Thao Nguyen is a folk singer-songwriter out of Virginia. She's signed to K… Read Full Bio ↴Thao Nguyen is a folk singer-songwriter out of Virginia. She's signed to Kill Rock Stars and is touring in winter/spring 2008.

Nguyen released her second album, We Brave Bee Stings and All, on Jan. 29, 2008. It is credited to "Thao With The Get Down Stay Down on the spine of the release and marketed as just Thao on the jewel case security label and sticker on front of the release and all material from KRS records."

After picking up her guitar at the age of 12, Thao Nguyen began performing and recording as a pop-country duo with a high school friend. Raised in Falls Church, Virginia with her single mother, she often practiced her songs while working at her mother's laundromat. She often cites Lilith Fair as an inspiration for her desire to become a singer/songwriter. After recording an EP that differed from her initial style, she began performing as a soloist with her acoustic guitar. In 2005 she recorded Like The Linen, her first full-length album.

Nguyen initially toured as a duo with drummer Willis Thompson, but expanded her act to a band of four durng the Kill Rock Stars "Sound The Hare Heard" tour. The band now consists of Nguyen, Willis Thompson, Adam Thompson, and Frank Stewart. The band was named The Get Down Stay Down by a former bassist.

Thao Nguyen continues to perform as a soloist on occasion, including a European tour with Laura Veirs and the Tortured Souls in August 2006.

website; www.thaomusic.com

Chivalry
Thao Nguyen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I could tell in the way
He did not kiss back
What's the use in painting faces
You're never gonna find a shade to match

Well yours is a common name
And I hear it all the time
Could belong to anyone

It could never be mine

I am tired
I am through
When I love I will love so hard
Harder than I could love with you

There's nothing in your eyes
But slightly amused
An offer of me you politely refused
Is it that my heart beat too loud
Is it that I did not bid it come down
Your round about etiquette
You hold the door but you won't let me in

I am tired
I am through
When I love I will love so hard
Harder than I could love with you
Harder than I could love with you

I won't make you flex emotion
I won't make you come a little closer
Do what you want
Don't do it for me
What's the use in chivalry

I am tired
I am through
When I love I will love so hard
Harder than I could love with you
Harder than I could love with you

I could tell in the way
He did not kiss back...

I could tell in the way

Overall Meaning

Thao Nguyen's song Chivalry is about a failed romantic encounter. The singer has tried to connect with a lover who does not reciprocate their feelings. The lyrics suggest that the lover might be playing games, or putting up a false image to keep the singer at a distance. The singer scoffs at chivalry as a tool of manipulation (“What’s the use in chivalry?”) as they come to the realization that they tried too hard to fulfill an impossible romantic ideal of being saved by someone else. They recognize the futility of trying to fit themselves into the mold of someone else's ideal of love ("You're never gonna find a shade to match”).

The use of repetition in the lyrics emphasizes the singer's exhaustion and disillusionment. The line "I am tired, I am through" is repeated twice, highlighting the singer’s frustration and determination to move on. The line "I could tell in the way he did not kiss back" is repeated twice at the beginning and the end of the song, emphasizing the singer's sense of rejection and ending the song with the same unresolved feeling it starts with.

Line by Line Meaning

I could tell in the way
I could sense by the way

He did not kiss back
He didn't respond to my kiss

What's the use in painting faces
What's the point in hiding your true self

You're never gonna find a shade to match
You will never be able to find someone exactly like you

Well yours is a common name
Your name is a common one

And I hear it all the time
I come across it frequently

Could belong to anyone
It could be someone else's name too

It could never be mine
But it cannot be mine

I am tired
I am exhausted

I am through
I am done

When I love I will love so hard
When I fall in love, I will love deeply