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.
Invitation
Sarah Slean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
you are all the alphabet in one
you are every colour of confusion
you are all the silence I've become
love me for stupid reasons
I like those most
wide-eyed but worth believing
God knows
Damn the angry voice that keeps up quiet
the editor whose work is never done
keeping pretty words between my teeth and
sweet confessions
underneath my tongue
drowsy contemplation
do I let you in?
Well this is my invitation
but how do I begin?
She has such an awful lot of soldiers
quite a lovely army all her own
night and day they stand before the fortress
very safe but very all alone
The opening lines of Sarah Slean's song Invitation encapsulate the complexity of the human experience. Describing someone as "the human season" and "all the alphabet in one" suggests a richness and multi-layered nature - the seasons, like humans, are unpredictable and ever-changing, while the alphabet contains endless possibilities for expression. Meanwhile, the line "you are every colour of confusion" hints at the unease that comes with being human, as we try to make sense of the world around us.
Slean's lyrics then veer into a discussion of love, acknowledging that sometimes we are drawn to people for "stupid reasons" - perhaps because they are wide-eyed and worth believing in, even if their flaws are clear to see. Yet despite this, there are often barriers to true connection. The "angry voice" that keeps her quiet could refer to insecurity, fear of rejection, or other internal struggles that hold us back from expressing ourselves fully. Similarly, the "pretty words between my teeth" could symbolize the way we hide our true selves, afraid to share our deepest desires and insecurities.
The chorus suggests a desire to break through these barriers, providing an invitation to someone to join her in a "drowsy contemplation." This invitation is laced with uncertainty - she doesn't know whether to "let you in" or how to begin the process of opening up. Yet despite these doubts, the final image of "night and day they stand before the fortress / very safe but very all alone" suggests that she recognizes the importance of human connection, even if it means risking vulnerability.
Line by Line Meaning
You are what they call the human season
You embody the essence of human experience, its moods, and changes, like the seasons.
you are all the alphabet in one
You are a multifaceted and complex person, like the many letters of the alphabet.
you are every colour of confusion
You represent confusion and uncertainty in all its forms.
you are all the silence I've become
You are the silence that has become a part of me, representing my hidden thoughts and unspoken feelings.
love me for stupid reasons
Love me not just for my good qualities but also for my faults and foolishness, for that love is unconditional.
I like those most
Of all the reasons to be loved, I prefer the ones that may seem foolish or trivial but carry emotional weight.
wide-eyed but worth believing
Despite being naive and trusting, my beliefs and convictions hold true and are valuable.
God knows
It is a fact universally acknowledged.
Damn the angry voice that keeps up quiet
I despise the voice inside me that creates negativity and keeps me from speaking my thoughts.
the editor whose work is never done
Like an editor, the voice within me is always critical, never satisfied, and always finds faults with my writing, speech, or behavior.
keeping pretty words between my teeth and sweet confessions
I am afraid to speak the words of love and affection that are locked in my heart, and so they remain unspoken, though they are beautiful, warm, and sweet.
underneath my tongue
My thoughts and feelings hide beneath my tongue, unvoiced and unexpressed.
drowsy contemplation
I am in a state of half-asleep reverie, pondering whether to open up or not.
do I let you in?
Am I ready to let you enter my world and see me in my raw, unedited form?
Well this is my invitation
I am offering an invitation to love and be loved, to accept and be accepted, but it is up to you to accept or decline.
but how do I begin?
I am unsure of how to start this journey towards intimacy and connection.
She has such an awful lot of soldiers
It seems that she has many defenses and is protected from harm by an army of guards.
quite a lovely army all her own
Her soldiers are not only effective in guarding her but also quite attractive and charming, making them easier to love.
night and day they stand before the fortress
Her soldiers vigilantly stand guard round the clock, protecting her from any harm.
very safe but very all alone
Even though she is secure and safe thanks to her soldiers, she is alone in her fortress and seeks connection and intimacy like anyone else.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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