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".
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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.
Tall Tales for Spring
Vanessa Carlton Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the wicked in me is surely the wicked in you
We pray to a ghost that we never met
Time turns for a cure, from the scientists for
Madness, madness of the heart
But you knew it, you knew it from the start
My eyes saw the chaos that started everything
Maybe it's faith, when the sadness takes hold
Still stars through a window, will they ever know this
Madness, madness of the heart
But you knew it, you knew it from the start
There's a madness, a madness of the heart
But you knew it, you knew it from the start
Stare a sleepy smile into a sunbeam
Is this nothing more than a daydream?
Color stained glass cathedral
Confess a past that will let you go
God rest your head Sunday afternoon
And the wicked in me is surely coming through
And pray to a ghost that I've never met
Still searching for someway out of this mess
It's the heart
It's the heart
And there's madness, a madness in the stars
But you knew it, we knew it from the start
The lyrics of Vanessa Carlton's song "Tall Tales for Spring" explore themes of faith, madness, and the mysteries of the universe. The opening lines, "God rest his head Sunday afternoon/And the wicked in me is surely the wicked in you," suggest a sense of introspection and self-reflection. The second verse references scientists' search for a cure for madness, which could be interpreted as a metaphor for the pursuit of understanding the human mind and heart.
The chorus repeats the phrase "madness of the heart," which could be interpreted as the chaotic emotions and feelings that humans experience, and how we cope with them. The line, "And Hawking will tell us no tall tales this spring," references the late physicist Stephen Hawking, who was known for his work on black holes and the origins of the universe. The next line, "My eyes saw the chaos that started everything," invokes the idea of the "Big Bang" theory of the universe's beginnings.
The bridge of the song seems to offer a moment of contemplation and reflection, with the line "Stare a sleepy smile into a sunbeam" suggesting a peaceful, dreamlike state. The lyrics then turn back to the theme of faith with the line "Maybe it's faith, when the sadness takes hold." The song concludes with a sense of uncertainty and searching, as the singer is "Still searching for someway out of this mess."
Line by Line Meaning
God rest his head Sunday afternoon
We take a moment to rest and relax on Sundays.
And the wicked in me is surely the wicked in you
The same darkness exists in all of us.
We pray to a ghost that we never met
We seek guidance and comfort from an unknown entity.
Time turns for a cure, from the scientists for
We look to science to provide solutions for our problems.
Madness, madness of the heart
Our emotions can drive us to irrational behavior.
But you knew it, you knew it from the start
We are aware of our own tendencies towards madness.
And Hawking will tell us no tall tales this spring
We seek truthful answers from those we respect.
My eyes saw the chaos that started everything
We witness the chaos and destruction that surrounds us.
Maybe it's faith, when the sadness takes hold
In times of despair, we must rely on our faith to carry us through.
Still stars through a window, will they ever know this
The universe is vast and unknowable, leaving us questioning our place in it.
Stare a sleepy smile into a sunbeam
We take pleasure in simple moments of beauty in life.
Is this nothing more than a daydream?
We question whether our happy moments are real or just illusions.
Color stained glass cathedral
We see beauty and solace in religious architecture.
Confess a past that will let you go
We must let go of our past transgressions in order to find peace and move forward.
God rest your head Sunday afternoon
We take a moment to rest and relax on Sundays.
And the wicked in me is surely coming through
Our darker tendencies can resurface at any moment.
And pray to a ghost that I've never met
We seek guidance and comfort from an unknown entity.
Still searching for someway out of this mess
We continue to look for solutions to our problems.
It's the heart
Our emotions are at the center of all our experience.
And there's madness, a madness in the stars
Even the seemingly peaceful universe has its own madness and chaos.
But you knew it, we knew it from the start
We have always been aware of the universe's chaotic nature.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: VANESSA CARLTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind