ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Luke Sital-Singh - Singer-songwriter
Luke Sital-Singh plumbs emotional depths to write tender, tuneful songs.

Why you should listen

Luke Sital-Singh is an internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter from the UK. In 2012 he released his debut single "Fail For You," which first introduced to the world his deft ability to craft songs with a mesmerizing piercing emotional quality. The song went on to be featured in numerous TV shows including Grey’s Anatomy. At the end of 2013, Sital-Singh was featured in the BBC's Sound of 2014 list and signed to Parlophone records, who released his debut record The Fire Inside later that year.

After a couple of years touring the world and opening for artist such as Villagers, The Staves, Martha Wainwright and Kodaline, in 2017 Sital-Singh released his sophomore record Time Is A Riddle, which featured the stand out song "Killing Me." His songs are rich and somber and have the tendency to stop you in your tracks. Of his songwriting, Sital-Singh says: "I like writing about the heavy things. There’s a lot of shallow stuff out there and that’s fine for certain contexts. My fun is diving as deep as I can. Inside myself and, if I can, inside others and writing songs that are as honest as I can make them. Honest to the struggles we all face, the sadness but more importantly, the hope."

More profile about the speaker
Luke Sital-Singh | Speaker | TED.com
TED2018

Luke Sital-Singh: "Afterneath" / "Killing Me"

Filmed:
236,177 views

Luke Sital-Singh sings songs of love, longing and grief in this stirring performance of "Afterneath" and "Killing Me." "These are the songs I just never tire of hearing and I never tire of writing, because they make me feel less alone," Sital-Singh says.
- Singer-songwriter
Luke Sital-Singh plumbs emotional depths to write tender, tuneful songs. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
(Piano)
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00:29
(Singing) It was done
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00:32
When the benediction had been sung
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Firelight gently woke us
from our golden night
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My surprise
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I can turn to see your open eyes
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And I know
You are alive
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01:01
I know that smile
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01:05
Nothing more
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01:09
In the after
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01:13
There is waking from your sleep
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And your lover
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Is the only face you see
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01:24
We are after
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Ever after
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There is laughter
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Afterneath
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The war
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Nobody ever even asked what for
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Up above
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Nothing matters but the ones you love
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So get out with me
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Now you've got enough with me
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Just the two of us you see
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And nothing more
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In the after
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There is waking from your sleep
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And your lover
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Is the only face you see
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We are after
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Ever after
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There is laughter
Afterneath
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Oh, we after
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Ever after
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There is laughter
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Afterneath
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Oh
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Oh
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Oh
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Oh
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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Thank you very much.
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(Applause)
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Thanks.
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I love a depressing song ...
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(Laughter)
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you know?
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I've been writing them for 15 years now,
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and to be honest, over that time,
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I've come to kind of believe
that they're not really depressing at all.
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In fact, I think they're kind of the most
important songs we have.
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Songs that sing of sorrow,
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of grief,
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of longing,
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of the darker side of love,
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the underside of being alive,
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these are the songs
I just never tire of hearing
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and I never tire of writing,
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because they make me feel less alone.
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They speak to a very real
part of being human
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that can often be hidden in fear and shame
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and pushed deep down
where it lingers and rots.
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But I think in listening to these songs --
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really listening --
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can allow us to refeel
these hard emotions,
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but in a cathartic and healing way.
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In a way that reminds us, as we listen,
that we're not alone in darkness.
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There's a Japanese phrase
known as "mono no aware,"
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which roughly translates
as "the bittersweet poignancy of things,"
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or the pathos or "ahness" of things.
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It's a valuable awareness of impermanence,
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both a kind of gentle, transient
sadness as things pass by in life,
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but also a deeper,
softly lingering sadness
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about the impermanence of all reality.
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"Mono no aware" can be manifest
in lots of life stories and moments
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and songs.
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One example in Japanese culture
is the celebration of the cherry blossom.
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The cherry blossom in and of itself
is no more impressive
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than that of an apple or orange tree,
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but what sets it apart is its brevity.
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Cherry blossoms fall
within a single week --
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can be whisked away
on the gentlest breeze --
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and it's this that makes it
more beautiful.
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It's utterly fragile,
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and fragility gives life its poignancy.
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Now, being a cheery chap,
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nothing speaks to me more
than this, and --
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(Laughter)
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you know, I think it's been the essence
of my songwriting for years,
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of what moves me to write,
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what inspires me to sing.
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Because pain and grief and doubt,
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when it's made manifest
in music, in song --
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when it's made beautiful
in poetry and painting,
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it can build a community and a kinship
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in the knowledge that we are
none of us alone in darkness.
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My next song is one
that I call "Killing Me,"
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and as the name suggests,
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it's not a dance floor favorite.
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(Laughter)
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But it isn't miserable.
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It's full of love and hope.
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And I think it exemplifies everything
I've been talking about.
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And it's the first song I've written
from the perspective of somebody else,
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specifically my grandmother,
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as she lives on without
my late grandfather,
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as she experiences
new things in her life --
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her grandchildren getting married,
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having their own children,
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speaking at TED --
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all the while she lives without,
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and all the while she misses
her soul mate.
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Thank you.
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07:31
(Piano)
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(Singing) Sweetheart
would you wake up today?
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I promise you would recognize my faith
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07:58
I want to show you
how I've grown in this place
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08:05
In this place I'm not alone
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08:09
And I know I'll be OK
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08:13
But it's always harder
When the winter comes to stay
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And I can't help remember
all the words I never said
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And it's killing me
That you're not here with me
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I'm living happily
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But I'm feeling guilty
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And you won't believe
The wonders I can see
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This world is changing me
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But I will love you faithfully.
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09:00
(Piano)
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Oh, everything is taller these days
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Maybe I feel smaller
and time rushes away
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So much I could show you
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How all the great-grandchildren
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Have been laughing
like we did when we were young
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I've been laughing like we did
when we were young
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Oh, it's killing me
that you're not here with me
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I'm living happily
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But I'm feeling guilty
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Oh, you won't believe
The wonders I can see
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This world is changing me
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I will love you faithfully
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Oh
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Oh
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Oh
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Oh
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Oh, it's killing me
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That you're not here with me
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I'm living happily
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But I'm feeling guilty
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Oh, you won't believe
The wonders I can see
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This world is changing me
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I will love you faithfully
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Oh, it's killing me
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That you're not here with me
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I'm living happily
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But I'm feeling guilty
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Oh, you won't believe
The wonders I can see
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This world is changing me
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But I will love you faithfully
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Thank you very much.
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(Applause and cheering)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Luke Sital-Singh - Singer-songwriter
Luke Sital-Singh plumbs emotional depths to write tender, tuneful songs.

Why you should listen

Luke Sital-Singh is an internationally acclaimed singer-songwriter from the UK. In 2012 he released his debut single "Fail For You," which first introduced to the world his deft ability to craft songs with a mesmerizing piercing emotional quality. The song went on to be featured in numerous TV shows including Grey’s Anatomy. At the end of 2013, Sital-Singh was featured in the BBC's Sound of 2014 list and signed to Parlophone records, who released his debut record The Fire Inside later that year.

After a couple of years touring the world and opening for artist such as Villagers, The Staves, Martha Wainwright and Kodaline, in 2017 Sital-Singh released his sophomore record Time Is A Riddle, which featured the stand out song "Killing Me." His songs are rich and somber and have the tendency to stop you in your tracks. Of his songwriting, Sital-Singh says: "I like writing about the heavy things. There’s a lot of shallow stuff out there and that’s fine for certain contexts. My fun is diving as deep as I can. Inside myself and, if I can, inside others and writing songs that are as honest as I can make them. Honest to the struggles we all face, the sadness but more importantly, the hope."

More profile about the speaker
Luke Sital-Singh | Speaker | TED.com