This California native picked up the guitar at eight years old and never looked back, eventually earning a UCLA ethnomusicology degree. Her recording career was jumpstarted in the late ‘90s when a legendary Apple Computer founder heard her playing a Bay Area coffeehouse and handed her a paper bag of cash to finance her first album, Life Between Two Worlds .
James was joined on her second CD, Shocking Pink Banana Seat by D.J. Bonebrake (X) on drums and Abby Travis on bass. Seeing her live show led Bob Weir and Rob Wasserman to invite James on the road, opening for Ratdog. She was hand-picked by Lindsay Buckingham as the opening act for his US tour. She also had the honor of opening for such acts as Richard Thompson, Daniel Lanois, Billy Bragg, Jim Carroll, and Rufus Wainright, among others. Musician friends like Tommy Stinson (Replacements) and the Wondermints are heard on her third release, the ambitious double-CD set Fantastic Voyage. Disc 1 allowed her multi-octave voice to soar, while her inventive tunings and fretwork are highlighted on the all-instrumental Disc 2. The CD set received much critical praise and led to tours in Europe and Canada.
James then met and moved to London to join her husband, sound engineer/producer Fulton Dingley, renown for his work with Stereolab and the High Llamas. After taking time off in the UK to become a mom, Susan relocated with her family to funky Topanga Canyon in LA, where her country lifestyle has certainly inspired the tone of her newest release,
Anniversary
Susan James Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Couldn't you leave us on our own
Heard you pry the lock, came as no sudden shock
Just a good chance we might have blown
What if I told you that
The love we have is well worth fighting for
Would you just knock me back
This is our anniversary
Words you had to say
They cut like a razor blade
Waving the truth we just exumed
Now it's coming out, I wanna scream and shout
Quiet the kids are in the room
What if I told you that
The love we have is well worth fighting for
Would you just knock me back
From joy to misery
This is our anniversary
This is our, anniversary
Anniversary, anniversary
Anniversary, anniversary
here in the quiet space
We take the hits for things we can't erase
We're stuck on an island now
Not drifting out to sea
An island called our anniversary
What if I told you that
The love we have is well worth waiting for
Would you just take me back
Cause any fool can see
I'll be here come next anniversary.
The song "Anniversary" by Susan James depicts the struggles and challenges of a long-standing relationship that has reached a point of emptiness and quiet desperation. The opening line sets the tone for the song, as the persona addresses 'emptiness' as if it were a person. The persona acknowledges the possibility that the emptiness may have been necessary but wonder why it couldn't have left them on their own. The line "Heard you pry the lock" suggests that despite the persona's initial misgivings, the emptiness was an inevitability, and that they had focused more on avoiding it than confronting their issues.
In the second verse, the persona confronts the truth that has been buried, that they have to take the hits for the things they can't erase. The line "What if I told you that the love we have is well worth fighting for" is an admission that things are tough, tough enough to make them want to scream and shout, but it implies a willingness to work on things. The final verse offers a glimmer of hope, with the suggestion that the love they share is worth waiting for, and that they will be there come next anniversary.
The lyrics are heavy with emotion, a mixed bag of doubt, anguish, and hope. The fact that the persona addresses emptiness, unburied truths and fighting for love shows that the song is not about surface-level issues but the reality of long-term relationships. The song offers no easy solutions; rather, it acknowledges that navigating the complexities of long-term relationships is challenging while holding out hope that love can endure.
Line by Line Meaning
Hello emptiness, you had to come in I guess
The feeling of being lonely and empty came naturally and has made its presence felt.
Couldn't you leave us on our own
It would've been better if emptiness had not intruded on our relationship.
Heard you pry the lock, came as no sudden shock
The feeling of emptiness slowly crept into our relationship, but it wasn't entirely unexpected.
Just a good chance we might have blown
There was a chance that we might have lost each other due to our relationship's shortcomings.
Words you had to say
The words spoken by you during our relationship caused pain.
They cut like a razor blade
Those words felt like a sharp blade cutting through my emotions.
Waving the truth we just exumed
Your words exposed the truth about our relationship that we had buried deep inside.
Now it's coming out, I wanna scream and shout
The truth is finally out, and it makes me want to vent my emotions in a loud manner.
Quiet the kids are in the room
We will have to be quiet in our arguments since our kids are present in the room.
Here in the quiet space
In this silent moment where there is no noise, we are left to deal with our problems.
We take the hits for things we can't erase
We have to deal with the circumstances that life has served us, even though we can't change them.
We're stuck on an island now
We are trapped in this difficult situation in our relationship.
Not drifting out to sea
We aren't drifting away from each other, even though circumstances are tough.
An island called our anniversary
Our anniversary represents an isolated moment in our relationship that we must face alone.
What if I told you that
Suppose I expressed to you that
The love we have is well worth fighting for
Our relationship is worth saving since it represents the love we both share.
Would you just knock me back
Would you just reject my love outright
From joy to misery
If you reject me, it will transform my happiness into complete despair.
This is our anniversary
This day symbolizes a moment of self-reflection for us regarding our relationship.
This is our, anniversary
Again, the day belongs to both of us and it is up to us to face our challenges together.
Anniversary, anniversary
The day we commemorate our relationship is a reminder of the commitment we've made to each other.
Contributed by Max T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.