Hazeldine were an American alternative country band formed in 1997 in Albuq… Read Full Bio ↴Hazeldine were an American alternative country band formed in 1997 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Members were Shawn Barton (vocals, guitar), Tonya Lam (guitar, backing-vocals) and Anne Tkach (bass). Their first record, "How Bees Fly", was released on the German independent record label Glitterhouse Records, which garnered a strong European following. They were voted best new artist in German Rolling Stone the next year and toured extensively overseas during the years 1997-2001. They toured with bands such as Lazy Sunday Dream, Go To Blazes, Wilco and Smog.

They signed a deal and recorded their second cd "Digging You Up" with the major label Polydor after the success of their Glitterhouse cd, but the relationship soured due to a music industry merger when the record company was "swallowed" by the Universal Music Group. The band was dropped.

Their Polydor release "Digging You Up" was released in Europe just before the buy out but was never released in the US. While recording "Digging You Up" in Los Angeles, the band also recorded a cd of covers called "Orphans". Songs by such bands as Radiohead, Gram Parsons and Neutral Milk Hotel were covered. It was recorded live in 3 days with the assistance of Walter Salas-Humara (The Silos) on drums, and producer Jeff Robinson. Steve Earle's E Squared label distributed "Orphans" in the states, and Glitterhouse took over distro duties once again in Europe.

In 2001, Hazeldine recorded "Doubleback" in North Carolina with Chris Stamey producing. Released on the American indie Okratone label, the band toured for the last time overseas in 2002, when Tonya was seven months pregnant. They occasionally reunite for shows in the states and overseas.

Lamm currently tours and records with Tres Chicas, Tkach plays and sings for numerous bands, among them Bad Folk, and Barton is married and living in Jacksonville, Florida.

Heart of Darkness
Hazeldine Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

[Verse 1:]
She laid her head
On my chest
As the sun burned
Down the west
There´s one thing we still got
This one last dance in this parking lot

[Chorus:]
Oh yeah I, I got a heart of darkness
Oh yeah I, I got a heart of darkness

[Verse 2:]
Then she woke up
Into the fire
And the flames kept
Dancing higher

Satan would laugh at her screams
Then she woke up from her dreams

Overall Meaning

The song Heart of Darkness by Hazeldine is a poignant ballad about a couple who appears to have reached the end of their relationship. The opening verse pictures the couple sitting in a parking lot, watching the sunset while the female lays her head on the male's chest. Despite the scene's apparent romance, it appears that there is a heavy undercurrent of sadness and despair that is slowly creeping up to the surface, amplified by the line "As the sun burned down the west." This phrase could be interpreted to mean that the beauty in their lives is slowly fading away or that something is coming to an end.

The chorus reinforces this point by repeating the line "Oh yeah, I got a heart of darkness," which further emphasizes the theme of sadness, desperation, and confusion. In the second verse, the female protagonist seems to have woken up in the middle of a nightmare, with flames dancing higher around her, and Satan laughing at her screams. The song's ominous tone is reinforced by the metaphor of darkness in the chorus and the allusion to the apocalypse in the second verse. In conclusion, "Heart of Darkness" depicts the decline of a love affair as it spirals into the depths of despair and uncertainty.

Line by Line Meaning

She laid her head
She rested her head on my chest as we stood watching the sunset

On my chest
She leaned into me, finding comfort and solace in my embrace

As the sun burned
We stood there watching as the sun set, basking in its warm glow

Down the west
The sun set in the western sky, casting a warm, orange light across the landscape

There´s one thing we still got
Despite whatever hardships we may be facing, we still have this one moment together

This one last dance in this parking lot
We hold each other close, swaying to the music in the empty parking lot

Oh yeah I, I got a heart of darkness
I possess a dark, troubled heart that I struggle to understand and control

Then she woke up
Suddenly, she snapped out of her trance-like state

Into the fire
She found herself in a dangerous, high-pressure situation

And the flames kept
The fire raged on, threatening her safety and well-being

Dancing higher
The flames seemed to leap and dance higher and higher, intensifying the danger

Satan would laugh at her screams
The situation was so dire that it felt as if even Satan, the embodiment of evil, would take pleasure in her suffering

Then she woke up from her dreams
Only then did she realize that it had all been a nightmare, a terrifying and unsettling experience

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MARK LINKOUS

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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