Where the Headcoatees sound was a blend of girl-group sounds and three-chord garage-rock, with all the original songs coming from the pen of Billy Childish, Holly’s solo sound is more a blend of pre-rock electric blues, folk, soul and less frantic elements of rock & roll. Apart from the wide range of covers of such artists as Willie Dixon, Ike Turner, Lee Hazelwood, Wreckless Eric, and Bill Withers, Golightly also writes her own material.
Since her debut LP in 1995, Golightly has been very prolific, releasing fifteen albums and a bounty of singles for a wide variety of labels. Holly’s sound has remained remarkably consistent throughout, but each record has a quality that sets it apart from the other releases.
In 1999 Surefire released an LP, In Blood, on which Billy Childish and Holly Golightly sing duets and the two of them celebrate One Chord, One Sound, One Song.
2001’s Desperate Little Town, released on Sympathy for The Record Industry, another collaboration (this time with Dan Melchior) marked a bit of a stylistic diversion as it is a relaxed and mostly acoustic record. In the same year she also collected up all thirteen of her singles and E.P’s onto one double album called Single’s Round-Up.
After playing several shows with The White Stripes, in the USA, and then supporting them at their some of their London shows, Holly has been good friends with Jack and Meg for some time, recording a duet with them ’It’s True That We Love One Another’, for their album Elephant.
Holly has also recorded in the US with The Greenhornes and they released a special Christmas 2002 single together on Damaged Goods called Little Stars. Holly appeared on the Greenhornes album Dual Mono which is out in the States on Telstar. And Holly sings lead vocal on the track ’There’s An End’, which featured as the title track for the film, Broken Flowers.
Over the years Holly has been guest vocalist on various other bands projects, including live with Mudhoney and on several Rocket From The Crypt releases. Her most recent album 2005’s ’Slowly But Surely’ released on Damaged Goods and recorded, as usual, by Liam Watson at ToeRag Studios in London.
There was also a 7", ’Walk A Mile’ taken from the album, with an exclusive b-side Don’t Fuck Around With Love featuring the ever wonderful Sexton Ming.
Sites: MySpace.
Holly Golightly is also the name of an indiepop band from Germany who released a four track 7" single in 1992.
I Can't Stand It
Holly Golightly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a kickin' on the floor
I can't stand the pain of love,
But I could even stand some more
But when I hear you say,
That you will go away
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand up for my rights,
When the goin gets tough
I Can't Stand up in a fight,
When I know that I've had enough
But when I hear you say
That you will go away
Yeah and leave me someday
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't
I can't stand the pain of life,
It's a kickin' on the floor
I can't stand the pain of love,
But I could even stand some more
But when I hear you say,
That you will go away
Yeah and leave me someday
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
I Can't
The lyrics of Holly Golightly's song "I Can't Stand It" express a sense of helplessness and despair in the face of life's challenges and the threat of losing someone she loves. The repeating phrases "I can't stand the pain of life" and "I can't stand the pain of love" create a feeling of overwhelming emotional burden, with the latter statement even suggesting a willingness to endure even more pain. However, these sentiments are contrasted with an acknowledgment of personal weakness and an inability to stand up for oneself or fight back when faced with difficult situations.
In the chorus, the lyrics take on a more urgent tone as the singer expresses a fear of abandonment, crying out "I can't stand it" multiple times. The repetition of this phrase emphasizes the emotional intensity of the singer's feelings and emphasizes the sense of desperation and despair expressed throughout the song. In the end, there is no sense of resolution or happy ending, just an acknowledgement of the singer's limitations and emotional struggles.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't stand the pain of life,
It's a kickin' on the floor
Life is painful and distressing, and it feels like I'm being relentlessly beaten by life's struggles.
I can't stand the pain of love,
But I could even stand some more
Love hurts, but I can endure it even though it's painful.
But when I hear you say,
That you will go away
Yeah and leave me someday
I Can't Stand It
(I Can't Stand It)
When I hear that you might leave me someday, it's too much to bear, and I can't endure the thought of losing you.
I Can't Stand up for my rights,
When the goin gets tough
When things get difficult, I don't have the strength to stand up for myself and assert my rights.
I Can't Stand up in a fight,
When I know that I've had enough
When I've reached my limit in a fight, I can no longer stand up for myself and fight back.
I Can't
I'm completely overwhelmed and unable to cope with the pain and stress I'm feeling.
Contributed by Evan L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.