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
The Dream
Shannon Stephens Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Oh, let that dream never come true.
I couldn't sleep until I held you.
I watched the clock and waited for you
until I heard a noise in your room.
I curled my whole body around you.
Lord, let that dream never come true.
Because in the dream, I took my eyes off you
and in the dream, I nearly lost you.
And terrible things that I cannot mention.
If you had only had my protection.
I was about to kill for you
I was about to be killed too
when I awoke, milk letting down,
rage like a wave crashing around.
I won't let that dream ever come true.
I'll make myself a wall around you.
The song "The Dream" by Shannon Stephens is a poignant and emotional piece that explores the fear of losing someone we love. The opening lines "Oh, let that dream never come true" highlight the singer's desperation to keep someone close to them safe from harm. The singer couldn't sleep until they held the person, and even then, they watched the clock and waited for them, highlighting their deep anxiety surrounding their safety.
The second verse takes a darker turn as the singer reveals that they had a dream where they almost lost the person they love. The dream was terrifying, with terrible things occurring that the singer cannot even mention. The dream also revealed that the person did not have the singer's protection. The last two lines of the verse, "I was about to kill for you/I was about to be killed too" further highlight the singer's willingness to do whatever it takes to protect the person they love.
The final verse ends on a hopeful note as the singer vows to never let that dream come true. They will make themselves a wall around the person they love to keep them safe. The song's message is a powerful one, highlighting the lengths we will go to protect those we care about and the fear that comes with the possibility of losing them.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh, let that dream never come true.
The dream being referred to is unknown and unwanted, hence the wish that it never comes true.
I couldn't sleep until I held you.
The singer is in love and unable to rest until they are with their beloved.
I watched the clock and waited for you until I heard a noise in your room.
The singer is waiting for their lover, anxiously checking time until they hear them come into the room.
I curled my whole body around you.
The artist is holding their lover tight, expressing intimacy and connection.
Lord, let that dream never come true.
The artist continues to hope that their unwanted dream does not manifest into reality.
Because in the dream, I took my eyes off you and in the dream, I nearly lost you.
The dream that the singer is referring to involves a scenario where they lose or almost lose their lover.
And terrible things that I cannot mention.
The dream may involve traumatic events that are difficult for the singer to describe.
If you had only had my protection.
The artist wishes they could have prevented the events that unfolded in the dream and protected their lover from harm.
I was about to kill for you, I was about to be killed too when I awoke, milk letting down, rage like a wave crashing around.
The dream involved danger and violence, and the artist was ready to fight to protect their lover, but was ultimately jolted awake from the dream.
I won't let that dream ever come true. I'll make myself a wall around you.
The artist promises to do everything in their power to protect their lover and prevent the dream from coming true, expressing their love and commitment.
Contributed by Thomas K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.