Before her days in Ash, Hatherley was playing in the obscure punk rock band, Nightnurse, from the age of 16. They received moderate success, and Ash frontman Tim Wheeler was present at one of their gigs. She was later recruited as the fourth and final member. Her first album with the group was 1998s Nu Clear Sounds where she provided lead guitar for all tracks and also wrote the song WildSurf which appears on the album.
Apart from this, Hatherley mainly contributed to Ash with soulful guitar and some backing vocals, co-writing the odd song with Wheeler. The title track from Hatherley's first solo album, Grey Will Fade had previously been featured as a B-side to one of Ash's singles. The rest of the band had liked the song, yet felt it wasn't consistent with Ash's sound, and supported Hatherley when she decided to record her own album. This debut album, relased in 2004, has more than proved her songwriting ability. The three singles, Bastardo, Kim Wilde and Summer all received high praise from critics, as well as the album itself.
The videos to the tracks Bastardo and Summer were directed by her ex-boyfriend, Edgar Wright, who is best known as the director of the film "Shaun Of The Dead", which incidentally featured two tracks from Ash's fourth album proper Meltdown, the title track and Orpheus.
On January 20th 2006, she announced her departure from Ash, to pursue her solo career further.
Her first material since her departure from Ash came in the form of the Behave EP which featured tracks from her second album and was released on December 18 2006 on two formats - 7" vinyl and digital download. The EP featured the title track Behave as well as other tracks from her second album including Cousteau and Mr Ed.
Her second album, The Deep Blue, was released in March 2007 on her own label Little Sister Records which was founded by Charlotte together with her manager Ann-Marie Shields. Between this and the release of her 2009 third solo effort, New Worlds, she played with Bat for Lashes as a touring guitarist, and has played bass with Client since December 2007.
Dawn Treader
Charlotte Hatherley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On thin ice, tippin' but balanced
Oh no, oh not again
From afar the dawn treader has come
here to sail us all into the shredder
Oh once again
put underneath the knife
Oh what will happen to
the me and you I love
In hot water burning up nice we are
floating freely under the hammer
oh no, oh not again
From afar the dawn treader has come
crossing anchor round into the never
Oh not again
Our one and only life
put underneath the knife
Oh what will happen to
the me and you I love
Love, love, love
Swim to him baby
out of the mile
Sing to your daddy
go tell the choir
last way to come in
didn't you know
Some kind of city
Oh Calypso
I can almost see it now, now
Our one and only life
put underneath the knife
Oh what will happen to
the me and you I love
Oh what will happen to
the me and you I love
Oh what will happen to
the me and you I love
Love, love, love
Love, love, love
The song "Dawn Treader" by Charlotte Hatherley talks about the fear of the unknown and the uncertainties of the future. The first verse suggests that the singer has been having nightmares where things are always going wrong, perhaps indicating her anxiety about the future. The second verse reflects her belief that there is a great danger and that the "Dawn Treader" has come to take them all to the shredder, which represents ultimate destruction. She is scared that she will lose everything that she loves, as symbolised by the lines "Our one and only life put underneath the knife. Oh, what will happen to the me and you I love?"
The third verse introduces a glimmer of hope as the singer sings, "Swim to him baby, out of the mile, Sing to your daddy, go tell the choir." It suggests that there might be a way to escape or at least to find refuge from the impending danger. The final lines of the song repeat the questions and concerns of the singer about what may happen to the things and people that she loves.
Line by Line Meaning
In the night I dream that it's over
At night, I imagine that everything is coming to a tragic end.
On thin ice, tippin' but balanced
I'm in a precarious position, but somehow managing to stay upright.
Oh no, oh not again
I can't believe this is happening again.
From afar the dawn treader has come
A potentially destructive force is approaching from a distance, represented by the 'Dawn Treader.'
here to sail us all into the shredder
This force is going to lead us all towards destruction, represented here as a shredder.
Oh once again
This has happened before, and now it's happening again.
Our one and only life
Our existence is precious, and we should cherish it.
put underneath the knife
However, our existence is under threat, and we might lose it at any moment.
Oh what will happen to
I am deeply concerned about what will become of
the me and you I love
myself and the people who matter to me.
In hot water burning up nice we are
We are in a difficult situation that's causing us a lot of stress and discomfort.
floating freely under the hammer
We feel helpless and at the mercy of external forces, like a piece of metal being hammered into shape.
crossing anchor round into the never
The harmful force represented by the Dawn Treader is taking us deeper into the unknown, towards a never-ending abyss.
Love, love, love
Through all of this, love is the one thing that keeps me going.
Swim to him baby
Someone is reaching out to me, and I should take the opportunity to connect with them.
out of the mile
This person is at a distance, but not too far out of reach.
Sing to your daddy
I should appeal to someone who holds more power and authority than me, like a child looking up to their father figure.
go tell the choir
I should spread the message to a larger group, to get more voices to join in and support me.
last way to come in
This is the final opportunity for change to occur.
didn't you know
This possibility was there all along, and we should have acted sooner.
Some kind of city
There is a new opportunity, like a bustling city waiting to be explored.
Oh Calypso
This opportunity is representative of something joyful and exciting, like the music of Calypo that is bound to make people dance.
I can almost see it now, now
I can sense the promise of this new opportunity is almost within my reach.
Love, love, love
Regardless of what happens, love will always be my guiding force.
Love, love, love
And it's something that we should all focus on and cherish as we move forward.
Contributed by Jake F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Ade Swatridge
Lovely voice. Lovely song. You can hear the Andy Partridge chords clearly. So clever that you never quite know where it's going next on first listen..a voyage of discovery!
thepollyannasociety
It's Andy Partridge meets Kate Bush (which would have been a perfect pairing). Just lovely.