up so tall that you can't see the house
I can lie to myself
And say I like it
But I would love it if you were here
These words on paper smell like you
Associated in random thought
On my lips the words turn blue
Evidence I'm feeling lost
I can lie to myself
And say I like it
But I would love it if you were here
I'm just sad for myself
Cause I know you're clear
But I would love it if you were here
I can just see you show me your garden
I thought you'd grow roses and grapes on low vines
I wanted to know you when we were both older
I thought there'd be more of those wonderful times
I can lie to myslef
And say I like it
But I would love it if you were here
I'm just sad for myself
Cause I know you're clear
But I would love it if you were here
You were here
Yes you were
Yes you were
The first verse of Sarah Harmer's song, "You Were Here," is a melancholic contemplation of the city and its noise. She expresses her desire to escape from the glaring light and the white noise of gas station and streetlights so that she can walk home alone by moonlight. The repetition of the phrase "I can lie to myself, and say I like it, but I would love it if you were here" is a recurring theme throughout the song. Harmer yearns for someone to share her life with, to share her experiences and the beauty of the natural world which she describes in the second verse.
In the second verse of the song, she sings about going out to the woods, where the wind howls and the trees have grown so tall that they block out sight of the house. She imagines the house as it once was: a place of warmth and comfort. She longs for someone to lean against, someone to share the beauty of life with. The final verse of the song speaks of long lost friends - "I can just see you show me your garden, I thought you'd grow roses and grapes on low vines" - and of the dreams and memories that come with the passing of time.
In summary, "You Were Here" is a nostalgic song of yearning for a deeper connection with others and nature. By providing vivid imagery and melancholic yet introspective lyrics, Harmer tells a story of the search for and loss of meaningful relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
Are there no blinders on lights that glare
Is there no way to block out the harsh light that hurts my eyes?
White noise on the eyes
The glare makes a loud, chaotic sound in my eyes.
From gas station lights and reflected ice glare
The bright lights from gas stations and the reflection of ice create the blinding glare.
So that I can walk home by moonlight
I wish I could enjoy the peacefulness of walking home in the moonlight.
Alone
Without you.
Or can we go out to where the wind howls and stand to lean up against the trees
Can we go somewhere wild and windy and just stand against the trees?
They've grown up so tall that you can't see the house
The trees have grown so tall that they block the view of the house.
It's a fortress now but you know how it used to be
The house has changed, but you remember how it was before.
These words on paper smell like you
The words on this paper remind me of you.
Associated in random thought
I associate different things with you in my mind.
On my lips the words turn blue
The words I speak are tinged with sadness.
Evidence I'm feeling lost
This sadness is proof that I feel lost without you.
I'm just sad for myself
I'm only sad because of my own feelings.
Cause I know you're clear
I know you don't feel the same sadness I do.
But I would love it if you were here
But I wish you were here with me.
I can just see you show me your garden
I can picture you showing me around your garden.
I thought you'd grow roses and grapes on low vines
I imagined you growing specific plants in your garden.
I wanted to know you when we were both older
I had hoped we could grow old together and learn more about each other.
I thought there'd be more of those wonderful times
I expected to have more happy memories with you.
You were here
But now you're not.
Yes you were
You were really here with me.
Yes you were
But now you're gone.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Ron Miller, Tom Bauchman
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind