Fitzsimmons was raised in the outskirts of the steel city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the youngest child of two blind parents. Due to the family's inability to communicate through normal visual means, Fitzsimmons' childhood home was filled with a myriad of sounds to replace what eyes could not see. The house was suffused with pianos, guitars, trombones, talking birds, classical records, family sing-a-longs, bedtime stories, and the bellowing of a pipe organ, which his father built into the house with his own hands.
When his father's orchestral records were not resonating through the walls, his mother would educate him on the folk stylings of James Taylor, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and Simon & Garfunkel. By the completion of his youth and schooling, Fitzsimmons had become well-versed at a variety of instruments, at the minor expense of social standing, interactional skills, and a knowledge of proper shaving technique.
Fitzsimmons' path into music was likewise unusual, forsaking the hobby for many years to work with the mentally ill and pursue an education in the field of mental health. It was during his last semester of graduate school that William pooled money from past birthdays, holidays, and snow shoveling outings, and bought cheap home recording equipment to begin creating songs again (the first collection of which eventually became his debut album).
After finally achieving his goal of becoming a practicing therapist, William left, and returned again to his love of crafting and playing songs. He felt that is where he most belonged. Somewhere between a singing therapist, and a counselor who writes songs, is where Fitzsimmons endeavors to be. Using songs to address matters that he believes need to be addressed.
William draws from those early folks stylings of his mother's music, and the embellished instrumentation of his father's. He is often compared to contemporaries Sufjan Stevens, Iron & Wine, and the late Elliott Smith, not only for his unique style and skill in writing and proclivity to deal with substantive and evocative subject matter, but also for his use of organic and colorful melodies and arrangements.
His first two records were completely self-produced, Until When We Are Ghosts and Goodnight. Fitzsimmons' friend Ingrid Michaelson joined him with vocals on Goodnight.
The Sparrow And The Crow, was his first studio recorded work, released in September 2008. The album debuted extremely well at #56 on the iTunes Top Albums Chart, and #1 on the iTunes Folk Chart.
While his lyricism deals often with darker undertones (The Sparrow and The Crow album was written following his divorce), a measure of hopefulness is always carefully blended in.
William candidly expresses the process of making The Sparrow And The Crow as follows: “I wrote it first and foremost as a confession and apology to my former wife. It was a way to say things that I needed her to hear that I didn't know how else to say. Second, as a way to exercise the pain from what I'd easily call the worst year of my life. And third, as a way to let others in pain have a way to express and deal with their trouble, and perhaps find some hope at the end of it. It's not a divorce record, or even a “break up" record in the traditional sense, although certainly it contains elements of both. Instead, it's a record about messing up everything, and trying to find a way back home." - AllAboutJazz.com 9/2008His latest album, Derivatives, a novel remix of The Sparrow and The Crow, was released in May 2010 through Mercer Street Records to strong reviews. Pink Ganter's remix of the song So This Is Goodbye is a critic favorite. Also of note, Fitzsimmons covers Kate Perry's I Kissed A Girl, called "a brave move, but a move that completely pays off." by TheFourOhFive.com's Leah Henson. More from Henson's review:
Before a second of music is played, Derivatives is already a fascinating album. The very idea of the delicate, heartfelt and evocative melodies of the previous album from William Fitzsimmons, The Sparrow and the Crow, being re-imagined and remixed to give them a positive spin is an idea that could possibly have terrible repercussions. Fortunately, the remixes are tastefully done and don’t squeeze every bit of essence from the original songs. Instead of unrecognisable songs being created, as so often is the way with remixes, Derivatives is an assembly of songs developed beautifully, creating a continuation from the songs on The Sparrow and the Crow. Electro blips, synths and heavy basslines now accompany Fitzsimmons’ mournful voice, adding to the songs rather than removing key elements from them. ... The intriguing thing about this album is the fact that the songs can be enjoyed on various levels. For a William Fitzsimmons fan who has listened to The Sparrow and the Crow and knows every little nuance of each song, Derivatives is a continuation, welcomed with open arms. - TheFourOhFive.com 5/2010With his expanding tenure as a songwriter, William has received mentions in noted publications such as Billboard, Paste Magazine, Pitchfork, Performing Songwriter Magazine, AllAboutJazz.com, among others. Fitzsimmons' music has been featured on several television programs such as Grey's Anatomy and Army Wives.
Fitzsimmons' music is available on iTunes and from his web store and myspace page.
If You Would Come Back Home
William Fitzsimmons Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the chair where I've been sleeping
The place that we called home
Will someday watch you leaving
There's room between today
And the last time that I saw you
The pictures in my brain
If you would come back home
We could start all over
If you would come back home
I swear it would be better
There's room left in the house
There's food still in the pantry
I could fix you lunch
Or take you out for coffee
If you would come back home
We could start all over
If you would come back home
I swear it would be better
Call the surgeon (If you would come back home)
Mend the pieces (If you would come back home)
Call the surgeon (If you would come back home)
Mend the pieces (If you would come back home)
Call the surgeon (If you would come back home)
Mend the pieces (If you would come back home)
Call the surgeon (If you would come back home)
Mend the pieces (If you would come back home)
In William Fitzsimmons's song "If You Would Come Back Home," the singer longs for his lost love to return to him. The first two lines, "There's room between your heart / And the chair where I've been sleeping," suggest that he's been sleeping in a chair since his love left him, and that she's emotionally distant from him. He notes that their former home will someday watch her leave, suggesting that perhaps she's already made plans to move out. In the next stanza, he reflects on how much time has passed since he last saw her, and how the memories they once shared are fading from his mind.
The chorus, which repeats twice, is a plea for her to come back home. He tells her that they could start all over and that things would be better, perhaps implying that he's willing to work on whatever led to the end of their relationship. In the final stanza, he points out that there's still room in their home and food in the pantry, and that he's eager to fix her lunch or take her out for coffee.
Line by Line Meaning
There's room between your heart
There's space between our emotions
And the chair where I've been sleeping
And my temporary sleeping spot
The place that we called home
The location of our shared living space
Will someday watch you leaving
Will eventually witness your departure
There's room between today
There's time between the present moment
And the last time that I saw you
And our previous encounter
The pictures in my brain
The memories stored in my mind
Will fade until I lose you
Will fade until I no longer remember you
If you would come back home
If you were to return to our shared living space
We could start all over
We could reset our relationship
I swear it would be better
I promise it would be an improvement
There's room left in the house
There's still space in our home
There's food still in the pantry
We still have food in storage
I could fix you lunch
I could prepare a meal for you
Or take you out for coffee
Or we could go out for a beverage
Call the surgeon (If you would come back home)
Metaphorically suggesting drastic change to fix our relationship
Mend the pieces (If you would come back home)
To repair the broken aspects of our relationship
Call the surgeon (If you would come back home)
Suggesting again drastic change to save the relationship
Mend the pieces (If you would come back home)
To make amends and fix our relationship
Call the surgeon (If you would come back home)
Metaphorically suggesting major intervention to prevent the end of our relationship
Mend the pieces (If you would come back home)
To repair and fix the damaged aspects of our relationship
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: WILLIAM FITZSIMMONS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Matthew Garnier
There's room between your heart
And the chair where I've been sleeping
The place that we called home
Will someday watch you leaving
There's room between today
And the last time that I saw you
The pictures in my brain
Will fade until I lose you
If you would come back home
We could start all over
If you would come back home
I swear it would be better
There's room left in the house
There's food still in the pantry
I could fix you lunch
Or take you out for coffee
If you would come back home
We could start all over
If you would come back home
I swear it would be better
laertesdd
the whole album the sparrow and the crow is not only absolutely beautiful and touching, but most of all it is real. never before in my life i have found a complete album that fits both musically and with regards to its content so perfectly to my personal situation.
Arabind
This song makes sadness feel beautiful...and i love it. 💚
Angelgurl1455
Not only is this song absolutely beautiful, I love the way the video brings out all of the emotion within it. Ugh, God I seriously am in love with William Fitzsimmons and his beautiful music. Absolutely amazing artist.
Matthew Garnier
There's room between your heart
And the chair where I've been sleeping
The place that we called home
Will someday watch you leaving
There's room between today
And the last time that I saw you
The pictures in my brain
Will fade until I lose you
If you would come back home
We could start all over
If you would come back home
I swear it would be better
There's room left in the house
There's food still in the pantry
I could fix you lunch
Or take you out for coffee
If you would come back home
We could start all over
If you would come back home
I swear it would be better
barraganadalberto7
This song takes me back to my depression days, ice cold and white with snow outside, smoking a blunt out my window.... 💨❄️🏠
Good music will get you through almost anything.
UNEEK
Good music and a good strain ;)
Atif Hussain
same here. his songs were my escape ❤️
Maria Amélia Saad
Ele tem uma coisa quenós brasileiros chamamos de voz de nuvem! Coisa lindaaaa!!!
Kat G.
2010 during my depression... I would listen to it on repeat on my iPod... It was difficult getting up in the morning to go to uni but this song made it a little better. One Tree Hill and Grey's anatomy didn't help with the depression but made me discover tons of good music.
Thomas Casey
William breaks my heart in the most exquisite way with his music.