Once A Tree are a Canadian music duo consisting of married couple Jayli and… Read Full Bio ↴Once A Tree are a Canadian music duo consisting of married couple Jayli and Hayden Wolf. The Wolfs were both raised Jehovah's Witnesses in British Columbia, Jayli from Creston and Hayden from Vernon, and met online through mutual friends. Jayli decided to leave the religion and convinced Hayden to join her. The pair moved to Toronto together when Jayli won a songwriting contest and married in 2012.

Once A Tree debuted with a self-titled EP and the single "Light Me Up". Their first professional EP Thousand Lives, released in 2015 under Toronto-based Foreseen Entertainment, followed the single "Howling", inspired by their childhood religion. They continued working with Foreseen, going on to release their first album Phoenix in 2017. Rolling Stone named them "New Artists You Need to Know" and compared them favourably to Phantogram, Crystal Castles, and Chvrches. Phoenix won Best Electronic Music Album at the 2018 Indigenous Music Awards.

The duo released their second album Fool's Paradise independently in 2020. Fool's Paradise was described as more lighthearted than their previous work, which Hayden attributed to coming "to a much happier place in life". The single "Rush" was filmed in Los Angeles, and the acoustic version featured Boy Pape.

Jayli also acts and releases solo music, such as "Child of the Government" about her First Nations father being taken in the Sixties Scoop; Hayden is a visual artist and photographer. They co-write most of their songs, and produce most of their music videos themselves.

Breakdown
once a tree Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

We" I've never been this far gone
I've never been out for so long
Girl, I'm thinkin' 'bout you
I don't wanna lose (you)

I'll break down for you
I'll break down
Ooh, I'll break down for you

Girl, I'll break down
I'll break down for you
I'll break down
Ooh, I'll break down for you
Girl, I'll break down

I'm not gonna stand here
I'm not gonna take this
I'm telling you that I am worth more alone
I've been through enough hurt
I've been through enough pain
I'm telling you I'm bound to walk away

I'll break down for you
I'll break down
Ooh, I'll break down for you
Girl, I'll break down
I'll break down for you
I'll break down
Ooh, I'll break down for you
Girl, I'll break down

And I know
And I know that I could be better
I wanna be better for you
And I will show
I will show you that I will make a change
I would do anything

I'll break down for you
I'll break down
Ooh, I'll break down for you
Girl, I'll break down
I'll break down for you
I'll break down

Ooh, I'll break down for you
Girl, I'll break down

Overall Meaning

The song "Breakdown" by Once A Tree is an emotional expression of love and determination. The lyrics convey the singer's deep connection to someone they love and their fear of losing them. The opening lines, "I've never been this far gone, I've never been out for so long," suggest a deep longing that they can't seem to shake. They are thinking about the person they love and don't want to lose them.

The chorus of the song, "I'll break down for you, I'll break down, ooh, I'll break down for you, girl, I'll break down," shows the vulnerability of the singer. They are willing to do whatever it takes to keep their love intact. This is further emphasized in the lines, "And I know that I could be better, I wanna be better for you. And I will show you that I will make a change, I would do anything." The singer is determined to work on themselves to be a better partner and to show their love that they are worth it.

In the second verse, the singer takes a stand and refuses to stay in a situation that is causing them pain. They declare that they are worth more on their own and are ready to walk away from anything that is hurting them. The repeated phrases, "I'll break down for you," emphasize the sacrifice that the singer is willing to make, but also the emotional turmoil they are experiencing.

Line by Line Meaning

We" I've never been this far gone
As someone who has lived life, I have never gone this deep into my emotions before.

I've never been out for so long
I've never let myself feel so deeply for such a prolonged period of time.

Girl, I'm thinkin' 'bout you
I'm consumed by thoughts of you, and it's affecting me deeply.

I don't wanna lose (you)
Your presence in my life is important to me, and I'm afraid of losing you.

I'll break down for you
I'm willing to show how much I care for you by allowing myself to be vulnerable.

I'm not gonna stand here
I refuse to remain in this position of emotional turmoil.

I'm not gonna take this
I'm not willing to tolerate the pain and hurt anymore.

I'm telling you that I am worth more alone
I recognize my own value, and I'm willing to be on my own rather than staying in a situation that doesn't serve me.

I've been through enough hurt
I've experienced enough pain, and it's time for me to move on and heal.

I've been through enough pain
I've dealt with enough suffering, and I'm not willing to take any more of it.

I'm telling you I'm bound to walk away
I've made the decision that it's time for me to leave this situation behind and move on.

And I know
I'm aware.

And I know that I could be better
I recognize that I have the potential to improve myself.

I wanna be better for you
I desire to become a better person for your sake.

And I will show
I'll demonstrate.

I will show you that I will make a change
I'll make it evident to you that I'm working towards bettering myself.

I would do anything
I'm willing to do anything to show you that I care and am dedicated to improving myself.

Girl, I'll break down
I'm willing to be vulnerable and show you how deeply I care for you.

Ooh, I'll break down for you
I'll let down my guard and allow myself to feel and express what's in my heart.

I'll break down for you
I'm willing to be emotionally vulnerable to show how much I care for you.