Alannah Myles

The street light crawls into a bare bulb hotel
Where dead eyes shine there's a story to tell
It's a life of crime on a bed of stone
When the devil calls you're better off alone

And now I'm hiding from the light, running from my destiny
Haunted by a flame, lying low, livin' on a memory

The bugs still bite and the breezes blow
Between your dreams right through your clothes
The days roll by like cars on a train
And the August sky still looks like rain

And now I'm hiding from the light, running from my destiny
Haunted by a flame, lying low, livin' on a memory

Haunted by a dream, I can't escape this reverie
Trying to break away, lying low, livin' on a memory

I'll be walking behind you, I'm a face on the wind
I'll be watchin', still payin' for my sins

I'm drifting down the river so slow
As the lights of town are beginning to glow

And now I'm hiding from the light, running from my destiny
Haunted by a flame, lying low, livin' on a memory

Haunted by a dream, I can't escape from this reverie
Trying to break away, lying low, livin' on a memory...

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

Rockinghorse

From the album

Rockinghorse (1992)

Alannah Myles popular songs

Livin’ On A MemoryAlannah Myles

Alannah Myles

Rockinghorse