Rebecca Lavelle, but not really

Rebecca Lavelle sang for the TV show McLeod's Daughters. She sang the title sang during the credits, and her songs are featured within the episodes as well.

I added her to my list four months ago, and now I'm wondering if she's really Australian. She might be a Kiwi. I say this because I know of other women associated with McLeod's Daughters that are Kiwi's.

Well, let me go see.....

Okay. She IS Australian. At least that's what Lord Wiki says. He doesn't actually say much else about her.

He does say she's been singing since the age of three.

She attended Brent Street School of Performing Arts. The school is located in the Entertainment Quarter in Moore Park.

I didn't know this.... She doesn't write the songs for the series. Those are written by the creator of McLeod's Daughters.  Posie Graeme-Evans.

All right. That's it for Lord Wiki.

I shall look for other stuff.

Here's her official website.

It says she has co-written songs before. She did this with Daniel Jones of Savage Garden. I knew they sounded familiar so I just googled them. I've heard their Truly Madly Deeply song before. I never realized they were Australian! Isn't that sad?

I wonder when Lavelle worked with him. Recently? A long time ago?

The site says her debut album Intimate Portrait was released in Europe in 2007, and in Australia March 2009. It's interesting that it was in Europe first. I'm guessing that does happen sometimes though. I know some American performers are more popular in Japan then they are in America.

I wonder though if this is the album that she did with Daniel Jones. Maybe?

There's really not much on her website. I'm going to check out her MySpace now. She last logged in on May 5. Is that May 5 Australian time or May 5 my time? Right now for me it IS May 5. By the time I post this though, May 5 will be in the past.

On May 10, she will be at Fox Studios for a charity event-- Mother's Day Royal Picnic.

She says she's influenced by Jewel, John Farnham, The Whitlams, and The Carpenters. I've heard of all of them except Farnham. Who is he?

Well, it turns out he's another Australian singer I've never heard of. I don't think this Australian obsession will ever end. I keep realizing there's so much I don't yet know.

Lavelle starred in one episode of McLeod's Daughters. I don't think I've ever seen that whole episode, but I've seen part of it on YouTube. Unfortunately, the sound on the video isn't too great. It's very quiet. I have to crank up the volume. That's fine, but then I forget and the next song ends up being horribly loud.

Once you lower your volume, you can go to this website and hear one of my favorite McLeod's Daughters songs.

It brings up some bad memories though. I had a really rough summer and we watched McLeod's Daughters at that time. So.....

Well, you might get the picture.


Here's another song. This was in the first episode.

It's such a pretty song.

I really miss Claire and.... what's her name? Crap. I forgot her name. The blond girl, but not Jodi. I mean I DO miss Jodi too. But what's the other sister's name?

I had to ask Jack.

I'm surprised he remembered.

It's Tess.

I miss Tess.

I don't miss last summer.

I hope this summer is better.

"Don't Judge" was Becky's theme. Becky was my favorite character. I had a girl crush on her. That's probably over now. I've replaced her with this beauty.

And this song....Was this the one they played when Tess left to work at the cafe? I think it might be. That was such a sad episode. I think the song is a great break-up/end of friendship song.

All right. I should stop gushing about McLeod's Daughters and find out more about Lavelle. Since she didn't even write the McLeod's Daughter's songs, I can't really give her much credit for them.

This website says her top downloaded song is "My Heart is Like a River". The second most popular is "Don't Judge" (Becky's song). I think the latter is popular because a lot of us feel very judged and misunderstood. We relate to the line There's so much more to me.

Last February when I was depressed I retreated from the world. I stopped confiding in my husband. I stopped confiding in my parents and sisters. I quit writing in my Livejournal Blog. I started feeling lonely though, so I got involved with Facebook. I decided that as long as I didn't open myself up to people, I'd be fine.

The sad thing is I think some people really DID like this side of me. I became the women that most men dream of...cheerful, mysterious, bubbly, asks a lot of questions, and never talks about herself.

A part of me liked the attention I received. I started to think maybe I can just live my life this way. I can hide behind a shell and be popular. But those who read this blog on a regular basis, know that it is NOT usually in my nature.

I can be cheerful at times. I can be a good listener. But I am NOT mysterious. I DO talk about myself.

I began to hate that people liked this fake Dina. I stopped it all eventually realizing the old philosophy is true. It's better to be hated for who you are than loved for who you're not. I slowly began opening up to people again.

When I heard "Don't Judge", I was already over my turtle-shell period. But the lyrics of the song resonated with me. They were therapeutic.

Don't judge,
Don't believe what you see,
Don't judge,
Theres so much more to me,
Inside
Its hard to be clear,
Inside,
Its when i feel the fear

Shit. I'm dwelling on lyrics again.

Well, I'll go back to Google and see where that leads me.

I'm finding a lot of lyric pages, but they don't distinguish between what she wrote and what she just sang.

I give up. There's not much out there about Rebecca Lavelle.

Let's go back to talking about me.

See, that's the other problem with going inside a shell. Once I got out, it's like the floodgates opened. Now I can't shut up about myself.

And.....

Okay. I'm going to be painfully honest here. I wrote this post last week when I was in a pretty bad place. I said things that might be hurtful to some people that I really don't want to hurt. I have gone over and edited this post more than any other post I've written before. Anyway, in the end....well, I just deleted a large section of this post. So, if this post seems jumpy or badly written, please excuse me for that.

I personally shall sleep better tonight knowing that this stuff has all been deleted. I am sighing with relief.

Anyway.....

I shall leave my conclusion intact...even though it kind of might not make sense since I deleted a lot of stuff. Uh, just IMAGINE it makes sense. Can you do that for me? Cool.

Here it is......

I'm NOT just the girl who wished she was Australian.

I'm a woman who is struggling to be okay.

I'm a woman who is struggling to learn to trust people more.

I'm a woman who is struggling very hard not to return to unhealthy habits.

I'm a woman who is learning to build walls that will keep me safe but not leave me lonely.

As the chorus to the song Rebecca Lavelle didn't write says.....

I'm finding my way.




Update: 3/20/2024:  I'm still lost.  Very very lost. 


Read my novel: The Dead are Online 


8 comments:

  1. Dearest Dina, you are being so American. You don't have to be perfect. You don't have to overachieve. Everything will go on in the world regardless. Do what you can but forget how you are judged by others. (Gee, they almost sound like wise words. I should try to follow them myself)

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  2. Andrew,

    I give myself the same advice! Never seems to work. Maybe I should try reverse psychology on myself. I'll keep saying "It doesn't matter what you think of yourself. It matters what everyone else thinks about you. And you must be perfect ALL the time."

    That might work. Maybe I'll become all oppositional.

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  3. Hi Dina!
    You are full of information :)
    I have rebecca Lavella's songs on my blog because I am also a fan of her and McLeod's Daughers.

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  4. white lilly,

    I really like her songs!

    I'm actually not full of information. Most of it comes out as fast as it went in!

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  5. Hey there,

    I am Bec (Rebecca) Lavelle's photographer/web designer/graphic designer. I found your blog when reviewing the stats for her site. What do you want to know about her? I can help with some questions if you want. I can confirm she is fully Australian born and bred. chat soon (nathanj@beclavelle.com)

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  6. Nathan,

    Hi! Thanks for visiting! I'm honored.

    I'm not sure what I'd like to know about Rebecca Lavelle...I guess anything that you (and she) would be willing to share : )

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  7. Wow....what an interesting page to come across :-)
    Its rather intriguing to hear about people on their own journey and how McLeods Daughters and the music from the show helps them through different areas of their lives.

    I am indeed Bec Lavelle, I am certainly Australian born and bred and am just about to go into the studio to record my second album, as a followup to my first called "Intimate Portrait".

    I worked with Daniel Jones on the first album throughout 2006-2007 and have written most of my own music. I wasnt involved with the writing of the McLeods songs, as it was not what I was asked to do....they had writers and only needed a singer.

    My new album is written by myself and some amazing songwriters from both here and overseas and I am organising my paperwork now to aply for my VISA to come and live and work in Nashville.

    Any other info you would like?? Thanks for the interest.....Love Bec xx

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  8. Becca Lavelle,

    Hi! I am SO honored that you visited my blog...maybe a little embarrassed too (because of the nature of the post).

    Very exciting about Nashville. From what I've heard it's a good place for people in the music industry. I lived there for a very short time. I can't say I remember much...otherwise I'd give you newcomer advice. I remember that I went to Hillsboro High School. But that probably won't help you much ; )

    I'm excited about your new album. Is it available for download? I'd love to hear it.

    Well, I'll go check on iTunes for now.... It might not be available here yet. ???

    So, how are you feeling about leaving Australia? Excited? Sad? Nervous? A combination? Have you lived away from Australia before? Where in Australia did you grow up?

    Oh, and one last question (if I may). Who is your favorite Australian author?

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