Raman was bo… Read Full Bio ↴Susheela Raman (b. 1973) is a singer of Indian descent.
Raman was born in London, later emigrating to Australia with her family. In Australia she studied classical South Indian song and began giving performances. She then began working with Western forms including rock and soul, while continuing to study classical Indian music with Shruti Sadolikar. Her desire to mix Indian with Western music resulted in her first album, Salt Rain, in 2001, followed by Love Trap in 2003.
In 2005, she released Music for Crocodiles. The basis of the album was recorded in Britain (Wiltshire in September 2004); the work was continued the next month with Indian musicians and mixed in Los Angeles.
In 2006 Susheela was again nominated for BBC World Music Award and was the subject of a one hour documentary by French-German TV Channel ARTE, called 'Indian Journey' directed by Mark Kidel. In the same year she independently recorded 33 1/3, which is a set of re-imaginings of music from the sixties and seventies. Artists covered include Bob Dylan, John Lennon, Velvet Underground, Captain Beefheart, Can, Joy Division and Throbbing Gristle. The album features long term collaborators Sam Mills on guitar, VIncent Segal on Cello, and tabla player and percussionist Aref Durvesh. The album was released in April 2007 in France.
In 2011 she released the album Vel.
Susheela continues to research and discover music from South India, studying in 2007 with the Bhakti singer Kovai Kamla.
The Same Song
Susheela Raman Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Susheela Raman
How many roads have I wondered?
None, and each my own
Behind me thes have crumbled
No question of return
Trampled underneath a tide of careless feet
It′s the same song playing
Everywhere I go
It's like an army marching right through me.
Nowhere to go but the horizon
Where, then, will I call my home?
Summer spent, in the high grass
Or just fragments, ransacked memories
Dark river snakes, across this murky hall
Boatman sings his downstream melodies.
How many roads have I wondered?
None, and each my own
Behind me thes have crumbled
Where, then, will I call my home
The song "The Same Song" by Susheela Raman begins with reflective lyrics, "How many roads have I wondered? None, and each my own." This first line suggests that the singer has had a long and winding journey in life so far, filled with personal struggles and moments of growth. The following lines, "Behind me they have crumbled, no question of return," further emphasize that the singer has moved beyond their past and is focused on moving forward.
The song's refrain, "It's the same song playing everywhere I go, it's like an army marching right through me," speaks to the universality of the human experience. Even though the singer has felt isolated on their journey, they realize that they are not alone in their struggles. The repetition of this line throughout the song creates a sense of unity and shared experience among all listeners.
The second verse of the song shifts to a more specific moment in the singer's past. They recall memories of "summer spent in the high grass" and "fragments, ransacked memories." The line "boatman sings his downstream melodies" brings a sense of peacefulness to the verse, hinting that despite the struggles of the past, the singer is finding some peace in the present.
The final lines of the song, "Where, then, will I call my home?" speak to the universal human desire for a sense of belonging and security. The singer has journeyed far and wide, but is still searching for a place to call their own. Overall, "The Same Song" is a reflective and soulful exploration of the human experience.
Line by Line Meaning
How many roads have I wondered?
How many paths in life have I wandered down?
None, and each my own
None of the paths were predetermined or forced upon me, each one was chosen by myself.
Behind me these have crumbled
I cannot go back down the paths I've taken, they no longer exist.
No question of return
There is no option to go back now, I must continue on the current path.
Autumn leaves like discarded dreams
Fallen leaves represent forgotten dreams and ideas.
Trampled underneath a tide of careless feet
Those ideas and dreams are lost and forgotten as society rushes by, uncaring.
It's the same song playing
This same pattern of loss and forgetfulness is occurring everywhere.
Everywhere I go
No matter where I travel or what I experience.
It's like an army marching right through me.
The feeling of being overwhelmed and powerless in the face of countless people marching by.
Nowhere to go but the horizon
There is nothing to do but to continue on towards an unknown future.
Where, then, will I call my home?
Where will I find a place of belonging and rest in the face of all this constant movement and change?
Summer spent, in the high grass
Time spent in nature, enjoying the beauty of the world.
Or just fragments, ransacked memories
Memories of those good times are now fleeting and incomplete, as if they were stolen from me.
Dark river snakes, across this murky hall
The path forward is unclear and unsettling, like a river twisting through a dark cave.
Boatman sings his downstream melodies.
In the midst of this uncertainty, I must focus on the things that bring me joy, just as a boatman sings while rowing downstream.
Writer(s): Durvesh Aref, Landell Mills Samuel Peter, Raman Susheela
Contributed by Adam N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.