Gilmore is said to have become interested in music as a result of her father's record collection, which included work by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello, and Tom Waits, among others. At 16 she left home and began working in a recording studio where she was discovered by her now long-time collaborator, producer and sometime co-songwriter Nigel Stonier, who became her husband in a ceremony in October 2005.
Thea recorded her debut album aged just 17 and then entered a spell of productivity which, in the four and a half years from January 1999 to August 2003, saw her record and release six albums including four "official" releases and two cult albums which were only intended for internet release but which have long since been available in the shops. In 2001, with the release of Rules For Jokers, she hit some kind of national nerve and garnered some attendant airplay but it wasn't until 2003's Avalanche that Thea finally began to make significant waves. Avalanche became Radio 2's Album Of The Week and spawned two hit singles including her first certifiable Top 40 hit Juliet. Thea has gathered countless plaudits over the years - "the best British singer songwriter of the last ten years - and then some" (Uncut), "so good its scary" (Mojo), and "Gilmore is already in a league of her own" (Q) immediately spring to mind - but Avalanche was truly a quantum leap forward and "a breakthrough record" (Times) to boot. And you can bet that Thea remains the only artiste to have her under-$50 video shown on Top Of The Pops.
Increasing radio support and acclaim from the music press led to a lucrative tour of the US in 2004, in support of legendary folksinger Joan Baez. During this time, Gilmore was diagnosed with clinical depression and also split from her personal relationship with Nigel Stonier after seven years, although they continued touring and working together.
In 2005, Gilmore continued touring commitments, for the first time not releasing a new album (the covers collection Loft Music was widely released during 2004). In October 2005, she and Stonier, who, in the light of Gilmore's depression diagnosis, re-started their personal relationship, married in a ceremony near their home in Cheshire.
Gilmore finally returned to recording with the release of Harpo's Ghost in August 2006, after a three-year absence of new material. The album was once again acclaimed in the music press and UK radio lent their support to the single "Cheap Tricks." Gilmore has been touted by Uncut magazine as "the best British singer-songwriter of the last 10 years...and then some" and has gained steady acclaim for each of her albums.
On November 14th, 2006, Gilmore gave birth to her first child with Stonier, a son named Egan, having conducted a UK tour in the autumn while heavily pregnant.
Thea Gilmore writes lyrics that somehow combine awesome poetic grace together with a 21st century barbed undercurrent. She also delivers razor sharp missives on life, love, sex, death, politics and wars (both personal and global) and all with an achingly-beautiful delivery which melts hearts in an instant. Someone once remarked that Thea is a hellraiser with a voice like honey and if you get to meet her you will know what this means. Barely out of her teenage daze, Thea was being compared to everyone from Joni Mitchell to Ryan Adams and Tom Waits and now at 31, Thea is going to make you think sweet somethings all over again.
www.theagilmore.net
Call Me Your Darling
Thea Gilmore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But the sky fell while we were talking
Amid the bruises and the red lights
Will you call me your darling tonight?
Call, call me your darling tonight
Its a dark wind that's been blowing
Its a steel river rolling
If you call me your darling tonight
Call, call me your darling tonight
We could catch the red tide in our hands
We could crack the code if we had a place to stand
Though I usually would run with rack and ruin
Just look what you've got me doing now
In the long days of confusion
In the forked tongue of Lazy Suzan
I've got freedom, I've got second sight
If you call me your darling tonight
Call, call me your darling tonight
We could catch the red tide in our hands
We could crack the code if we had a place to stand
Though I usually would run with rack and ruin
Just look what you've got me doing now
In the long days of confusion
In the forked tongue of Lazy Suzan
I've got freedom, I've got second sight
If you call me your darling tonight
Call, call me your darling tonight
Call, call me your darling tonight
The lyrics of "Call Me Your Darling" by Thea Gilmore describe a feeling of uncertainty and chaos, which is emphasized by the imagery of a dark wind blowing and a steel river rolling. In the midst of this chaos, the singer is seeking stability and reassurance from someone they care about. The idea of "catching the red tide in our hands" and "cracking the code" implies a desire for control and understanding in a world that can seem unpredictable and overwhelming. The reference to "rack and ruin" suggests that the singer is not usually one to seek out stability, but that they have been motivated to do so by this person who they are asking to call them their darling. Overall, the lyrics convey a sense of vulnerability and a need for connection.
Line by Line Meaning
Well it's hard to tell whose dream we're in
It's difficult to distinguish between reality and a dream.
But the sky fell while we were talking
Something devastating happened while we were having a conversation.
Amid the bruises and the red lights
In the midst of chaos and danger.
Will you call me your darling tonight?
Can you show me love and affection tonight?
Call, call me your darling tonight
Repeating the request for affection.
Its a dark wind that's been blowing
There's a sense of negativity and hopelessness in the air.
Its a steel river rolling
A powerful and unyielding force is threatening to sweep everything away.
When the dawn cracks I will be alright
Despite immediate problems, things will eventually get better.
If you call me your darling tonight
Affection would ease my pain and my worries.
We could catch the red tide in our hands
Together, we could achieve something great and powerful.
We could crack the code if we had a place to stand
We could figure out a solution if we had some stability and support.
Though I usually would run with rack and ruin
Normally, I would engage in reckless and self-destructive behavior.
Just look what you've got me doing now
Now, I'm acting differently because of your influence and love.
In the long days of confusion
During tough and uncertain times.
In the forked tongue of Lazy Suzan
In a situation where people are deceitful and speak with double meaning.
I've got freedom, I've got second sight
I feel liberated and I have a clearer understanding of things.
If you call me your darling tonight
Affection would further enhance my liberation and clarity.
Call, call me your darling tonight
Repeating the request for affection.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Written by: THEA GILMORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind