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
Sugar
Thea Gilmore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's a sign on the wall
We are all suddenly free
We don't pull any punches at all
Imagination runs riot
There's a choice of three doors
Tell me what's a pretty girl to do
In a land of metaphors
You can take me home
You can take it on through
You can lay me in your bed
Tell me to say stop when I want you to
But don't you dare
But don't you dare
But don't you dare
Call me sugar
Little baby innocence
With a couple of silent scars
I've got a head with too much sense
And a mouth full of nervous laughs
Well you might get off easy
But I don't dance to your tune
You might think you're putting pressure on me but honey
This is a vacuum
You can take me home
You can take it on through
You can lay me in your bed
Tell me to say stop when I want you to
But don't you dare
But don't you dare
But don't you dare
Call me sugar
Well you can shut up now, I'm talking
I am so sick of your one-line conversation
They say learn to walk before you can run
Maybe you should learn to talk before you injure someone
You can take me home
You can take it on through
You can lay me in your bed
Tell me to say stop when I want you to
But don't you dare
But don't you dare
But don't you dare, don't you dare
Call me sugar
Well you might get off easy
But I don't dance to your tune
You might think you're putting pressure on me but honey
This is a vacuum
Thea Gilmore's song "Sugar" conveys a message of empowerment and self-respect, particularly for women. The song begins with a description of a place where people are free to be themselves. However, this openness and freedom is tempered by the use of metaphors, which make it difficult to fully understand the intentions of others. The singer acknowledges that she has been scarred in the past, but she also asserts that she has too much sense to be fooled by someone who tries to manipulate her. She resists being objectified or reduced to a stereotype, and she demands respect from those around her.
The chorus is particularly forceful, as the singer warns her potential partner not to call her "sugar." This term of endearment may seem innocent, but it can also imply a lack of agency or independence. By rejecting this label, the singer asserts her own identity and autonomy. The bridge of the song takes on a more confrontational tone, with the singer stating her frustration with the other person's lack of engagement or consideration. She suggests that they need to learn to communicate better before they can have a true relationship.
Overall, "Sugar" is a powerful statement about personal boundaries, self-respect, and the importance of clear communication in relationships. The use of metaphors and imagery highlights the complexities of human interaction, but ultimately the message is one of strength and self-determination.
Line by Line Meaning
Would you look at this place
Observing the environment
There's a sign on the wall
Noting a sign
We are all suddenly free
Acknowledging newfound freedom
We don't pull any punches at all
Being truthful and blunt
Imagination runs riot
Being imaginative and creative
There's a choice of three doors
Presented with options
Tell me what's a pretty girl to do
Expressing confusion
In a land of metaphors
Metaphorical environment
You can take me home
Offering to go home with someone
You can take it on through
Being willing to continue
You can lay me in your bed
Agreeing to physical intimacy
Tell me to say stop when I want you to
Setting boundaries
But don't you dare
Making a warning
But don't you dare
Repeating warning
But don't you dare
Emphasizing the warning
Call me sugar
Refusing to be called a pet name
Little baby innocence
Innocent appearance
With a couple of silent scars
Hidden emotional damage
I've got a head with too much sense
Being practical and intelligent
And a mouth full of nervous laughs
Nervousness
Well you might get off easy
Warning the other person of consequences
But I don't dance to your tune
Not being controlled by someone else
You might think you're putting pressure on me but honey
Noticing the other person's attempt at control
This is a vacuum
Rejecting the other person's influence
Well you can shut up now, I'm talking
Asserting control over the conversation
I am so sick of your one-line conversation
Expressing annoyance
They say learn to walk before you can run
Phrasing advice
Maybe you should learn to talk before you injure someone
Critiquing the other person's behavior
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Frederick Louis IV Beauregard, James Todd Smith, Jason Edward Krause, Marlon Ray Young, Matthew Shafer, Robert James Ritchie
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind