“With the first album,” says Zara, “I was trying to create a cohesive sound, one that used the same line up and the same instrumentation throughout. This time the focus is on the songwriting, and the arrangements are tailor-made to suit each song. There’s a lot more variation – around half of the tracks are duets, and I use more than one band. If there is a unified, cohesive theme, it’s in the lyrics: the songs represent a journey through a woman’s life.”
Gilles Peterson has been a key figure in Zara’s career. They first met when she was performing with the house music project Bopstar at the Southport Weekender in May 2010, where she gave him an EP of acoustic jazz songs she’d recorded. Within a few months, an impressed Peterson had signed Zara to his Brownswood Recordings label, and that EP eventually provided the basis for her debut album Until Tomorrow.
“Gilles has been an incredibly enthusiastic person to work with,” says Zara. “With the first album, I’d recorded most of it before he’d signed me, but this time he’s been more involved in its creation and made suggestions. He’s passionate about all kinds of music, not just jazz, which has allowed me to experiment with different sounds.”
Zara McFarlane was born 30 years ago into a Jamaican family in Dagenham, on the borders of Essex and London. She grew up in a household that loved reggae (“we played it all the time – parties, social gatherings, weddings, funerals, you name it!”), as well as the R&B of Michael Jackson and Luther Vandross. Her TV debut came at the tender age of 14, when she did a Lauryn Hill impression on Stars In Their Eyes against a line-up of grown ups.
She was educated at a local comprehensive before moving to the BRIT School in Croydon in her sixth-form to study musical theatre. “I fell in love with musicals and learned tons of old showtunes,” says Zara. “I quickly realised that they were also jazz standards, and I always preferred the jazz versions.” After a BMus degree in Popular Music Performance from the Tech Music School in Acton (part of the University of West London) she started to pursue her love of jazz, studying jazz and improvisation at the Guildhall School of Music & Drama.
When not working on her own material, Zara has performed as a featured vocalist in Gary Crosby’s ska orchestra Jazz Jamaica, and performed with esteemed British jazzers such as Orphy Robinson, Denys Baptiste and Soweto Kinch. She’s made house music with Bopstar and paid tribute to Tammi Terrell with Norwegian DJ/producer Dalminjo. Her tracks have been remixed and reworked by the likes of Viennese techno duo Ogris Debris, Ninja Tune’s Floating Points, Afro-funker Osunlade and space-jazzers Emanative. She’s fronted Italian DJ Nicola Conte’s big band, performed at a Nina Simone tribute concert in Amsterdam and played support for South African trumpeter Hugh Masekela and American singer Gregory Porter. At the upcoming London Jazz Festival she’ll be appearing opposite Dianne Reeves (Queen Elizabeth Hall, 20 November). She also maintains a role in education, teaching workshops in vocals and improvisation around Britain and Europe.
“I love all areas of this work – the teaching, the performing – but this album showcases what I’m most into at the moment, which is writing,” she says. “These songs on this new album are more personal than anything I’ve ever written. It’s me opening up, taking listeners on a journey.”
Plain Gold Ring
Zara McFarlane Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It was where everyone could see
He belonged to someone, but not me
On his hand was a plain gold band
Plain gold ring had a story to tell
In my heart it would never be spring
Long as he wears a plain gold ring
Whoaa-ooh
Whoaa-ooh
Night time comes callin' on me
I don't know if I could ever be free
Can't stop these teardrops of mine
I'm going to love him 'til the end of time
Plain gold ring had but one thing to say
I'll remember 'til my dyin' day
In my heart it will never be spring
Long as he wears a plain gold ring
Whoaa-ooh
Whoaa-ooh
The lyrics to Zara McFarlane's song "Plain Gold Ring" paint a vivid picture of heartbreak and unrequited love. The song describes a man wearing a plain gold ring on his finger, representing his commitment to someone else. The singer of the song acknowledges this but cannot help feeling the pain and sadness of not being the one that the man belongs to. The plain gold ring symbolizes the man's unattainable love and the impossibility of a future with him. The repetition of the phrase "plain gold ring" serves to emphasize the singer's deep sorrow and the enduring nature of her feelings.
The lyrics also suggest a sense of resignation in the face of this unrequited love. The singer knows that she will never be able to have the man she loves, and the plain gold ring will always stand as a reminder of what she cannot have. The phrase "in my heart it will never be spring" evokes a sense of perpetual winter in the singer's emotions, with no hope of renewal or new beginnings. Despite the man not being hers, she still continues to love him and cannot help herself from doing so.
Line by Line Meaning
Plain gold ring on his finger he wore
He wore a plain gold band on his finger for everyone to see
It was where everyone could see
The ring was in plain sight for everyone to notice
He belonged to someone, but not me
The person with the ring was in a committed relationship with someone else, not the singer
Plain gold ring had a story to tell
The ring had a significant history
It was one that I knew too well
The singer was familiar with the ring's backstory
In my heart it would never be spring
The singer believed that she would never experience happiness while he had the ring
Long as he wears a plain gold ring
As long as the person with the ring continues to wear it, the singer will feel unhappy
Night time comes callin' on me
The darkness reminds the singer of her sadness and loneliness
I don't know if I could ever be free
The singer is unsure if she can ever move on from her feelings for the person with the ring
Can't stop these teardrops of mine
The singer cannot control her emotions and continues to cry
I'm going to love him 'til the end of time
The singer will continue to love the person with the ring indefinitely
Plain gold ring had but one thing to say
The ring represented a single, powerful message
I'll remember 'til my dyin' day
The singer will never forget the significance of the ring
Whoaa-ooh
Musical interlude
Whoaa-ooh
Musical interlude
Writer(s): JACK HAMMER, EARL HAPPY BURROUGHS
Contributed by David B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Federica Tazza
deep in the soul, out of the body, here comes the voice of the new spiritual jazz
tronist
This girl is marvelous at singing! WOOOOOO Zara!
Anai Acosta
Who came here after Russ dropped his video on NIGHTTIME?
maissa Sehli
Me LOL
lusca
Me
Julien Ortiz
I personally really love this sample
Victor Aldaba
Same
_Victoria_
Meeeee😂
nangi indongo
beautiful!
Tunes Squad
That would be cool if russ and Zara did a collab after nighttime