Alannah Myles

Sweet breeze, blowin' through a summer dress
Seen from a window above
Captured in the eyes of love

Shivers, in the cool forbidden dawn
Where the Iris and Jasmin run wild
She was young and he was a child

He vanished like July
Some folks, they wondered why
But old money has its friends
Ain't it funny how the truth will bend

It's the family secret, don't pass it on
Daddy's angel 'til something went wrong
It's the family secret of her mystery...

Whispers, how they sound like raindrops
Hush now we'll make it alright
She's framed by the front porch light
Uuuhuh, suspicion, raising up like dragonflies
They say there's a story to tell
Buried in the family well

Now the congregation prays
Save us from our evil ways
But old money has its friends
Ain't it funny how the truth will bend

It's the family secret, it's the family secret, don't pass it on
Daddy's angel 'til something went wrong
It's the family secret, just let it be
I know the secret of her mystery...

It's the family secret, it's the family secret
It's the family secret, don't pass it on
Daddy's angel 'til something went wrong
It's the family secret, just let it be
I know the secret to her mystery

Keep it in the family now, behind closed doors
Past the rows of cypress trees, through the Spanish moss
Those old stone walls
It's the family secret, it's the family secret

When Alannah Myles played the role of a young aspiring singer on an episode of The Kids Of Degrassi Street, it was more than just an act. Less than a decade later, the daughter of Canadian Hall Of Fame Broadcaster William Douglas Byles would be a Grammy and Juno Award-winning singer best known for her 1990 international hit “Black Velvet”.

Myles (who changed her last name from Byles as a teen) began writing songs at nine and was participating in Toronto’s Kiwanis Music Festival at twelve. While gigging solo at nineteen across southern Ontario, songwriter/musician Christopher Ward invited her to form a rock and blues cover band with him. During this time Ward became MuchMusic’s first VJ.

Ward spent seven years trying to get Myles signed. He produced a three song demo for her, and her entertainment lawyer Stephen Stohn came up with the idea of making a ‘video demo’ of Myles singing “Just One Kiss”. This finally attracted Warner Music Canada in 1987. The demo was passed along to Warner’s US affiliate labels and Atlantic Records also took interest.

more tracks from the album

A-lan-nah

From the albums

A-lan-nah (1995)
The Very Best Of (1998)

Alannah Myles popular songs

Family SecretAlannah Myles

Alannah Myles

A-lan-nah