He approached his music with a new found freshness and decided to put some songs down on record. His grandmother told him he had a distant cousin in London in the music business. Borrowing money from those that would lend it, he recorded his demo and sent it off to his cousin, renowned producer and film composer, David Arnold (Bjork, James Bond). Arnold liked what he heard and provided enough money for Damien to buy his own mobile studio.
Damien Rice formerly sang with Lisa Hannigan and released his debut solo album, O, in Ireland in early 2002. In July 2002 O was released in the UK and it received widespread critical acclaim. In June 2003 O was released in the USA and Europe, with Rice appearing on The Letterman Show and receiving more acclaim from publications such as Rolling Stone, Newsweek and The Boston Globe. Arnold joined him on stage in New York to perform a version of the Björk/Arnold track Play Dead.
He gained further popularity after some of his most famous songs were included in the media. An example of this is 9 Crimes used in the soundtrack of the summer blockbuster Shrek Three and The Blower's Daughter was featured in the movie Closer. Delicate was also featured in the hit T.V. show Lost.
Damien Rice is an intense live act - with emphasis laid on emotional intensity and experiments, rather than technical perfection. At a 2005 concert, for instance, he threw out big cheeses to the audience. This can sometimes be more demanding for the listener than the radio hit edit of the song Cannonball suggests. 'Cannonball' was re-mixed in 2004, for UK radio, to make it more radio-friendly. Rice later was reported to be very unhappy with it, saying to Tom Dunne on PetSounds (Today FM) that he did not "...really like it". He stated that he had allowed the remix to go through only if he signed a contract that would forbid anyone from ever remixing one of his songs ever again.
Damien spent 2004 and 2005 recording the follow-up to O. The album, 9, was released in Ireland on November 3, 2006, on November 6 in the rest of Europe, and in North America on November 14, 2006. Even though the new album maintained Rice's sense of "emotionality," some argued that it did so through volume and intensity rather than with the reflection and lyrical commentary that characterized his first release, O.
Rice has also developed a reputation as a live performer, selling out at venues across Europe and the United States. He is a performer who gives a lot of himself to the audience.
As of March 25th, 2007, this was posted on the Damien Rice official website: After much thought and discussion Damien has decided that his professional relationship with Lisa Hannigan has run its creative course. As a result Lisa will not be appearing at any of the upcoming live shows. Lisa is embarking on her own artistic endeavours and there are no plans for them to work together in the foreseeable future. The current band on tour at the moment are - Damien Rice, Joel Shearer, Shane Fitzsimons, Tom Osander, and Vyvienne Long.
Rumors that Damien Rice is currently dating Mélanie Laurent, a French actress, has not been verified. However, there have been reports that he is working with the actress to record her debut album.
Lonelily
Damien Rice Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I lonelily landed my waltz in her hands
In a way, I felt you were leaving me
I was sure I wouldn't find you at home
And you let me down, you could have knocked off the evening
But you lonelily let him push under your bone
You let me down, it's no use deceiving
And you're coming home
You're coming home
And you're coming home
You're coming home
I gave me away, I could have knocked off the evening
But I was lonelily looking for someone to hold
In a way, I lost all I believed in
And I never found myself so low
And you let me down, you could've called if you'd needed
But you lonelily got yourself locked in instead
And you let me down, it's one thing being cheated
But you took him all the way through your bed
And now you're coming home
And I'm trying to forgive, you're coming home
And I'm trying to forget, you're coming home
And I'm trying to move on, you're coming home
And you haven't called yet, you're coming home
And I'm trying to forgive, you're coming home
I'm just trying to forget, you're coming home
I'm trying to move on, you're coming home
But you haven't called, you're coming home
You're coming home, you're coming home
You're coming home
I gave me away, I could have knocked off the evening
But I lonelily loomed her into my bone
You let me down, there's no use deceiving
Neither of us wanna be alone
In Damien Rice's song "Lonelily," the lyrics explore the emotions of a failed relationship and the struggle to move on. The song begins with the singer reflecting on how he gave himself away to someone, and although he could have ended the evening, he stays lonelily, wanting someone to hold. He says that he felt like she was leaving him and he never thought he would find her at home. The use of the word "lonelily" becomes a recurring theme throughout the song, suggesting the feeling of loneliness that both the singer and his partner share.
The second verse shifts the focus to the singer's partner, who he believes let him down when she chose to be with someone else. He acknowledges that she could have called him if she needed, but instead, she stayed lonelily with someone who had "pushed under her bone." He expresses the pain that he feels, not just with the fact that she chose someone else, but that she let him down, and neither of them wants to be alone.
Line by Line Meaning
I gave me away, I could have knocked off the evening
I lost myself and surrendered to loneliness instead of enjoying the night
But I lonelily landed my waltz in her hands
But I found someone to dance with in my moment of despair
In a way, I felt you were leaving me
I sensed that you were slipping away from me emotionally
I was sure I wouldn't find you at home
I wasn't expecting to find you there when I went to look for you
And you let me down, you could have knocked off the evening
You disappointed me by not showing up when you could have
But you lonelily let him push under your bone
But you gave into your loneliness and slept with someone else
You let me down, it's no use deceiving
You can't deny that you let me down
Neither of us wanna be alone
We both are afraid of being lonely
And you're coming home
You're returning to me
I gave me away, I could have knocked off the evening
I lost myself and sought comfort in another person
But I was lonelily looking for someone to hold
But my loneliness drove me to search for someone to comfort me
In a way, I lost all I believed in
I lost faith in myself and in our relationship
And I never found myself so low
I've never felt so helpless before
You could've called if you'd needed
You could have reached out to me if you were struggling
But you lonelily got yourself locked in instead
But instead you chose to isolate yourself
And you let me down, it's one thing being cheated
You betrayed me by sleeping with someone else
But you took him all the way through your bed
And you let him have full access to your body
And now you're coming home
You're returning to me
And I'm trying to forgive, you're coming home
I'm attempting to forgive you
And I'm trying to forget, you're coming home
I'm trying to forget the pain you caused me
And I'm trying to move on, you're coming home
I'm trying to move forward while you come back to me
And you haven't called yet, you're coming home
You haven't reached out to me yet, but you're still coming back
You're coming home, you're coming home
You're coming back to our home
I lonelily loomed her into my bone
I relied on someone else to fill the void in me
You let me down, there's no use deceiving
You betrayed my trust and there's no use denying it
Neither of us wanna be alone
We both long for companionship and don't want to be alone
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DAMIEN GEORGE RICE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind