The current lineup consists of Ben Harper (vocals, guitar/slide guitar), Jason Mozersky (lead guitar), Jesse Ingalls (bass and keyboards), and Jordan Richardson (drums).
Harper met Jason Mozersky in the late nineties when Mozersky was working for an Austin, Texas music promoter. Mozersky was chauffering Harper to a gig, and asked if he could play a demo for his band, Wan Santo Condo. Harper resisted initially, fearing the music would interfere with his mental preparation for the show, but then felt remorseful and agreed to hear the demo. He was "blown away," and the association led first to a record contract for Wan Santo Condo, and then to a collaboration between the two. He also recruited him to work on Harper's album Both Sides Of The Gun. Mozersky recommended Ingalls and Richardson to Harper, thus yielding the song Serve Your Soul.
In November 2008, the band debuted their new material on the Vote For Change Tour for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, where they also breathed new life into the Queen & David Bowie classic Under Pressure which has since become a staple of their live set. They ended the year cutting their teeth with a series of small club shows from famed venues such as Spaceland and The Mint in Los Angeles, to The Mercury Lounge and Kenny's Castaway in NYC. The band is scheduled to tour extensively across the world in 2009.
Their debut album White Lies For Dark Times released on May 5th, 2009.
http://relentless7.benharper.com
Lay There & Hate Me
Ben Harper and Relentless7 Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Lay there and burn
One side to the other
You toss and turn
Never trust a woman, never trust a woman
Who loves the blues
Mistake number one, I made it three times today
I feel like an underpaid concubine
Who has overstayed her welcome
You gave me an eight-page letter, front and back
Written in your favorite colors, blood and black
Choose your words as careful as you'd choose your own gravestone
You lay there and hate me, better than being alone
Had to fight your way in, you got to fight your way out
Ain't no fool like the fool you love
So let me hear you shout
Shake down, break down
Just can't sit still
You cut off your hair and sold it
For your pretty little pill
I've learned some things about myself I wish I didn't know
You gave me an eight-page letter, from front and back
Written in your favorite colors, blood and black
You choose your words as careful as you'd choose your own gravestone
You lay there and hate me, better than being alone
Had to fight your way in, you got to fight your way out
Ain't no fool like the one you love
Now let me hear you, hear you shout
Lay there and hate me
Cold as a stone
I just hope it's better than sitting alone
Never trust a woman who loves the blues
Gave me an eight-page letter, front and back
Written in your favorite colors, blood and black
You choose your words as careful as you'd choose your own gravestone
Lay there and hate me, better than being alone
Had to fight your way in, now you got to fight your way out
Ain't no fool like the fool you love
So let me hear you, let me hear you shout
I said let me her you, let me hear you
Let me hear you shout!
Yeah, yeah
You just lay there with a 8 page letter
With your favorite colors, blood and black
The first verse of "Lay There & Hate Me" by Ben Harper and Relentless7 talks about the aftermath of a broken relationship. The persona invites the person who he was once with to lay beside him and hate him rather than being alone. There is evidently something that went wrong, and the relationship came crashing down. He describes how the other person is tossing and turning, moving from one side of the bed to the other. He advises that we should not trust women who love the blues.
In the second verse, the persona talks about how he is feeling. He says that the mistake he made is the same mistake he has made three times in a day. The persona and the other person have nothing left to say to each other. He explains that he feels like an underpaid concubine, one who has overstayed her welcome. The other person gave him an eight-page letter, front and back, with words that were written in the person's favorite colors, blood, and black. Through the letter, the persona was told to choose his words carefully as he would choose his own gravestone.
Line by Line Meaning
Lay there and hate me
The person is asked to lay there and hate the singer.
Lay there and burn
The person is asked to lie there and feel intense anger.
One side to the other
The person is unable to sleep and keeps tossing and turning.
You toss and turn
The person is unable to sleep and keeps tossing and turning.
Never trust a woman, never trust a woman
The singer warns the person not to trust a woman who loves the blues.
Mistake number one, I made it three times today
The singer has made the same mistake three times today.
We'd best talk over how there is nothing left to say
The singer suggests talking over the fact that there is nothing left to say.
I feel like an underpaid concubine
The singer feels used and undervalued.
Who has overstayed her welcome
The singer feels unwelcome.
You gave me an eight-page letter, front and back
The person gave the singer a long letter.
Written in your favorite colors, blood and black
The letter was written using the person's favorite colors - blood and black.
Choose your words as careful as you'd choose your own gravestone
The singer urges the person to choose their words carefully.
You lay there and hate me, better than being alone
The person prefers to hate the singer rather than be alone.
Had to fight your way in, you got to fight your way out
The person had to fight to get in and now has to fight their way out.
Ain't no fool like the fool you love
The singer believes that the person is a fool for loving them.
So let me hear you shout
The singer wants the person to shout.
Shake down, break down
The person is restless and can't sit still.
Just can't sit still
The person is restless and can't sit still.
You cut off your hair and sold it
The person cut off their hair and sold it for a pretty little pill.
For your pretty little pill
The person sold their hair for a pill.
I've learned some things about myself I wish I didn't know
The singer has learned some things about themselves that they wish they didn't know.
Cold as a stone
The person is cold and unresponsive.
I just hope it's better than sitting alone
The singer hopes the person's hatred is better than being alone.
Gave me an eight-page letter, front and back
The person gave the singer a long letter.
Written in your favorite colors, blood and black
The letter was written using the person's favorite colors - blood and black.
Lay there and hate me, better than being alone
The person prefers to hate the singer rather than be alone.
Had to fight your way in, now you got to fight your way out
The person had to fight to get in and now has to fight their way out.
Ain't no fool like the fool you love
The singer believes that the person is a fool for loving them.
So let me hear you, let me hear you shout
The singer wants the person to shout.
Yeah, yeah
An exclamation of agreement.
You just lay there with a 8 page letter
The person just lies there with a long letter.
With your favorite colors, blood and black
The letter was written using the person's favorite colors - blood and black.
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: BEN HARPER, JASON MOZERSKY, JESSE INGALLS, JORDAN RICHARDSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ZebbeCali
Still fire 12 years later
@jocat1980
I saw Ben Harper and Relentless 7 live in Dublin, Belfast and London back in June when they were supporting Pearl Jam. Loved them ever since!
@87red87
awesome song!
@TheJediJoker
Gotta love the Hot Rocks effect.
@SpecterGlamRadioElec
impresionante el bombo en el minuto 2,46. Muy elegante.
@mvellis3863
love the Gibson Firebird & Thunderbird
@bwalk1154
The first camera shot in this video has a striking resemblance to the cover of the Rolling Stone's Hot Rocks album. It works. Lay There and Hate Me and White Lies For Dark Times, as a whole, invoke nostalgia from that era of rock and roll.
@chuckdamiddleman
Ben for President!!!!
@federicofavaro5549
Amazing.
@alessandro.carvalho
2018 yeah...