… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least four different artists who recorded under this name:
1. Sylvia Jane Hutton Kirby (born December 9, 1956), also known mononymously as Sylvia, is an American country music and country pop singer and songwriter. Her biggest hit (a crossover chart topper), was her single "Nobody" in 1982. It reached number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 5 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, number 9 on the Cashbox Top 100, and number 1 on the Billboard Country Singles chart. The song earned her a gold record certification and a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance. Her other country chart hits include "Drifter" (number one in 1981), "Fallin' in Love", "Tumbleweed" and "Snapshot". She was named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Academy of Country Music for 1982. She is also credited with making the first "concept" music video clip to air on Country Music Television (CMT), with "The Matador".
When her contract with RCA ended, Sylvia took a break from touring and recording to focus on developing as a songwriter. In 1988 and 1989, she guest-hosted TNN's Crook and Chase show and her own Holiday Gourmet cooking special. Sylvia's first independent album, The Real Story, was released in 1996 on her own label, Red Pony Records. In a May 1998 People magazine review, Ralph Novak wrote, "Sylvia always sang with more intensity and resonance than most country singers... and she can still sing a story song better than almost anyone around."
In 2002, she followed with Where in the World, a set that marked the culmination of an 11-year musical collaboration with John Mock. Songwriter Craig Bickhardt contributed the song "Crazy Nightingale". Bickhardt had previously performed with Sylvia from 1984, and wrote the title cut to One Step Closer. Also in 2002, Sylvia released, A Cradle in Bethlehem, her first Christmas album. In 2016, the album, It's All in the Family, was released on Red Pony Records. In 2018, Sylvia released Second Bloom: The Hits Re-Imagined, an album of some of her hits she re-recorded with a more acoustic yet fully produced approach and, in 2022, Sylvia's new album, Nature Child: A Dreamer's Journey, was released on February 22.
2. Sylvia Robinson Vanderpool (May 29, 1935 – September 29, 2011), known mononymously as Sylvia, was an American singer, record producer, and record label executive. Robinson achieved success as a performer on two R&B chart toppers: as half of Mickey & Sylvia with the 1957 single "Love Is Strange", and her solo record "Pillow Talk" (1973). She later became known for her work as founder and CEO of the hip hop label Sugar Hill Records.
Robinson is credited as the driving force behind two landmark singles in the hip hop genre: "Rapper's Delight" (1979) by the Sugarhill Gang, and "The Message" (1982) by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, both of which she produced. At the 11th Annual Rhythm and Blues Awards Gala in 2000, she received a Pioneer Award for her career in singing and for founding Sugarhill Records. Several publications have dubbed her the "Mother of Hip Hop". In 2022, she was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in the Ahmet Ertegun Award category for being a major influence on the creative development of hip-hop's early successes, and is the first woman to receive the award unaccompanied by another person.
3. Sylvia Vrethammar is a popular vocalist from Sweden who made a big success with an English version of "Y Viva España".
4. Sylvia is also a black/thrash metal band from somewhere around Portland, Oregon, United States. Their current line up is Candy, Andrew, Sean and Reuben. They released a demo entitled 'Lizard Birdman', which is available on their Bandcamp website.
5. Sylvia was a progressive experimental band from Southern California. The band consisted of lead singer, guitarist, songwriter and producer Riz Story, drummer Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), guitarist Sean Murphy and Jon "Juano" Davison (Yes), and dissolved when Hawkins joined Alanis Morissette's band. This led to Story's formation of Anyone in 1995.
6. Sylvia is also the name of a northern soul singer ('It's A Good Life', 1968), possibly the same singer as the one listed as #1 (?).
Tumbleweed
Sylvia Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tumbleweed, freedom is the air you breathe
But if you don't stop long enough
To let yourself fall in love
Tumbleweed, you're gonna end up lonely
You've been riding the range all alone for so long
No one can hold you, the wind is too strong
But you're already drifting away
Tumbleweed, you're living a cowboy's dream
Tumbleweed, freedom is the air you breathe
But if you don't stop long enough
To let yourself fall in love
Tumbleweed, you're gonna end up lonely
You won't be broken, you won't be tied down
You drift with the wind barely touching the ground
But late at night out there under the stars
There's an empty place in your arms
Tumbleweed, you're living a cowboy's dream
Tumbleweed, freedom is the air you breathe
But if you don't stop long enough
To let yourself fall in love
Tumbleweed, you're gonna end up lonely
Tumbleweed you're gonna end up lonely
Tumbleweed
The lyrics to Sylvia's song "Tumbleweed" express the story of a free-spirited cowboy who has been living a life of solitude, roaming the range without any bindings or attachments. The imagery of a tumbleweed is used to symbolize the cowboy's lifestyle, as tumbleweeds are known for their free-floating, nomadic nature. The song highlights the cowboy's sense of liberty and the joy he finds in being detached from the societal expectations of settling down and forming relationships. Yet, the chorus warns the cowboy of the pitfalls of continuing to live without any emotional connections as he may eventually end up lonely.
The second verse of the song suggests that a woman has fallen in love with the cowboy and is pleading with him to stay with her. However, the cowboy seems to be distancing himself, and despite the woman's love for him, he's already beginning to drift apart. The final verse of the song reinforces the theme of the cowboy's nomadic life and his lack of emotional attachments. It describes the loneliness that the cowboy may feel at night when he has nobody to hold him and the empty space in his arms. The song's message aims to strike a balance between freedom and connectedness, suggesting that one can still cherish their freedom while also finding love and human connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Tumbleweed, you're living a cowboy's dream
You embody the classic image of a cowboy, free-spirited and wandering.
Tumbleweed, freedom is the air you breathe
You thrive off of your independence and lack of commitments, preferring to move with the wind as it takes you.
But if you don't stop long enough
To let yourself fall in love
Tumbleweed, you're gonna end up lonely
Without allowing yourself to be vulnerable and form meaningful connections, you run the risk of ending up alone.
You've been riding the range all alone for so long
No one can hold you, the wind is too strong
You've been traveling alone for too long and fear being held down, which makes it difficult for anyone to sway you in a different direction.
I'd tell you I love you and ask you to stay
But you're already drifting away
Even if someone were to express their love and ask you to stay, you're too set on wandering and drifting to stop now.
You won't be broken, you won't be tied down
You drift with the wind barely touching the ground
You refuse to let yourself be tied down and feel perfectly content simply drifting where the wind takes you without any weight or anchor holding you back.
But late at night out there under the stars
There's an empty place in your arms
Despite your efforts to avoid deep connections, there is still a longing for someone to share your travels and accompany you under the stars.
Tumbleweed, you're gonna end up lonely
If you continue to resist vulnerability and attachment, you will ultimately be isolated.
Tumbleweed
A lonely, wandering soul who refuses to be tied down.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: DENNIS W. MORGAN, RHONDA KYE FLEMING
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind