Combining elements of both rock and folk music, along with disturbingly personal sentiments, dark humor, and a voice able to channel both the falsetto highs of Neil Young and the wavering raspy low tones of Leonard Cohen, Toronto's Hayden Desser has spent his career creating uniquely affecting music.
The critically-acclaimed musician first appeared in the early '90s armed with only his four-track tape recorder, his unexpectedly low vocal range, and an extremely detuned guitar. Going simply by the name Hayden, he recorded his self-released cassette, In September, in 1994, and much of the material included evolved into his first proper LP, 1995's Everything I Long For. Initially self-released on his own Hardwood Records, the debut disc toed the line between beautiful and horrifying, touching on simple details of human interaction as well as delving into macabre tales that still retained an oddly personal edge. After a year of touring Canada, E.T.I.L.F. was picked up by Outpost Recordings (Geffen) and was released worldwide in early 1996. Tours of the U.S., Europe and Japan took up most of 1996, as well as writing and recording the title track to the Steve Buscemi-directed Tree’s Lounge. Hayden’s second full-length record. The Closer I Get (1998) was recorded in Toronto, Bearsville, N.Y., Seattle and Los Angeles. After another year of touring, Hayden closed the book on chapter one of his musical endeavors.
The next couple of years went by without any performances, but during 2000, Hayden began writing and recording in his Toronto home. The self-produced collection of songs was titled Skyscraper National Park and was released in 2001 to world–wide critical acclaim.
The following year, a live concert double CD was released, Live at Convocation Hall, a glimpse, for the listener, into what makes Hayden’s appearances such a favourite among his ever devoted fan base. His natural rapport with the crowd, along with an honest demeanour, has continued Hayden’s reputation as a unique and charming performer.
In 2004, Hayden released his 4th studio album. Elk-Lake Serenade continued in the direction of Skyscraper with it’s collection of warm and memorable recordings. 2004 also heralded Hayden’s return to the road with several tours that took him as far as Australia and New Zealand.
After a long period of writing and recording, Hayden returned in early 2008 with his 5th full-length studio record. In Field & Town is his most musically diverse and textured record to date. It captures his penchant for self-referential fiction and emotionally heavy songs and laces them with sharp hooks and smart lyrics. After supporting The National in Europe in November of ‘07, Hayden completed a sold-out theatre tour of Canada as well as spring and fall North American tours supporting Feist. In Field & Town was released on Fat Possum in the U.S.A. and November saw the release in Europe via the Affairs of the Heart label, combined with Nov./Dec. dates in the UK, France, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and Germany.
www.hardwoodrecords.com
www.myspace.com/hayden
Half for Me
Hayden Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Smokers
So they'd meet
Outside every twenty minutes, when we all used to hang out.
Soon they became drawn
To each other and anticipated
The next time they'd meet and we had no idea.
The four of us, the two of them;
One night they announced
To us
They were going
To go for a walk and soon they began splitting packs in half.
Half for him, and half
For her.
Half for me is half
For sure.
The lyrics to "Half for Me" by Hayden speaks about a group of friends hanging out with two individuals who were the only smokers among them. The two individuals soon became attracted to each other, and the group of friends had no idea about it. One night, the couple announced to the group that they were going for a walk, and they began splitting their cigarette packs in half - half for him, half for her. The phrase "half for me is half for sure" suggests that the couple would always share what they had equally with each other.
The song portrays a sense of nostalgia and reflection on a past relationship. The lyrics illustrate how two people can find each other in unexpected ways and how it can remain hidden from others. The act of "splitting packs in half" may represent how the couple split their things in half to symbolize equality in their relationship. The phrase "half for me is half for sure" can be interpreted as a commitment to sharing their life together equally.
Line by Line Meaning
They were the only
These two people were the only ones in their group who smoked cigarettes.
Smokers
They were addicted to nicotine and would smoke cigarettes regularly.
So they'd meet
To satisfy their cravings, they would meet outside every twenty minutes to smoke together.
Outside every twenty minutes, when we all used to hang out.
This behavior continued even when the whole group was hanging out, as they needed to take breaks to smoke.
Soon they became drawn
Over time, they became attracted to each other due to their shared habit and frequent interactions.
To each other and anticipated
They looked forward to every time they would meet and spend time together.
The next time they'd meet and we had no idea.
The other members of the group were unaware of the growing attraction between them.
The four of us, the two of them;
There were four people in the group, but the two smokers were becoming increasingly isolated from the others due to their growing connection.
My girlfriend, and my best friend.
The artist's girlfriend and best friend were the other two members of the group.
One night they announced
At some point, the smokers decided to make an announcement to the rest of the group.
To us
The announcement was made to the singer and the other non-smoking member of the group.
They were going
The smokers announced that they were going somewhere together.
To go for a walk and soon they began splitting packs in half.
They were going for a walk, during which they began dividing their cigarette packs into halves to share with each other.
Half for him, and half
Each of them would smoke half of the cigarettes in each divided pack.
For her.
This was a way for them to share their addiction and spending time together.
Half for me is half
The artist is saying that 'if they each smoke half of a divided pack, then there is only half of the cigarettes left for me.'
For sure.
This line is a playful way of the artist acknowledging the smokers' behavior and its impact on their social interactions.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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speakingfortrees
i love hayden and pioneer villages <3
John Mitchell
Nice Hayden and Pioneer Village!!
phlangephace
hell yes
roycactus
half for me and half for .. ya ...