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
When I'm Gone
Thea Gilmore Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I won't know the right from the wrong when I'm gone
And you won't find me singin' on this song when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And I won't breathe the bracing air when I'm gone
And I can't even worry 'bout my cares when I'm gone
Won't be asked to do my share when I'm gone
And I won't be running from the rain when I'm gone
And I can't even suffer from the pain when I'm gone
I can't say who's to praise and who's to blame when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
Won't see the golden of the sun when I'm gone
And the evenings and the mornings will be one when I'm gone
I can't be singing louder than the guns when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And all my days won't be dances of delight when I'm gone
And the sands will be shifting from my sight when I'm gone
Can't add my name to the fight while I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone
And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone
Can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
And there's no place in this world where I'll belong when I'm gone
I won't know the right from the wrong when I'm gone
You won't find me singin' on this song when I'm gone
So I guess I'll have to do it
I guess I'll have to do it
I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
Thea Gilmore’s song “When I’m Gone” deals with the fear of death and the sense of impermanence that it brings. The song features a repetitive structure in which Gilmore outlines what she will no longer be able to do when she’s gone: she won’t belong in this world, she won’t be able to distinguish between right and wrong or perform her share, she won’t be able to enjoy the beauty of nature, and she won’t be able to stand up for her beliefs. Throughout the song, there is a deep sense of resignation and acceptance, as Gilmore realizes that all she can do is make the most of the time she has left and do what she can while she’s still here.
The song’s lyrics can be interpreted in a number of different ways. One possibility is that Gilmore is expressing a fear of dying without having done everything she wanted to do in life. She may also be lamenting the inevitability of death and the fact that, no matter how hard we try, we can’t escape it. Alternatively, the song could be read as a call to action, encouraging listeners to live fully in the present rather than waiting until it’s too late. Overall, the song’s simple, repetitive structure and its concise yet powerful lyrics make it a compelling exploration of mortality and the human condition.
Line by Line Meaning
There's no place in this world where I'll belong when I'm gone
I won't have a place in this world once I'm dead
I won't know the right from the wrong when I'm gone
I won't have knowledge or understanding once I'm dead
And you won't find me singin' on this song when I'm gone
I won't be alive to sing this song anymore
So I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
I need to make the most of my time while I'm still alive
And I won't breathe the bracing air when I'm gone
I won't be able to experience the fresh air once I'm dead
And I can't even worry 'bout my cares when I'm gone
I won't have any worries or concerns once I'm dead
Won't be asked to do my share when I'm gone
I won't have any responsibilities once I'm dead
And I won't be running from the rain when I'm gone
I won't be affected by the elements once I'm dead
And I can't even suffer from the pain when I'm gone
I won't be able to feel any pain once I'm dead
I can't say who's to praise and who's to blame when I'm gone
I won't be able to make any judgements or assessments once I'm dead
Won't see the golden of the sun when I'm gone
I won't be able to see the beauty of the sun once I'm dead
And the evenings and the mornings will be one when I'm gone
I won't be able to differentiate between night and day once I'm dead
I can't be singing louder than the guns when I'm gone
I won't be able to make my voice heard once I'm dead
And all my days won't be dances of delight when I'm gone
I won't always have joy and happiness in my life once I'm dead
And the sands will be shifting from my sight when I'm gone
I won't be able to see the world or the passage of time once I'm dead
Can't add my name to the fight while I'm gone
I won't be able to make a difference or leave a legacy once I'm dead
I won't be laughing at the lies when I'm gone
I won't be able to expose the truth or see through deception once I'm dead
And I can't question how or when or why when I'm gone
I won't be able to seek answers or understanding once I'm dead
Can't live proud enough to die when I'm gone
I won't have any control over my own death or the circumstances surrounding it once I'm dead
So I guess I'll have to do it
I need to take action while I'm still alive
I guess I'll have to do it
I need to make the most of my time while I'm still alive
I guess I'll have to do it while I'm here
I need to make the most of my time while I'm still alive
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PHIL OCHS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Richard Durning
I wake up to this song every day...reminder of how blessed we are and, how fleeting time can be.
Tom Mihail
Exactly true..Regards from a fellow Ochs fan in Australia .
Tom Mihail
The poignant prophetic song of Phil Ochs reminds us what a fleeting moment our lives are..Thea Gilmore this is my favorite cover by a mile.
Paul Zink
A lovely, haunting cover of a favorite song (by the great Phil Ochs) by a favorite singer, Thea Gilmore.
pentangle4444
a great voice from the present covering a great song from the past... I was lucky to see Phil Ochs perform in the Village a few times and doing this song... wow..doing Sandy Denny and Phil Ochs pieces.. ... maybe we can get her to do Nick Drake, Fred Neil, and Jackson C. Frank and that is utopia plus
David Hutton
What a stunning song. And a nice version. Younger listeners--please check out Phil Ochs. He did not fit easily into any mold.
Kevin Burris
Good stuff!
adandap
What a pretty song.
David Hutton
Pretty? That is all you get from these words?
adandap
@David Hutton I'm sorry I didn't write a literary dissertation on the ephemeral nature of sentience and the human condition of being aware of that for you. FWIW, I'd say the same thing about Sandy Denny's Who Knows Where the Time Goes, and that's a song that moves me deeply every time I hear it, for much the same reason as this one. And they're both pretty songs.