Vanessa's sixth studio album, Love Is An Art, releases on March 27th, 2020 through Dine Alone Records.
Vanessa's fifth studio album, Liberman, was released on October 23 2015, through Dine Alone Records. It marks her first release since signing with Dine Alone Records. The title of the album comes from an oil painting made by Carlton's late maternal grandfather, whose given surname was "Liberman".
Official website: http://www.vanessacarlton.com
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Vanessa Carlton first began playing the piano as a toddler, continuing on an artistic road with her attendance at the School of American Ballet in New York, a path she would eventually abandon in favor of songwriting. She re-embraced the piano and began performing in bars and clubs across Manhattan. While studying at Columbia University, Carlton was signed to Interscope Records, but made her formal debut on A&M under veteran producer Ron Fair.
Her debut album in April 2002, Be Not Nobody, resonated with audiences of all ages world-wide, especially the hit piano single “A Thousand Miles,” which reached the Top 5 on Billboard’s Hot 100 Singles chart, #1 in Australia, and Top 10 in the UK. Carlton went on to earn 2003 Grammy nominations for Record of the Year, Song of the Year and Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist (“A Thousand Miles”). The album witnessed global success, reaching Gold status in over 10 countries, and Platinum status in Asian territories, such as Hong Kong, Indonesia, and Taiwan.
Her second album Harmonium (2004), which yielded the single “White Houses,” continued to inspire an increasingly loyal global fan base and garnered some the best reviews of her career.
Her record release in 2007, Heroes & Thieves “might be my first thematic record,” Carlton says, adding that the songs reveal themselves like chapters in a book, one that fans can crack open (Vanessa has often explained during her live shows that the second single from "Heroes & Thieves" entitled "Hands On Me" is the second chapter to the album). Paying homage to the area of Manhattan where most of its songs were written, the first single off of the 2007 record, appropriately dubbed “Nolita Fairytale,” is a syncopated, upbeat piece that paints a dramatic musical landscape. “ That song is really about finding joy in unexpected environments. How sometimes losing things makes you realize what you have, which is like a quasi fairytale,” says Carlton. Heroes & Thieves was recorded in the San Francisco studio of Third Eye Blind founder Stephan Jenkins and the Los Angeles studio of producer/songwriter Linda Perry.
Vanessa's fourth studio album, "Rabbits On The Run" was released on July 26th, 2011. Material for this album was produced by Steve Osborne (U2, B-52’s, KT Tunstall), and was recorded in the UK at Peter Gabriel's well-renowned Real World Studios.
Speaking with Songfacts about the lead single Carousel in a 2011 interview, Carlton explained that she wrote the song in a dream where the "da na na na na" tune was floating around.
Other facts:
Vanessa's uncle is jazz musician Larry Carlton.
In 2003, Vanessa portrayed Dusty Springfield on the television show "American Dreams" on Heartache (episode #1.14) and performed a cover of the song "Wishin' And Hopin'".
One of Vanessa's touring guitarists, Ari Ingber, (other than being credited as a group vocalist on "More Than This) is the lead vocalist/guitarist for the band The Upwelling. Ari also co-wrote the song "About to Break" from Third Eye Blind's "Ursa Major".
One of Vanessa's touring bassists, Jon Evans, (other than being credited as bassist on Heroes & Thieves and bass guitarist on Third Eye Blind's "Ursa Major") is part of the band Redfish, Bluefish and has also performed with Tori Amos.
One of Vanessa's touring guitarists, Mark Beauchemin, (other than performing with Vanessa on the song "More Than This (Campfire Take)" for the album "Songs For Tibet - The Art of Peace") used to be part of the band SR-71 and currently has his own band.
Besides having Stevie Nicks do backing vocals on her song "The One" and Stephan Jenkins (of Third Eye Blind) do backing vocals on select songs on Heroes & Thieves, Vanessa has made several contributions to works of other artists and bands including: Vocals on the song Big Yellow Taxi with Counting Crows; backing vocals on the song Moving On by Kimya Dawson; piano on the song Everybody's Got To Learn Sometime by Zucchero; vocals on the song M A K E L O V E T O M E with 7 Aurelius; co-writing 3 songs with The Matrix; Providing vocals on the various artist compilation song "Put A Little Love", created for a Gap clothing company campaign which also featured Al Green, Melissa Etheridge, Kelly Rowland, Stephan Jenkins, Ginuwine, Musiq, Heather Headley and Gavin DeGraw; Providing vocals and piano on the various artist compilation song "Love Revolution", a cover of Lenny Kravitz's song, created for a Kohl's clothing company campaign which also featured Avril Lavigne, Lenny Kravitz, Plain White T's and The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus; Performing live with artists/bands including a cover of Elton John's song "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me" with Elton John's band, duets with Shlomo, Shlomo and the Vocal Orchestra, Stevie Nicks, Goo Goo Dolls and Counting Crows and backing vocals on select songs with Counting Crows.
Vanessa is credited with providing piano on the track "Company" and backing vocals on "Faster" from Third Eye Blind's album "Out of the Vein".
Vanessa is also credited as being a performer on The Upwelling's debut album "An American Stranger" which Stephan Jenkins also produced.
Paradise
Vanessa Carlton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She saw herself give in
Every time she closed her eyes
She saw what could have been
Well nothing hurts and nothing bleeds
When covers tucked in tight
Finally when the bottom drops
To fight
And it's one more day in paradise
One more day in paradise
As darkness quickly steals the light
That's shined within her eyes
She slowly swallows all her fear
And soothes her mind with lies
Well all she wants and all she needs
Are reasons to survive
A day in which the sun will take her artificial light
Her light
And its one more day in Paradise
One more day in Paradise
One more day in Paradise
It's one more day in Paradise
One last chance to feel alright
Alright
Don't pretend to hold it in just let it out
Don't pretend to hold it in just push it out
Don't you try to hold it in just let it out
Don't you try to hold it in hold it in
One more day in Paradise
One more day in Paradise
It's one more day in Paradise
One last chance to feel alright
Once upon a year gone by
She saw herself give in
Every time she closed her eyes
She saw what could have been
The lyrics of "Paradise" by Vanessa Carlton depict the story of a woman who is struggling with her life and is unable to overcome her fear and anxiety. The line "Once upon a year gone by, she saw herself give in" conveys the sense of defeat and hopelessness that the woman is experiencing. She is haunted by the thoughts of what could have been, resulting in a constant battle with herself.
Throughout the song, the woman is trying to find reasons to survive, to see the light in her life but is unable to do so. The line "Well, all she wants and all she needs are reasons to survive" highlights the woman's desperation for survival. She is trying hard to keep herself motivated, to keep going despite the darkness that surrounds her.
However, amidst all the struggle and darkness, the woman finds moments of peace and hope, in the form of one more day in paradise. The woman is trying to find the paradisiacal moments in her life, the moments of artificial light that give her the strength to keep going. The song's chorus, "One more day in paradise, one last chance to feel alright" is an expression of the woman's need for hope, for the strength to keep fighting.
Overall, "Paradise" is a powerful and emotionally charged song that portrays the struggle of a woman who is trying to find a way to survive and thrive in her life despite all the challenges she faces.
Line by Line Meaning
Once upon a year gone by
It was a year ago that something significant happened to the subject of this song.
She saw herself give in
The subject of the song was disappointed with herself for making a decision she wasn't proud of.
Every time she closed her eyes
She thought about that decision constantly, even when she was trying to sleep.
She saw what could have been
In her mind, the subject of the song thought about the alternate reality where she made a different decision.
Well nothing hurts and nothing bleeds
The subject of the song is okay for now, but she knows that it won't last forever.
When covers tucked in tight
She tries to fall asleep, hoping that everything will be better in the morning.
Finally when the bottom drops
Eventually, things do get worse for her.
She forgets to fight
The subject of the song loses her motivation to keep trying to make things better for herself.
To fight
She stops putting in effort altogether.
And it's one more day in paradise
The situation doesn't improve, and every day feels like she's stuck in a terrible place.
As darkness quickly steals the light
Things keep getting worse for her, and it's harder and harder for her to hold on to hope.
That's shined within her eyes
She used to have a positive outlook, but that's been chased away by the darkness she's facing.
She slowly swallows all her fear
The subject of the song decides to stop being afraid of what might happen to her.
And soothes her mind with lies
She convinces herself that things will get better even though she knows they probably won't.
Well all she wants and all she needs
She doesn't need much to feel okay, just a chance to survive the dark time she's in.
Are reasons to survive
The subject of the song is holding on to hope that things will get better eventually.
A day in which the sun will take her artificial light
She's hoping for a day when she won't have to fake happiness to get through the day.
Her light
Her fake happiness that she shows to others
And its one more day in Paradise
Another day where things are difficult, but she's still here trying to get through it.
One last chance to feel alright
She's holding on to hope that eventually, things will get better, and she'll feel happy again.
Don't pretend to hold it in just let it out
The song urges listeners to not hold in their feelings and to be honest with themselves and others.
Don't pretend to hold it in just push it out
If you're struggling, don't keep it all inside - open up to others and ask for help.
Don't you try to hold it in just let it out
Trying to keep everything bottled in only makes things worse. Just let it all out.
Don't you try to hold it in hold it in
Repressing your emotions isn't helpful - it just makes things worse.
One last chance to feel alright
The song repeats the chance of hope and happiness to get through bad times.
One more day in Paradise
Things still aren't perfect, but every day brings a new opportunity to change that.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: VANESSA CARLTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mania28
I miss Vanessa Carlton. I wish she'd release a new album. She's underrated.
ameera
she’s my favorite singer everrrrrr
paleobc65
she will on october 22
rev
one of the first cds i bought when i was 13 or 14 .... now hearing this song again ...never thought that this song would describe my life .....how lyrics what seemed a bit to dark then are now reality ...
Bloombaby99
Same here.
Brandon Jefferson
rev me to one of my first cds as a kid around 14
brittany starr
im 23 now and i feel the same... when i was young i would listen to her CD before sleep.... i would feel the emotion even as a young girl...
Bootlebat
can't listen to this without crying
george prentice
Me too...it makes me remember someone who I really really miss...
ameera
just writing this here for myself.. i love this song to bits. vanessa always has a way to bring so much emotions into her songs that resonate deeply with me :( i’ve been so down lately as though my world is slowly caving in and it hurts. i’ve always felt pain throughout my life and i long to heave a huge sigh of relief someday when i eventually get where i dream to be. but i’m so afraid the only “paradise” i’ll ever know is the one in my head and never in reality. i have so much hope within me that i’ll get there, yet it almost feels like i’m lying to myself everyday.. at this point i’d be fine just withering away into nothing :(