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
My Own Private Riot
Thea Gilmore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All I hear is your heart, you know baby
It never shuts up
And its all right
This heart is on fire
Just save your own ass go
Leaving me burning
Maybe I am the in between girl and you're sure between girls in this town
What am I not saying here?
Hear the spaces between that
Measure all
The words I don't know
You are
You're not welcome here
I'm counting your reasons on one hand
Then fitting them in
Maybe I am the one that you run to when she put the telephone down
Maybe I am the in between girl and you're sure between girls in this town
This is my own private riot
Maybe I am the one that you run to when she put the telephone down
Maybe I am the in between girl and you're sure between girls in this town
Maybe I am the one that you run to when she put the telephone down
Maybe I am the in between girl and you're sure between girls in this town
This is, this is
This is my own private riot
This is, this is
The lyrics to Thea Gilmore's song, My Own Private Riot, delve deep into the complexities and uncertainties of relationships. The lines "Keep me again at arms length / All I hear is your heart, you know baby / It never shuts up / And it's all right / This heart is on fire / Just save your own ass go / Leaving me burning" suggest the singer's desire for physical and emotional closeness with their lover, who seems to struggle with commitment. The lover's "heart" never "shuts up," indicating an inner turmoil that makes it difficult for them to fully invest in the relationship, leaving the singer "burning" with unrequited love.
The song continues with "Maybe I am the one that you run to when she puts the telephone down / Maybe I am the in-between girl and you're the sure between girls in this town." Here, the singer acknowledges the possibility that they are merely a placeholder for their lover until someone else comes along. They question their role in the relationship and wonder if they are being used as a temporary replacement until a more suitable partner presents themselves. The phrase "in-between girl" implies a lack of permanence and a sense of being stuck in a state of limbo.
The final lines of the song, "This is my own private riot," give voice to the singer's inner turmoil and frustration with the situation. The chaos of their emotions is likened to a "riot," suggesting that the relationship is causing a great deal of internal conflict and turmoil.
Overall, My Own Private Riot is a powerful and poignant exploration of the complexities of relationships and the emotions they evoke.
Line by Line Meaning
Keep me again at arms length
Please distance yourself from me again and don't get too close.
All I hear is your heart, you know baby
Every time I'm near you, all I can hear is your heart beating and it's overwhelming.
It never shuts up
Your heart never stops beating, and it's impossible to ignore.
And its all right
I understand that it's a normal bodily function, and there's nothing wrong with it.
This heart is on fire
My heart is full of passion and I'm experiencing intense emotions.
Just save your own ass go
To protect yourself, it's best if you leave now.
Leaving me burning
Your departure leaves me feeling emotionally raw and vulnerable.
Maybe I am the one that you run to when she put the telephone down
Perhaps you come to me for comfort after your significant other hangs up the phone on you.
Maybe I am the in between girl and you're sure between girls in this town
Perhaps I'm seen as a placeholder until something better comes along, and you're not entirely committed to me.
What am I not saying here?
I'm hinting at something that I haven't outright said yet, can you figure it out?
Hear the spaces between that
Listen carefully for what I'm not saying, rather than just the words I'm speaking.
Measure all
Take into account everything that's been said, as well as what's been left unsaid.
The words I don't know
There are certain things that I can't express in words, but I want you to understand anyway.
You're not welcome here
I don't want you near me anymore.
I'm counting your reasons on one hand
I'm trying to figure out why you're still here even though I've asked you to leave.
Then fitting them in
Trying to find a way to reconcile your reasons for staying with my desire for you to leave.
This is my own private riot
My inner turmoil and emotional distress are like a personal, private rebellion.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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