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
Heads Will Roll
Thea Gilmore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A thousand eyes are blinking to drown a tiny speck of dust
No, I'm not after crashing parties, I want your cobweb soul
And believe me, heads will roll
Do you watch the latest traumas in radiation dots?
Or the wide-eyed executioner; gunpowder, treason, plot
Is there an ugly little mirror living down there in your hole?
Did you think you would scrape by
To all the fault-lines you have seen?
Did you think you could deny
The shit you're standing in?
So concrete runs in rivers but there's sugar here to suck
And absolution dot com delivers with a little bit of luck
Now there's no new ground being broken, you're just doing what you're
Told
But any day now heads will roll
Did you think that you'd scrape by
To all the fault-lines you have seen?
Did you think you could deny
The shit you're standing in?
There's gonna be a reckoning, there's gonna be a chase
There's gonna be a hand to wipe that smile off your face
There's gonna be a sunset, you're gonna lose control
I'm telling you now, heads will roll
I'm telling you now, heads will roll
Thea Gilmore's "Heads Will Roll" is a thought-provoking song that has various interpretations. The first verse talks about how there is dirt in the machine and the idea that where there is oxygen, there will be rust. This could be seen as a metaphor for how things do not always go smoothly and how even the smallest issues can affect larger systems. It is also phrased in a way that suggests inevitability, as if the listener must accept that there will always be problems.
The chorus of the song is a warning of sorts, stating that there will be consequences for actions. The lyrics imply that the listener has been living in denial about their actions, but that this cannot continue indefinitely. The repeated line "heads will roll" sounds ominous and final, almost as if the singer is speaking with a sense of authority or prophecy.
In the second verse, the song takes on a more political tone, referencing "radiation dots" and "gunpowder, treason, plot." This verse could be seen as a commentary on how the media often presents news in a way that is meant to scare people into action or as a call to safer environmental practices. The third verse brings those ideas to a more personal level, with the singer asking if the listener thought they could get away with ignoring their responsibilities.
Overall, "Heads Will Roll" is an introspective song about cause and effect, acknowledging the consequences that come with one's actions or inactions.
Line by Line Meaning
There's dirt in the machine, yeah, where there's oxygen there's rust
When dust is present in the air, it will cause the machine to rust over time.
A thousand eyes are blinking to drown a tiny speck of dust
People are ignoring big issues because they're too focused on insignificant things.
No, I'm not after crashing parties, I want your cobweb soul
I'm interested in your soul, not superficial things like parties.
And believe me, heads will roll
If you don't take me seriously, you'll face the consequences.
Do you watch the latest traumas in radiation dots?
Are you too focused on insignificant things and not paying attention to the bigger issues?
Or the wide-eyed executioner; gunpowder, treason, plot
Are you fascinated by stories of violence and conspiracy?
Is there an ugly little mirror living down there in your hole?
Are you hiding something shameful?
Just take a good look and heads will roll
If you confront your shame, it will have consequences.
Did you think you would scrape by to all the fault-lines you have seen?
Did you think you could ignore all the problems you've witnessed?
Did you think you could deny the shit you're standing in?
Did you think you could ignore the problems you're directly involved in?
So concrete runs in rivers but there's sugar here to suck
There's bad things happening, but people are still trying to enjoy themselves and ignore it.
And absolution dot com delivers with a little bit of luck
People are looking for easy ways to feel better about themselves.
Now there's no new ground being broken, you're just doing what you're told
People are stuck in a rut, following what they're expected to do.
But any day now heads will roll
There will be consequences for this lack of action and change.
There's gonna be a reckoning, there's gonna be a chase
There will be consequences for people's actions.
There's gonna be a hand to wipe that smile off your face
People won't be able to stay happy and ignorant for much longer.
There's gonna be a sunset, you're gonna lose control
Things are going to change and some people won't be ready for it.
I'm telling you now, heads will roll
There will be consequences for inaction and ignoring problems.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: GILMORE, THEA GILMORE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind