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
Cheap Tricks
Thea Gilmore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It was another lesson in the rise and fall of holiness
Her hands are shaking and her hair is a mess
Oh, yeah he pulled a cheap trick
The car has come and its taken her away
And she won't tell a soul cos she knows what they would say
Cos it gets a little tricky between blame and ricochet
Boy, it was a cheap trick
Oh, lower than lonely
Slower, girl, slowly
You can just break them down
Oh, lower than lonely
Slower, girl, slowly
You can just turn them round
And all their cheap tricks
She smiles as she fumbles for the keys
And she won't look back up into that window when she leaves
If it's a choice between a martyr or a refugee
Oh, yeah she knows some sweet tricks
Yeah she knows some sweet tricks
Oh, lower than lonely
Slower, girl, slowly
You can just break them down
Oh, lower than lonely
Slower, girl, slowly
You can just turn them round
And all their cheap tricks
The night falls like a satin petticoat
And the bare bulb glows onto the letter that she wrote
Cos it takes a lot of oxygen to help you stay afloat
That or one more cheap trick
That or one more cheap trick
Oh, lower than lonely
Slower, girl, slowly
You can just break them down
Oh, lower than lonely
Slower, girl, slowly
You can just turn them round
Turn them round
And all their cheap tricks
And all their cheap tricks
And all their cheap tricks
And all their cheap tricks
The lyrics to Thea Gilmore's song "Cheap Tricks" paint a picture of a young girl who has been taken advantage of by a guy who has pulled a "cheap trick" on her. The opening lines describe the girl fingering the petals on her dress, perhaps lost in thought and in a state of shock or distress, while the singer tells us that "it was another lesson in the rise and fall of holiness." This could mean that the girl has learned something about the disparity between what is considered holy or sacred versus what is actually practiced or experienced in the real world, and that the encounter with the guy has shattered her previous notions of purity or virtue. The second verse further emphasizes the girl's isolation and powerlessness, and shows that she has been whisked away by car, unwilling or unable to tell anyone what has happened, as "it gets a little tricky between blame and ricochet."
The chorus of the song repeats the lines "Oh, lower than lonely / Slower, girl, slowly / You can just break them down / Oh, lower than lonely / Slower, girl, slowly / You can just turn them round / And all their cheap tricks" multiple times, which could be interpreted in a number of ways. The repeated "lower than lonely" phrase echoes the sentiment of hopelessness and despair that the girl seems to be feeling, while the phrase "you can just break them down" could suggest that she has been broken down by her experience. However, the latter half of the chorus also provides a glimmer of hope, by suggesting that it is possible to "turn them round" and resist the "cheap tricks" that have been played on her.
Overall, the song speaks to the themes of vulnerability, power dynamics, and disillusionment. The girl in the song has been taken advantage of by someone who has used a "cheap trick" to gain power over her, and the singer acknowledges the sense of injustice and betrayal that this implies. However, the chorus also suggests that there is a way to reclaim agency and rebuild a sense of self, even in the face of difficult circumstances.
Line by Line Meaning
She's fingering the petals on her dress
She's nervously fidgeting and looking for something to occupy her hands
It was another lesson in the rise and fall of holiness
She's reflecting on how her high ideals have been let down once again
Her hands are shaking and her hair is a mess
She's in a heightened state of anxiety and stress
Oh, yeah he pulled a cheap trick
She's upset by the deceitful actions of someone else
The car has come and its taken her away
She's leaving the situation and being physically taken away
And she won't tell a soul cos she knows what they would say
She's keeping quiet about what happened because she expects to be blamed or judged
Cos it gets a little tricky between blame and ricochet
The situation is complicated and could result in further negative consequences
Boy, it was a cheap trick
She's emphasizing how unfair and deceptive the situation was
Oh, lower than lonely
She's experiencing a deep sense of emptiness and despair
Slower, girl, slowly
She's reminding herself to take her time and not rush into anything
You can just break them down
She's suggesting that someone can be manipulated or defeated if you just take your time and be patient
You can just turn them round
She's suggesting that the situation can be reversed or made better with some careful planning
She smiles as she fumbles for the keys
She's putting on a front to cover up her true feelings
And she won't look back up into that window when she leaves
She wants to avoid any reminders of what happened and move on
If it's a choice between a martyr or a refugee
She's weighing up her options between being a victim or escaping the situation
Oh, yeah she knows some sweet tricks
She's suggesting that she's learned some clever ways to get what she wants without being taken advantage of
The night falls like a satin petticoat
She's describing the atmosphere as soft and dreamlike
And the bare bulb glows onto the letter that she wrote
She's leaving a message or explanation for someone else to find
Cos it takes a lot of oxygen to help you stay afloat
She's acknowledging that it's hard to keep going in difficult circumstances
That or one more cheap trick
She's suggesting that the situation is either going to improve or get worse
Turn them round
She's reinforcing the idea that things can be reversed or made better
And all their cheap tricks
She's describing the actions of the people who hurt her as being unfair and manipulative
And all their cheap tricks
She's repeating the idea that the people who hurt her are not to be trusted
And all their cheap tricks
She's emphasizing the impact that being deceived has had on her
And all their cheap tricks
She's concluding the song on a note of bitterness and resentment towards those who hurt her
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GILMORE, THEA GILMORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind