Slean recorded her first EP Universe (1997) at the age of nineteen. Since then she has completed a series of albums including: Blue Parade (1998), Night Bugs (2002), and Day One (2004), The Baroness (2008) and the double album Land & Sea (2011).
Night Bugs was her first major label album, co-produced by Slean and Hawksley Workman, and released by WEA in Canada and Atlantic Records in the United States. It was heavily inspired by cabaret music.
In September 2004, Slean released her fourth album, Day One. Here Slean's piano takes a less important spot for the first time in her career. The focus is more on beats, rhythms and guitar, which shines through in the album's first single "Lucky Me". The up-tempo title track "Day One", and "Mary", a song about Slean's grandmother, were released as the second and third singles.
In October 2006, Slean released a mostly-live album, Orphan Music, which consists of songs recorded live at Toronto's Harbourfront Theatre and the Vancouver East Cultural Centre. Other new tracks featuring Slean and the piano were recorded at DNA Recording Facility in Toronto and Kensaltown Studios in the UK.
Also in 2006, she contributed two tracks ("Us and Them" and "Comfortably Numb") to Pink Floyd Redux, a modern 12-track tribute to Pink Floyd.
Her sixth album The Baroness was released March 2008. An EP with outtakes from the album, entitled The Baroness Redecorates, was released in December of the same year.
Another set of B-sides was released in December 2010. For Beauty Lives, fans could vote for their favourite previously unrecorded track. The ten top songs were recorded especially for the collection.
Slean released the double album Land & Sea in September 2011. It is a concept album, where the songs on Land represent grounded topics and are generally more poppy, while the songs on Sea are more ethereal in subject matter and feature classical arrangements.
Slean released Metaphysics in 2017.
For photos and additional information check out Sarah Slean's official website, www.SarahSlean.com.
Book Smart Street Stupid
Sarah Slean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Where the men lean out of their windows at night
And I was a lead in the orphan choir
And I sang with all my might
Until I grew up too high
Then, oh, all the notes I used to play
On the double bass and the B-list ballet
With their sad luck serenade
The rain was never ending
The sadness in my heart
Would light
And glow in the dark?
This will never change
Time just wears a prettier face
I'm book smart
Street stupid
So, don't look for me in confession booth
I'm with my paints, and my pens, and my dry vermouth
Trying to uncover some small truth
With these clouds close to my chest
The rain still never ending
The sadness in my heart
Would light
And glow in the dark
Oh this time will never change
Time just wears a prettier face
I'm book smart
Street stupid
The rain still never ending
The wonder in my heart
Still lights and glows in
It still lights and glows in
The dark
The song "Book Smart Street Stupid" by Sarah Slean talks about the struggles of growing up in a dim and difficult environment. The first verse describes the setting of the singer's birthplace, which seems to be a street with shady characters who hang around at night. The singer also mentions her participation in an orphan choir, indicating that she has gone through some kind of hardship in her life. However, despite these difficulties, she continued to pursue her passion for music, playing the bass and participating in ballet.
The chorus reveals the emotional state of the singer, who feels a deep sadness that she cannot shake off. She recognizes that time passes, but it doesn't necessarily make things better. She uses the phrases "book smart" and "street stupid" to illustrate her feeling of being educated but still not able to navigate the realities of her world. In the second verse, she reveals that she is not seeking absolution in a religious setting but instead trying to find the truth by expressing herself through painting, writing, and drinking dry vermouth. The song ends with the rain and wonder in her heart continuing to light and glow in the darkness.
Overall, the song is a reflection on the contrast between the light and the darkness in life. It speaks of the power of music, art, and expression to help one cope with hardships and find a way to light up the dark.
Line by Line Meaning
I was born by an old streetlight
I was born and raised in an urban environment, where men would lean out of their windows at night
And I was a lead in the orphan choir
As a child, I was given the opportunity to lead the orphan choir
And I sang with all my might
I sang with everything I had, pouring all of my emotions into the music
Until I grew up too high
However, as I grew older, my voice changed and I was no longer able to sing at the same level of intensity
Then, oh, all the notes I used to play
As a result, I turned to playing the double bass and participating in the B-list ballet production
On the double bass and the B-list ballet
I found solace in music and dance, which helped me cope with the hardships of my environment
With only the night bugs to lead me home
I had nothing but the sounds of the insects at night to guide me home
With their sad luck serenade
And their melancholy melodies provided a soundtrack to my life
This will never change
Despite my hardships, some things will always remain the same
Time just wears a prettier face
As time passes, it may seem that my situation has improved, but the underlying issues remain the same
I'm book smart
I may be educated and intelligent
Street stupid
But I am still ill-equipped to navigate the realities of life on the streets
So, don't look for me in confession booth
I won't be found confessing my sins in a church
I'm with my paints, and my pens, and my dry vermouth
Rather, I find solace in creative pursuits such as painting, writing, and drinking
Trying to uncover some small truth
In these pursuits, I hope to uncover some small semblance of truth and meaning in my life
With these clouds close to my chest
Holding my emotions close to my heart, like a dark cloud always hovering above me
The wonder in my heart
Despite everything, I still hold onto the sense of wonder and curiosity inside of me
Still lights and glows in
And that sense of wonder still manages to shine through, even in the darkest moments
It still lights and glows in
That wonder is a constant reminder that there is still hope and beauty in the world
The rain still never ending
The hardships and struggles in my life are still ongoing
The sadness in my heart
But even in the midst of all of that, I still hold onto a deep sense of sadness and longing
Would light
That sadness and longing become a source of illumination and inspiration
And glow in the dark
Even in the darkest moments, that light is still able to shine through
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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