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.
My Life Changed
William Fitzsimmons Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Every word that you would say
Till I met you with a sigh and to this day I still regret
How I made you go away
I saw the whole world from your eyes, at least the glimpse you let me see
And what a glimpse you let me see
But your eyes can never stretch, over boundaries made in stone
I imagine if I had another chance
To tell you all the things I should have said
We’d still find ourselves content in circumstance
But I’m content to say this anyway…
The day that you were hit by that car
My life changed
I was lost and out of touch, with the way you made me feel
With the way you make me feel
Everyday just passes now, and I can’t count them on my own
And your face is never real
I imagine if I had another chance
To tell you all the things I should have said
We’d still find ourselves content in circumstance
But I’m content to say this anyway
In William Fitzsimmons's song "My Life Changed," the lyrics depict the singer's regret over not properly expressing their feelings towards someone until it was too late. The first verse describes how the person the singer was with would simply repeat every word they said until the singer met them with a sigh, causing them to go away. The singer having let that person go and not telling them how they truly felt is what haunts them to this day.
The second verse talks about how the singer was able to see the world through this person's eyes, but there were boundaries that limited what they could see. The singer fears these boundaries will always be there, preventing them from having the chance to express themselves fully to that person. The chorus talks about how the day that person was hit by a car, the singer's life changed. The experience of losing that person made the singer feel lost and unable to connect with anything else in the same way they connected with them before.
The final verse talks about how the singer is still unable to properly count the days without that person, and sees them as if they aren't even real anymore. Despite all of this, the singer still imagines having another chance to express their feelings to that person, even though they know it's probably not possible. The overall theme of the song is about missed opportunities and the regret that comes with them, but still holding onto hope for a different outcome.
Line by Line Meaning
You had this pattern of repeating every word that you would say
You used to repeat everything you said, every single word, in a pattern that was predictable and robotic.
Till I met you with a sigh and to this day I still regret
When I met you, I heaved a sigh and I still regret it because I wish I could undo what happened next.
How I made you go away
I made you go away, and I still feel guilty about it.
I saw the whole world from your eyes, at least the glimpse you let me see
I caught a glimpse of the whole world from your perspective, at least from the part that you allowed me to see.
And what a glimpse you let me see
The glimpse you gave me was a valuable insight that I treasure.
But your eyes can never stretch, over boundaries made in stone
Despite this perspective, there are some things that you cannot see or understand, as they are blocked by unyielding physical realities.
I'm afraid that's what will be
I'm worried that no matter how much I try, there are some things that I'll never be able to grasp.
I imagine if I had another chance
I often think about what would have happened if I had another opportunity...
To tell you all the things I should have said
...to tell you everything that I should have said, but didn't get the chance to...
We’d still find ourselves content in circumstance
...and even though circumstances might have been different, we would have still been happy with each other.
But I’m content to say this anyway…
But regardless of this, I'm content to express my feelings in this way.
The day that you were hit by that car
The day that you were struck by a car, everything changed for me.
My life changed
Your accident had a profound impact on my life that I still feel to this day.
I was lost and out of touch, with the way you made me feel
I was completely disoriented and disconnected, as I didn't know how to deal with the emotions your presence stirred in me.
Everyday just passes now, and I can’t count them on my own
Now, every day just blends together into a blur that I can't even distinguish on my own.
And your face is never real
I can't even conjure up a realistic image of your face anymore, since you're gone from my life.
Contributed by Jayden G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.