https://taraterra.bandcamp.com/
With Daughter, the songwriting takes a noticeable step into collaboration. It becomes clear it’s no longer “The Emily Otnes Show"... The backing band, formerly known as The Weekdays, are now sharing the spotlight with the frontwoman and are making their impression felt."
Buzz Magazine
credits
released 30 August 2014
All songs by Emily Otnes
Music by Tara Terra
Produced by Emily Otnes and Colin Althaus
Recorded and mixed by Colin Althaus
Recorded at Earth Analog, Perennial Sound, and our living rooms and closets
Mastered by Justin Perkins at Mystery Room Mastering
Tara Terra are:
Emily Otnes - vocals, guitar, keyboards, flute
Joey Buttlar - drums, percussion
Celine Broussard - vocals
Colin Althaus - guitar
Nick Soria - bass guitar
Alleya Weibel - violin, vocals, trumpet, percussion
*Bare Feet guest vocals by Ryan Groff, There Is A Reason music by Tara Terra and Justin Larkin
We would like to thank: Matt Talbott, Brian Perry, Paul Kotheimer, Ryan Groff, our friends, our families, and everyone that's come to our shows and bought our stuff. We couldn't have done it without you.
Smoke
Tara Terra Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With your father watching me
There's three doors and no keys
It's rising, it's chocking me
In a smoke filled room
In a smoke filled room
There's a man with no face
Just a blurred out portrait
I'm losing again, I'm losing my my friend
Is face down on the pavement
Then a woman, she screams
"It's a terrible night"
As the mood changes to dark from light
Tell the doctor what's become of me
So you can analyse, analyse my dreams
Of a smoke filled room
Of a smoke filled room
Of a smoke filled room
The we kiss and his lips
Turn into sand
And the whole of him cascades through my hands
Making a castle on the floor
Then I'm alone again
No keys and three doors
In a smoke filled room
Now we're both in the room
And we're breathing the fumes
No doors this time
Just a gap in the roof
Lights flood in, heaven we're blind
Then slowly suffocating, we're dying
In a smoke filled room
We're dying in a smoke filled room
We're dying in a smoke filled room
In a smoke filled room
In a smoke filled room
In a smoke filled room
The song "Smoke" by Tara Terra tells a story of being trapped in a smoke-filled room with no means of escape. The first verse sets the scene with the singer in the room with someone else's father watching them. There are three doors, but none of them have keys, and the smoke is getting thicker, making it difficult to breathe. The second verse introduces a man with no face in a photo frame and the singer losing their friend, who is face down on the pavement. Then a woman screams that it's a terrible night, and the mood changes from light to dark. The singer wants to tell the doctor what's happening, so they can analyze their dreams, but they are trapped in the smoke-filled room.
The bridge takes a surreal turn as the singer kisses someone, and their lips turn to sand, causing the whole person to cascade through their hands, making a castle on the floor. Then the singer is alone again with no keys and three doors in the smoke-filled room. In the final verse, the singer and the person they kissed are both in the room, and they're both breathing in the fumes with no doors, just a gap in the roof. The lights flood in, and they become blind before slowly suffocating and dying in the smoke-filled room.
Overall, the song is open to interpretation, but it seems to be a metaphor for being trapped in a situation with no means of escape, and ultimately succumbing to it. The smoke-filled room represents whatever the situation may be, whether it's a toxic relationship, a dead-end job, or a dangerous situation. The missing keys and doors symbolize a lack of control or agency, while the man with no face and the lost friend may represent the helplessness that comes with being trapped. The surreal elements, such as the turning of lips to sand, add to the dreamlike quality of the song, emphasizing the feeling of being stuck in a nightmare.
Line by Line Meaning
In a smoke filled room
The setting where the events of the song occur is a room that is filled with smoke.
With your father watching me
The singer is in the smoke filled room with someone else's father present.
There's three doors and no keys
There are three doors in the smoke filled room with no keys to unlock them.
It's rising, it's chocking me
The smoke in the room is rising and starting to suffocate the artist.
There's a man with no face
In the room, there is a man who has no distinguishable facial features.
Just a blurred out portrait
All the singer can see is a blurry image of the man in the room.
I'm losing again, I'm losing my my friend
The singer is losing someone close to them again.
Is face down on the pavement
The friend of the artist is lying face down on the pavement outside the smoke filled room.
Then a woman, she screams
A woman yells out in concern from outside the room.
"It's a terrible night"
The woman describes the night as a bad one, possibly because of what is happening in the smoke filled room.
As the mood changes to dark from light
The atmosphere of the smoke filled room shifts from a lighter one to a much darker one.
Tell the doctor what's become of me
The artist wants someone to report to a doctor what has happened to them as a result of being in the smoke filled room.
So you can analyse, analyse my dreams
The singer wants the doctor to analyze their dreams as a result of the experience in the smoke filled room.
The we kiss and his lips
The singer kisses someone in the room who then starts to transform.
Turn into sand
The person the singer kissed turns to sand in their mouth.
And the whole of him cascades through my hands
The person crumbles into sand and disintegrates in the artist's hands.
Making a castle on the floor
The sand forms a castle on the floor of the smoke filled room.
Then I'm alone again
The singer is left alone in the smoke filled room again.
No keys and three doors
There are still three doors in the room with no way to open them.
Now we're both in the room
Another person is now in the smoke filled room with the artist.
And we're breathing the fumes
Both people in the room are inhaling the smoke.
No doors this time
The three doors are no longer present in the smoke filled room.
Just a gap in the roof
There is now a gap in the ceiling of the room instead of doors.
Lights flood in, heaven we're blind
Lights come flooding into the room, blinding the people inside.
Then slowly suffocating, we're dying
The smoke in the room becomes thicker and the people inside begin to suffocate and die.
In a smoke filled room
The song ends with a repeat of the opening lines, emphasizing the setting of the smoke filled room.
In a smoke filled room
Another repeat of the opening lines, reiterating the setting of the story.
In a smoke filled room
The final repeat of the opening lines, once again emphasizing the setting of the story.
Contributed by Zoe V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.