Shaznay is generally regarded as the chief talent behind the popular girl group All Saints.
Her musical influences include Rap and Missy Elliott; In addition, she grew up listening to Bob Marley and Johnny Mathis. It was the music of Alanis Morissette who encouraged Shaznay to take her music one step further.
Singing came naturally to Shaznay who had been entering singing contests since the age of thirteen. At a party she was introduced to Ben Volpeliere-Pierrot of Curiosity Killed the Cat by her friends who took her to the Metamorphisis recording studios on All Saints Road, London and started doing backing vocals.
It was at the Metamorphisis recording studios where Shaznay met Melanie Blatt in 1993 and proceeded to record together. Together with Simone Rainford they formed the band All Saints 1.9.7.5 which was later renamed to All Saints when Simone left and Nicole and Natalie Appleton joined Melanie and Shaznay.
Shaznay has been the most active songwriter of the All Saints and was responsible for writing most of the songs including many hits. In 2001 Shaznay won the Ivor Novello Award for best songwriting. After the group broke up, Shaznay was the last All Saint to pursue a solo career, releasing her debut single "Never Felt Like This Before" in July 2004. It reached #8 and is taken from the Top 30 album Open. The next single released was "You" which failed to chart, but which featured a romantic video with an image of her husband in the clouds.
Shaznay also played in several films. In Bend it like Beckham (2001) Shaznay played Mel and also played a minor role in Hideous Man (2002). On November 14, 2004 Shaznay was involved in the Band Aid 20 re-recording of "Do They Know It's Christmas".
On August 21th 2004 Shaznay married dancer Christian "Storm" Horsfall. Shaznay had her first child, a son named Tyler Xane, in February 2006.
On January 24, 2006 it was announced that All Saints have reformed with a new record contract and will release a new album, Studio 1 on November 13th 2006.[3] She performed with All Saints on live television for the first time since reforming on the UK light entertainment program, Ant & Dec's Saturday Night Takeaway on October 21st 2006. All Saints started their comeback off with a bang as their single Rock Steady went to ~3 in the UK. They quickly followed with their comeback album Studio 1 and things went downhill, the album flopped at a peak of #40 in the UK and not charting in many other countries. Polydor then decided to take one last chance with All Saints and let them release their second single Chick Fit. The single failed to make the slightest impact not even hitting the top 200. All Saints were then dropped by record label Parlophone. The group say they will remain together and search for a new record company.
Mr Dawg
Shaznay Lewis Lyrics
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Oww, Oww
Well it's a crying shame
You play the silly game
When you could be playing games with me
I want to get close, so close
I got a one way ticket
And, giving me the blues
Oww, Oww
So why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?
Oww, Oww
So why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?
Why you keep callin'?
Oww, Oww
So why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?
Oww, Oww
Why you keep callin'?
You keep me up with your watchover city attitude
Get me ready get me blue
Oh what's a lady got to do to get a boy like you?
I want to get close, so close
I want to hold the girls from you
I got a one way ticket
And giving me the blues
Oww, Oww
So why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?
Oww, Oww
So why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?
Why you keep callin'?
Oww, Oww
So why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?
Oww, Oww
So why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?
Why you keep callin'?
Do you know what love means?
Or do you think you're too good to answer?
It's up to you
To see whether you let this hot mix slip through your fingertips
Why oh why you keep calling me Mr. Dawg?
You keep ringing and ringing and ringing around my head
Oww, Oww
So why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?
Oww (daddy), Oww (oh daddy)
So why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?
Why you keep callin'?
Why, why
So why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?
Oww, Oww (oh oh oh)
Why you keep callin' me?
Why you keep callin'?
Why you keep callin', Mr. Dawg?
(Why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?)
Mr Dawg, Dawg, Dawg
Why, oh why
(why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?)
Why you keep callin', Mr. Dawg?
(Why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?)
Why, oh why
(why you keep callin' me?)
Yeah yeah yeah, yeah yeah yeah
Why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?
The song "Mr. Dawg" by Shaznay Lewis is about a woman who is being pursued by a man who is playing games with her, while she is interested in him. She is tired of his games and wants to get closer to him, but he keeps calling her "Mr. Dawg" which implies that he is not taking her seriously. She questions why he keeps playing with her and why he cannot see that she is the one for him. The lyrics also suggest that the man has a "watchover city attitude" and that he thinks he is too good to answer the question of what love means. The song implies that the woman is ready for a serious relationship, but the man is not reciprocating her feelings.
The chorus of the song is a repetitive question of "Why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?" This question echoes the woman's confusion and frustration towards the man who is not giving her the respect and attention she deserves. The lyrics also make a reference to a "one way ticket" which could symbolize the woman's determination to get closer to the man, or it could also indicate that she feels trapped and stuck in this situation. The song ends with a plea from the woman to the man to stop playing with her and to see that she is the right person for him.
Overall, "Mr. Dawg" is a song about a woman who is tired of being played with by a man who is not taking her seriously. The lyrics suggest that she is ready for a serious relationship and that she wants to get closer to the man, but he is not reciprocating her feelings. The repetitive chorus emphasizes the woman's frustration and inability to understand why the man is not seeing what she has to offer.
Line by Line Meaning
Well it's a crying shame
You play the silly game
When you could be playing games with me
The singer is disappointed that the person she likes is wasting their time playing games with someone else instead of being with her.
I want to get close, so close
I want to hold the girls from you
I got a one way ticket
And, giving me the blues
The singer wants to be close to the person she likes but feels that they are too preoccupied with other girls. This makes her sad and hopeless as she's invested too much on this relationship.
So why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?
Why you keep callin'?
The singer is questioning why the person she likes keeps contacting her even though they are not fully committed to her. She is frustrated that he is playing with her emotions.
You keep me up with your watchover city attitude
Get me ready get me blue
Oh what's a lady got to do to get a boy like you?
The person she likes has a controlling and overprotective attitude which keeps her in a constant state of uncertainty and sadness. She wonders what she has to do to win him over.
Do you know what love means?
Or do you think you're too good to answer?
It's up to you
To see whether you let this hot mix slip through your fingertips
Why oh why you keep calling me Mr. Dawg?
The singer is unsure whether the person she likes understands what love means, or if he's just ignoring her. She wants him to realize that she's worth being with, but doesn't understand why he keeps coming back to her with no intentions of committing to her.
Why, why...
So why you keep callin' Mr. Dawg?
The singer is pleading with the person she likes to stop leading her on and to make up his mind about what he wants. She wants him to stop playing games and be honest with her.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: FELIX MAJOR BUXTON, HORACE SWABY, SIMON RATCLIFFE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind