Pratt was raised by her mother, who exposed her to a broad range of artists, including Tim Buckley, X, and the Gun Club. She learned to play the guitar around the age of 15, after her older brother gave up playing his Stratocaster. She took his guitar and started practising with the T. Rex album, Electric Warrior. She was soon able to play the guitar parts of the whole record. She eventually began recording songs at the age of 16, using her mother's Fender guitar amp and microphone.
After she moved to San Francisco, she was introduced to Tim Presley's solo project, White Fence, through Presley's brother, who was her roommate for three years. In the following years, Presley heard Pratt's demo songs through her then-boyfriend, who had posted her songs on Facebook. He eventually contacted her to release her music.
Pratt's self-titled debut album was released in 2012 through Presley's label, Birth Records. Produced by Craig Gotsill, the album featured the songs that were originally recorded in 2007 over analogue tape. The initial 500 pressings of the sold out in less than two weeks. It received attention from many music websites and magazines, including Pitchfork (website), Consequence of Sound[3] and PopMatters.
In January 2014, she revealed the studio version of a new track, "Game That I Play."
In October 2014, Pratt announced her sophomore album, On Your Own Love Again.
In October 2018, she announced her third album, Quiet Signs, and released a video for a new track, "This Time Around." Pitchfork reviewed the song, giving it the Best New Music designation and noting a stylistic shift, comparing it to "a Tropicalia version of a Christmas song, or a ’60s jukebox standard playing in a beach town diner during the off-season."
According to Philip Cosores of Consequence of Sound, Pratt's music "displays a lyrical and musical range without straying from a palette of picked acoustic guitar and raw, bending vocals" and nods to "60′s folk, California classic rock, and the early 2000′s freak folk." She is compared to various folk artists, including Joni Mitchell, Joan Baez, Sibylle Baier, David Crosby and Karen Dalton. She also expressed admiration for Ariel Pink.
Hollywood
Jessica Pratt Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you sang so high to the angels
And you just dont want to come home
Cause you sang so high to Hollywood
Down where your mother used to go so low
Oh colored marigolds you go so low
Through the window, oh you go
Hollywood is tumbling down
And when you sing so low Hollywood is tumbling down
When you were just young
And you sang so high to the angels
And you just dont want to come home
Cause you sang so high to Hollywood
Down where your mother used to go so low
Oh colored marigolds you go so low
Through the window, oh you go
Hollywood is tumbling down
The opening verse of Jessica Pratt's song "Hollywood" paints a vivid picture of a young person's dreams of stardom in the entertainment capital of the world. The first two lines suggest that the singer was once a child with an angelic voice who dreamed of making it big in Hollywood. However, as the song progresses, it reveals the darker side of the entertainment industry, highlighted in the line "Down where your mother used to go so low."
The use of "colored marigolds" is an interesting choice of words, suggesting that the singer has "gone so low" in a similar way to the flowers that were once bright and beautiful but have now lost their vibrancy. The repetition of the line "Hollywood is tumbling down" reinforces the idea that the glitz and glamour of Hollywood are not as they seem, and that the industry is crumbling beneath the surface.
The final verse of the song seems to suggest that the singer is warning others about the perils of the entertainment industry, cautioning them to "watch out or you'll that you know." The repetition of the line "When you sing so low Hollywood is tumbling down" emphasizes that the industry is fragile and that it may not take much for it to come crashing down.
Overall, Jessica Pratt's "Hollywood" is a cautionary tale about the dark side of the entertainment industry and the toll it can take on those who pursue fame and fortune.
Line by Line Meaning
When you were just young
As a child, when you were innocent and naive
And you sang so high to the angels
You sang with passion and innocence that sounded like it could reach the heavens
And you just dont want to come home
You don't want to return to the reality of your home life
Cause you sang so high to Hollywood
You've been lured in by the glitz and glamor of Hollywood and don't want to give that up
Down where your mother used to go so low
You've seen the dark side of Hollywood that has taken its toll on your mother
Oh colored marigolds you go so low
That dark side is symbolized by the marigolds, now colored and beautiful, but still with roots in the darkness
Through the window, oh you go
You're leaving your home life behind to follow Hollywood's call
Hollywood is tumbling down
Despite its allure, Hollywood is ultimately a crumbling facade
And when you sing so low, watch out or you'll that you know
If you descend into the darkness of Hollywood, you risk losing yourself and forgetting who you truly are
And when you sing so low Hollywood is tumbling down
If you succumb to the traps of Hollywood, you will eventually realize its shortcomings and its eventual collapse
Writer(s): Jessica Pratt
Contributed by Grayson K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.