Nergaard's musical journey began early. At age 16, she stepped on stage joining a jam session at Moldejazz, Norway’s international jazz festival, with a band comprised of musicians from the band of the late jazz bass virtuoso Jaco Pastorius. The country's jazz journalists applauded the young talent. Since that day, she has steadily developed as a composer and become popular for her unique voice and talent for songwriting.
Since her 1990 inaugural jazz album, Tell Me Where You're Going, produced by jazz guitar maestro Pat Metheny, Nergaard has become one among very few Norwegian artists to have had commercial releases in major music markets around the globe - including Brazil, Germany, the U.S., and the United Kingdom - and doing so with great success.
Her later albums, Port of Call (2000), At First Light (2001), and Nightwatch (2003), have all proved resounding commercial successes and received rapturous critical praise. With Nightwatch she also made history: no other jazz artist before her had shot straight into the Norwegian sales charts twice to reach #1 within the first week of release. In 2004 she received a Norwegian music award for Musician of the Year.
With the 2007 release of her critically-acclaimed Darkness Out of Blue, Nergaard finally realized her dream of working with Grammy Award winner and renowned arranger Vince Mendoza, (Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell, Herbie Hancock), who contributed string arrangements to two songs in the album, Paper Boats and Let Me Be Troubled, with his beautiful sound and touch.
A year or two earlier, Nergaard had already decided to make a change in her music, which meant having to change some of her musicians, who had been touring with her for the past several years. As much as the style and 'voice' they had developed together were important to her, she came to realize that "you come to a point where you know you need to have a new challenge."
On October 4, 2007, it was officially announced in the Netherlands that Darkness Out of Blue had garnered Nergaard the Edison Award, the Dutch equivalent of the Grammy. The prize was presented to her by the Norwegian ambassador to the Netherlands at the Edison Music Awards Gala on November 6 in Eindhoven, during which Nergaard also performed the two songs from the album that Mendoza had arranged, backed by The Metropole Orchestra.
The new and promising musical collaboration between them in Darkness led inevitably to Mendoza's involvement once again in Nergaard's latest studio project, A Thousand True Stories, which was released in Norway on February 9, 2009, and will be available internationally in the autumn. The songs from the album were written the previous year and recorded in August 2008 with The Metropole Orchestra from the Netherlands, and arranged by its conductor Mendoza.
Here's a press kit video of A Thousand True Stories, with all interviews in English.
Watch the making of Nergaard's latest project, A Thousand True Stories:
video clip 1 (9:34) | video clip 2 (9:54)
Official website: http://www.siljenergaard.com
Silje on MySpace: http://www.myspace.com/siljenergaard
Silje on Facebook: click here
On and On
Silje Nergaard Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What are you crying for?
Soon you'll have to end this war
The days are turning darker now
But hang an to that dream somehow
June
Where are you going to?
Things have turned so sad inside
But hang on to that dream you hide
On and On
The dark will find you
Rain will fall
And clouds surround you
But carry on,
My love's behind you
I know I'll see you smiling
June
You'd better stand up, girl
Soon you'll have to face the world
I know you'll find a place somewhere
You'll put things back together there
On and On
The dark will find you
Rain will fall
And clouds surround you
But carry on,
My love's behind you
I know I'll see you smiling
The days are rolling faster now
But you will find your peace somehow
The lyrics to Silje Nergaard's song On and On are full of encouragement and hope. The song speaks to someone named June who is going through a tough time. The first verse asks her why she's crying and reminds her that the war she's been fighting is almost over. The songwriter tells her to hold onto her dream and not let go. The second verse acknowledges that things have been tough for June, but again encourages her to keep holding onto her dream. The chorus of the song is particularly powerful as it speaks to the difficulties June will face but reminds her that there is love behind her and that she will get through this. The final verse tells June to stand up and face the world - and that she will find her peace somehow.
Line by Line Meaning
June,
Silje Nergaard is calling out to someone named June and wondering why they are crying.
What are you crying for?
Silje Nergaard wants to know the reason behind June's tears.
Soon you'll have to end this war
Even though times are tough and the days seem to be getting darker, Silje Nergaard is encouraging June that soon she will overcome her current difficulties.
The days are turning darker now
Silje Nergaard acknowledges that things are getting tough for June and the days are getting darker.
But hang an to that dream somehow
Silje Nergaard encourages June to keep on dreaming, even in the midst of adversity, as it will help to keep the hope alive.
June
Silje Nergaard is once again calling out to June, curious about where she is headed.
Where are you going to?
Silje Nergaard wants to know where June is headed in life.
True, the game got rough on you
Silje Nergaard acknowledges that June has been through some tough times recently.
Things have turned so sad inside
Silje Nergaard is aware that June has been struggling internally as well.
But hang on to that dream you hide
Silje Nergaard encourages June to hold onto her dreams even if they are not yet visible to others, as they will help to guide her to a better place.
On and On
Silje Nergaard uses a repetition of these words to indicate the continuity of life’s struggles and the fact that they can seem never-ending.
The dark will find you
Silje Nergaard warns June that at some point in life, she will face some darkness, which can be troubling.
Rain will fall
Silje Nergaard uses the imagery of rain to indicate the hardships and difficulties of life, which can be depressing and burdensome.
And clouds surround you
The reference to clouds conveys that June may struggle to see through the dark times she is facing.
But carry on,
Despite these hardships and difficulties, Silje Nergaard encourages June to keep going and not give up.
My love's behind you
Silje Nergaard will always be there for June and support her through all her struggles.
I know I'll see you smiling
Silje Nergaard has faith that June will eventually overcome her troubles and find her happy place.
You'd better stand up, girl
Silje Nergaard’s tone becomes a bit more forceful as she urges June to pick herself up and face the world.
Soon you'll have to face the world
Silje Nergaard reminds June that she has to face the reality of life and stand strong during tough moments.
I know you'll find a place somewhere
Silje Nergaard has faith that June will eventually find a place in life that works for her.
You'll put things back together there
Silje Nergaard is optimistic that June will be able to put together the pieces of her life and find happiness once again.
The days are rolling faster now
Silje Nergaard acknowledges that time goes by quickly, and encourages June to find her peace before it's too late.
But you will find your peace somehow
Silje Nergaard is optimistic that June will eventually find her peace, even though the journey might be tough and long.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Silje Nergaard
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
harwor0906
Hører fortsatt på denne i 2020. Vekker alltid noe som er trist og sårt...
texasguitarslim
Silje sang totaly different around 1993. Almost so different, that could not believet, it´s her, singing.
Anyway- a great recording. Morten Sand on Pedal Steelguitar. Listening to him playing puts me into another world.
Hannah Weasley
So great
carole jeghers
We punched the wrong up/down button, the two down is our mistake. We got so excited because your fantastic!!! Thank you