Stephens grew up in a house filled with music. As an infant, she sat under the piano as her mother rehearsed hymns for the church service. Her father hosted hootenannies in the family home, singing and strumming a sunburst Gibson. Stephens studied both piano and voice as a child and wrote her first song at the age of 7 – a ballad of heartbreak and longing titled "Where Is My Pie?” As a young adult, she delved into poetry and still keeps, hidden well away, a 3-ring binder overflowing with mortifying adolescent poetry. During a particularly boring teenaged summer, she sat on her bed and learned to play the acoustic guitar, starting, as everyone did in those days, with a soulful cover of Extreme’s "More than Words." She soon ventured into songwriting, and was driven to seek out other musicians to satisfy her urge for musical collaboration.
In 1993 she moved to Michigan where she became the voice of the folk/rock band Marzuki, an ensemble assembled and co-led by Sufjan Stevens. When Marzuki disbanded, Stephens moved to Seattle and embarked on a solo career, recording her self-titled debut LP in 1999. Shortly after its release, Stephens lost her taste for the business side of musicianship and retreated, spending the next eight years focusing on home, family, and the pleasures of an abundant garden. Those years of domesticity gave rise to 2009’s The Breadwinner – an album described by Exclaim! magazine as “intensely relevant, lyrically incisive and richly deserving of your attention.” Jon Pareles of the New York Times said of The Breadwinner “she finds moments of companionship and epiphany, when the commonplace falls away.” Bonnie Prince Billy covered Stephens’ song "I'll Be Glad" on his 2008 album Lie Down In The Light. In 2010, Asthmatic Kitty Records re-released her debut LP, which was included in the Paste magazine feature “Five Amazing Albums In My iTunes You’ve Never Heard Of”.
Stephens produced Pull It Together, due to be released in May of 2012, with the help of Grammy-award winning engineer Kory Kruckenberg. The album brings together a brilliant cast of musicians, including Jeff Fielder (Mark Lanegan, Isobel Campbell) on guitar, James McAlister (Sufjan Stevens, Pedro the Lion) on drums and Steve Moore (Sufjan Stevens, Laura Veirs) on keyboards. It features a duet with Bonnie Prince Billy, a collaboration with New York songwriter DM Stith, and backing vocals by Galen Disston of Pickwick.
Pull It Together represents a leap in confidence and songcraft for Stephens. Greater maturity has brought a both a looser, louder style and a more sharply focused worldview. Add to this the influence of a burgeoning Seattle scene that sees artists like Allen Stone and Pickwick playing music meant to counteract the gloom of a damp Seattle winter, and you’ve got an album that’s sure to shake the dust from your boots.
Shannon Stephens and her Fabulous Friends – the talented group that backs her on stage – have spent the past couple of years playing out and touring the west coast. They plan to tour nationally with Pull It Together.
For more information visit:
http://asthmatickitty.com/shannon-stephens
http://www.myspace.com/shannonstephens
http://www.facebook.com/thebreadwinner
http://twitter.com/shaniquity
Out Of Sight
Shannon Stephens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause I'm wonderful
Oh, the world owes me a livin'
'Cause I'm magical
I've been fighting with the world
And I think I know the reason why
Someone simply needs to pay me
Oh, the Lord owes me a livin'
'Cause I am his child
Oh, the Lord owes me a livin'
'Cause I'm meek and mild
I think God should write my checks
He's got all the money, after all
He's the one who made my life
How 'bout makin' it less difficult?
Someone put me on the payroll
I'm completely qualified
Someone sign me up with that
Great big sugar-daddy in the sky
'Cause it's too hard to make a livin'
No matter how I try
It's too hard to make a livin'
And I'm askin' why
Why my child is raised by another
When it should be me at her side
Someone really ought to pay me
Just for being out of sight
In Shannon Stephens's song "Out of Sight," she sings about feeling entitled to a living because of her supposed greatness and magic, referencing how the world supposedly owes her a living. The singer expresses her frustration with fighting the world and rationalizes why someone simply needs to pay her for being out of sight. She extends her entitled attitude to her relationship with God and expresses her meek and mild nature while suggesting that God should write her checks because he has all the money. The singer also portrays her struggles in making a living and raising her child, questioning why her child is being raised by someone else when it should be her at her side.
These lyrics represent the concept of entitlement, which is a common problem in today's society. Many people feel that they are entitled to certain things from others without working for them. The song's message is ironic in that the singer blames the world and God for her misfortunes when she is ultimately responsible for her own life. The lyrics also suggest that the world and God should make her life less difficult, which is a selfish perspective.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, the world owes me a livin'
I believe that the world should provide for me without me having to work for it
'Cause I'm wonderful
I think I'm so great that I deserve to be given everything
'Cause I'm magical
I have an inflated sense of self-worth and believe that I possess special powers or qualities that entitle me to be taken care of
I've been fighting with the world
I have a conflict with the way the world works and how I fit into it
And I think I know the reason why
I believe that my problems are caused by external factors rather than my own actions
Someone simply needs to pay me
I expect others to give me money and support without having to earn it
Just for being out of sight
I am neglectful of my responsibilities and expect to be compensated for it
Oh, the Lord owes me a livin'
I believe that God should provide for me because I am a follower of his
'Cause I am his child
I see myself as a special and favored individual who deserves blessings from God
'Cause I'm meek and mild
I think that my humility and lack of action should entitle me to receive assistance from God
I think God should write my checks
I believe that God should give me money without me having to work for it
He's got all the money, after all
I have a simplistic view of God's power and capabilities
He's the one who made my life
I feel that God is responsible for all aspects of my existence and therefore should be the one to provide for me
How 'bout makin' it less difficult?
I implore God to make my life easier, even though I take no action to improve my own circumstances
Someone put me on the payroll
I feel that others should give me a job or support without me having to work for it
I'm completely qualified
I am confident that I am entitled to a job without having to prove myself or meet qualifications
Someone sign me up with that
I seek out wealthy individuals and expect them to support me without offering anything in return
Great big sugar-daddy in the sky
I have a flippant and dismissive attitude towards those who might support me financially and give me what I want
'Cause it's too hard to make a livin'
I believe that the effort required to earn a living is too great for me and I should be excused from this requirement
No matter how I try
I feel that my efforts to earn a living are futile due to external factors beyond my control
And I'm askin' why
I do not understand why I must work hard to earn a living and feel that I deserve an explanation for this requirement
Why my child is raised by another
I neglect my parental responsibilities and expect others to care for my child on my behalf
When it should be me at her side
I feel entitled to be with my child without earning the income necessary to support us
Someone really ought to pay me
I feel that others should support me rather than me taking responsibility for my own life
Just for being out of sight
I am negligent of my responsibilities and expect to be compensated for it without having to take any action
Contributed by Isabella N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.