Hüsker Dü was a punk band from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, active from… Read Full Bio ↴Hüsker Dü was a punk band from Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, active from 1979 to 1987. The band consisted of Bob Mould (guitars, vocals), Greg Norton (bass) and Grant Hart (1961 – 2017) (drums, vocals). Mould and Hart split the song-writing duties. The band was never widely popular, but had an impact much larger than sales might indicate. "Husker Du" is Danish/Norwegian for "Do You Remember" (also a popular children's game as Hūsker Dū?). Hüsker Dü first gained notice as a hardcore band, with thrashing tempos & screamed vocals, but also with a melodic, soulful edge that became more pronounced in the band's mid-career, as they drifted away from their early sound. They were also a striking trio on stage — far different from the typical hardcore band of the time — with Mould's hulking, doughy presence shouting angrily at stage left, offset by the generally unkempt, long-haired Hart flailing on the drums, and the lanky, good-natured Norton, who sported a waxed handlebar moustache for most of the band's career.

Hüsker Dü broke with the anti-traditionalist ethos of most early hardcore bands. Their early songwriting shows the influence of folk, 1960s pop music, blues, and other forms (although often buried under a thick layer of angst and aggression), and has a strong melodic sense. The lyrics made astute, sharp, personal and social commentary, showing a great deal of vulnerability and sympathy for their subjects. Hüsker Dü's songwriting was widely admired, and their live shows were often a venue for brilliant improvisational playing. (A feedback-laden solo guitar performance from an early-'80s soundcheck tape merited release via the avant-garde Telus Magazine.) Hüsker Dü were also, however, widely regarded as somewhat unusual-sounding in their early prime, due to the instruments' non-standard tones: Mould's guitar is described below, while Hart's drums were considered 'thumpy' (and he consistently played slightly behind the beat); Norton played bass fairly laconically even at fast tempos, using his fingers rather than a pick. The band's sound can be considered an organic synthesis of these elements -- a unit that was quite powerful in combination, yet perhaps difficult to parse singly.

A particular strength of the group was the two powerhouse singer/songwriters, Mould and Hart. The tension between their musical styles (Mould was generally the angrier songwriter, Hart the more melodic one), and their willingness to collaborate, made the sum of their contributions greater than their parts. Another strength was Mould's unique, resonant guitar sound, described by a critic at the time as "molten metal pouring from the speakers." Mid-period Hüsker Dü songs are immediately recognizable via Mould's incandescent guitar tone, achieved by splitting the signal in the studio between amplified and direct tones and adding a light stereo chorus effect. Mould's technique involved playing resonant drone notes on the high strings. Although a trio, Hüsker Dü generally sounded extremely large on record and live.

The group is also notable as one of the first 1980s American underground rock bands to contract with a major record label, a move that blazed the trail for the rise of alternative rock a few years later. Another key Minneapolis band who served as an alternative rock icebreaker was The Replacements, who had a friendly rivalry with Hüsker Dü.

Mould has gone on to release other albums, including a recent solo double album release called Body of Song. Prior to that he took a stint as a writer for World Championship Wrestling (WCW) scripting scenarios and fights.

Grant Hart died from cancer on September 14, 2017.

Charity Chastity Prudence and Hope
Hüsker Dü Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

She gave her little child a name
A ward of welfare she became
And then one day she met a man
Digging through the trash for cans

Charity, chastity
Prudence, and hope

It was his aluminum
That attracted her to him
And quite a day there did unfold
Turning garbage into gold

Charity, chastity
Prudence, and hope

Charity, chastity
Prudence, and hope

She took that money in a trunk
And bought a bunch of worthless junk
And now they're back where they began
Digging through the trash for cans

Charity, chastity
Prudence, and hope

Charity, chastity
Prudence, and hope

Charity, chastity
Prudence, and hope

Charity, chastity
Prudence, and hope

Overall Meaning

At its core, "Charity Chastity Prudence and Hope" is a story about poverty and the desperation that can arise from living in it. The first verse describes a woman who has had to resort to welfare and is raising a child alone. This woman then meets a man who is also digging through the trash to survive. They are united by their shared hardship, and the man's discovery of valuable aluminum cans becomes a symbol of hope for them.

The repeated refrain of "Charity, chastity, Prudence, and hope" can be seen as ironic or even bitterly sarcastic. These are the traditional theological virtues, which were seen as central to living a good life in Christian tradition. However, in the context of this song, they seem distant and disconnected from the reality of life in poverty. The two characters in the story seem to be driven more by despair and desperation than any sense of loftier ideals.

By the end of the song, the woman and the man have bought some "worthless junk" with the money they earned from selling the aluminum cans. They have returned to the same life of sifting through garbage, no better off for their brief respite from poverty. Overall, the song paints a bleak picture of the cycle of poverty and the difficulty of breaking it.

Line by Line Meaning

She gave her little child a name
The woman had a child and named them

A ward of welfare she became
The woman and her child were receiving government welfare support

And then one day she met a man
The woman met a man

Digging through the trash for cans
The man was searching through garbage to collect aluminum cans

It was his aluminum
The man had aluminum cans

That attracted her to him
The woman was drawn to the man because of his cans

And quite a day there did unfold
Something significant happened during their interaction

Turning garbage into gold
They turned trash into something valuable

She took that money in a trunk
The woman collected the money they earned from the aluminum cans

And bought a bunch of worthless junk
The woman spent the money on things that had no value

And now they're back where they began
They are once again searching through trash for cans

Charity, chastity, Prudence, and hope
These four virtues are mentioned throughout the song, possibly representing the values the characters should have upheld

Charity, chastity, Prudence, and hope
Reiterating the importance of these virtues

Charity, chastity, Prudence, and hope
These virtues are repeated again

Charity, chastity, Prudence, and hope
The song ends with a fourth repetition of the four virtues

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: GRANT HART

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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Comments from YouTube:

chrisjaybecker

5y↑5

This may be my favorite Husker song... Grant's voice and hook-laden songwriting combined with Bob's melodic riffing... that insistent treble-heavy fuzztone... amazing.

Aidan Cosky

8y↑10

This might be my favorite Hüsker Dü song.

Jack Merlot Doesn't Live Here Anymore

4y↑1

Hey! Unusual to bump into someone familiar enough with Hüsker Dü to pick favorites, but this was in fact the first Hüsker song I searched for today, because it is one of my favorites, too.