A third-generation musician, who loves music, whiskey and rowdy good times, Hoge fits the profile of a typical, lifelong Nashville resident. But the 25-year-old is also part of a growing community of artists who call Nashville home, but do not ascribe to the city's time-honored twang. But even among those artists, the mix of pop and R&B featured on Hoge's 11-song debut with Epic Records, Call It What You Want, is one-of-a-kind. "Nashville will always be country, but this town is filled with musicians who are open to everything from Bill Monroe to Bill Withers," says Hoge, whose voice is honeyed by a good-old-boy drawl. "That's why there are so many different kinds of music being made here today, for example - rock bands like Kings of Leon. Music City USA used to mean only country, but that's changing."
Hoge traces his old-school R&B roots back to the extensive library of music collected by his dad, a rock singer signed to Epic in the 60s. "A lot of it was passed down to him from his father, who played jazz in the 40s," Hoge explains. "My older brother, who's a popular indie rocker, inherited all of my dad's rock records and I was drawn to all of his soul and R&B music. The first record I can remember hearing was by Jackie Wilson. I fell in love with the way he used his voice like an instrument. It blew me away."
Hoge never outgrew his love for soul music and as a teenager started listening to modern R&B superstars such as Babyface, Boyz II Men and Brian McKnight. Later, he began performing at high school talent shows and at clubs in Nashville on songwriter nights. "Making music is a big part of the culture here. I wrote songs and sang just for fun and to impress girls," he says with a mischievous laugh.
That all changed a few years after high school when Hoge began singing demos of pop songs written by country songwriters. "I was working at a record company running the mailrooms for their biggest artists, when someone found out that I could sing," he recalls. "The next thing I know, I was behind a microphone."
Around the time Hoge got serious about music he also got serious about a girl. Following his heart, he packed up his life and left Nashville behind to follow her to Los Angeles. To make a long story short, things did not work out, and Hoge drove back home to Nashville in a U-Haul. "It was just me going cross-country for 40 hours with my pug, Nelly," he recalls. "I was so pissed about everything that I wound up writing most of the album on the drive home."
Propelled by a fluttering acoustic guitar, smoothed out beats and Hoge admonishing his former lover with, "You do somebody wrong, before too long it's gonna get done to you," Hoge says the first single, "360," helped him work through the break up. "It sounds like a sweet love song, but when you listen to the lyrics what you hear is raw emotion coming through," he explains. "It's the perfect break-up song hoping someone hurts them as much as they hurt you."
Call It What You Want is filled with R&B jams with a rock edge, sexy dance-pop and silky ballads that showcase Hoge's crisp songwriting and dexterous voice. He shifts effortlessly from sweet falsetto to libidinous growl on the driving dance floor track, "Call It," a song inspired by Hoge's experience trying to take a friendship to the next level. "Sometimes when you define a relationship lovers or friends you ruin it," he explains. "In a perfect world, people should listen to their hearts and not to their friends who want to complicate things by slapping some meaningless label on a simple feeling. If it feels right, don't question it; let it develop naturally."
With its opening line, "Well I'm not lying baby, didn't plan on spying baby," Hoge says the guitar-based R&B come-on "Work That Body" is the confession of an accidental peeping tom. "I was trying to capture the magic of those random moments of infatuation, like seeing a pretty girl at the stop light and falling in love until the light turns green," he explains.
Featuring performances by members of John Mellencamp's band, "Take It Or Leave It" embraces the instruments and attitude that made Nashville famous and gives Hoge a chance to put his own unique stamp on the city's sound. "I'm proud of my roots and this song is a declaration of who I am and where I'm from," he says. "To me, the screaming Dobro and thumping backbeat, are the sounds of my two worlds country and city colliding."
To record the string arrangements that give the album closer, "Undone," it's celestial edge, Hoge traveled to Philadelphia the home of one of his favs Boyz II Men. A reflection on the emotional journey that inspired the album, Hoge says the sensitive ballad gives the album a sense of resolution. "You can't let the losses in your life define you," he says. "For me, making Call It What You Want was a healing process and this song is the scar that's left over; a symbol of survival."
Stay Away
Josh Hoge Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Took a year for me to figure out
How to live without you not around
I used to lie awake at night
Playing back the day you said goodbye
Remember when you walked out the door
Said you didn't want me anymore
Thought I'd never get over you
Now that I'm finally out back on my feet
Then you start saying you been missing me
Then showing up at places I might be
Don't take this personal girl
Chorus
Stay away
There's only so much that my heart can take
If you get too close you know
It's a touch and a kiss, then you're off and I'm wishing
I never made this damn mistake
Baby please stay
Stay away from me
Verse 2
Now I don't need to hear what'cha think
So turn around and walk the other way
Can't believe that you can just pretend
But make believe that we can still be friends
Now we won't know that if we start this up
It won't be long before we're making love
And I don't wanna be burned again
Girl you had your chance
So if you really care for me at all
Don't look me in the eyes
Don't try to call
Just take your pictures down
From off my wall
You'll get too close to me girl
Chorus 1x
Know you gonna tear me apart (you're in my heart)
Don't wanna go back to the start (I've come too far)
Stay away
OOoh OoOoh
Chorus 2x
The lyrics to Josh Hoge's song Stay Away tell the story of someone who has had their heartbroken and have finally moved on after a year of pain and heartache. The singer has finally figured out how to live without their lover and has found peace within themselves. But just when they were finally able to get back on their feet, the lover comes back and starts saying they've been missing them, showing up at places they might be. The singer is torn because they've already moved on and can't take anymore of the pain that the lover brings back into their life. They beg the lover to "stay away from me" and not tear them apart anymore.
The first verse sets up the story and describes the pain that the singer felt when their lover left them. They used to lie awake playing back the day it happened, and they thought they'd never get over it. But they finally did after a year of healing. However, when the lover comes back, the singer's wounds are reopened, and they beg them to stay away. The chorus emphasizes this plea, saying that if the lover gets too close, it's only a touch and a kiss before they're off again, leaving the singer wishing they had never made the mistake of letting them back in their life.
The second verse is more forceful, telling the lover to turn around and walk the other way. The singer is tired of the mixed signals and pretending that they can still be friends. They know that if they start things up again, it won't be long before they are making love, and they don't want to be burned again. The singer is done with the pain the lover brings, and they implore them not to get too close, take their pictures down from their wall and not to look them in the eyes or try to call.
Line by Line Meaning
Took a year for me to figure out
It took me a long time to realize how to live without you.
How to live without you not around
I learned how to live without you being present in my life.
I used to lie awake at night
I spent sleepless nights thinking about you.
Playing back the day you said goodbye
I kept replaying the day you left me in my mind.
Remember when you walked out the door
I still recall the moment when you left me.
Said you didn't want me anymore
You explicitly said that you didn't want me in your life anymore.
Thought I'd never get over you
I initially thought that I could never move on from you.
What'cha trying to do
I don't understand your intentions.
Now that I'm finally out back on my feet
I have finally recovered from the pain and am living my life again.
Then you start saying you been missing me
Now, you suddenly express that you have been missing me.
Then showing up at places I might be
You are now frequently visiting places where we might cross paths.
Don't take this personal girl
Please don't be upset with me for asking you to stay away.
If you get too close you know
You should know that if you get too close to me, it will lead to physical intimacy.
It's a touch and a kiss, then you're off and I'm wishing
We may share a touch and a kiss, but that's it, and I'll regret it after.
I never made this damn mistake
I don't want to make the same mistakes again.
Now I don't need to hear what'cha think
I am not interested in hearing your opinion on this matter.
So turn around and walk the other way
Please turn around and leave me alone.
Can't believe that you can just pretend
I cannot believe that you can act as if nothing has happened.
But make believe that we can still be friends
You are pretending that we can still be friends, which is not possible.
Now we won't know that if we start this up
If we get intimate again, we won't know if it will end up badly or not.
It won't be long before we're making love
We may start with a touch and a kiss, but it may lead to physical intimacy.
And I don't wanna be burned again
I do not want to be hurt emotionally again.
Girl you had your chance
You already had a chance to be with me, and you left.
So if you really care for me at all
If you truly care for me, then you should stay away from me.
Don't look me in the eyes
Please avoid direct eye contact with me.
Don't try to call
Please do not try to call me anymore.
Just take your pictures down
Remove your pictures from my wall, as I don't want to be reminded of you anymore.
From off my wall
Please take your pictures down from my wall.
Know you gonna tear me apart (you're in my heart)
I know that staying away from you will be difficult, as you are still in my heart.
Don't wanna go back to the start (I've come too far)
I don't want to go back to the beginning, as I have made a lot of progress without you.
Contributed by Katherine N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
ragner rainer
Oohh, yeaa
Took a year for me to figure out
How to live without you not around
I used to lie awake at night
Playing back the day you said goodbye
Remember when you walked out the door
Said you didn't want me anymore
Thought I'd never get over you
What'cha trying to do
Now that I'm finally out back on my feet
Then you start saying you been missing me
Then showing up at places I might be
Don't take this personal girl
Chorus
Stay away
There's only so much that my heart can take
If you get too close you know
It's a touch and a kiss, then you're off and I'm wishing
I never made this damn mistake
Baby please stay
Stay away from me
Verse 2
Now I don't need to hear what'cha think
So turn around and walk the other way
Can't believe that you can just pretend
But make believe that we can still be friends
Now we won't know that if we start this up
It won't be long before we're making love
And I don't wanna be burned again
Girl you had your chance
So if you really care for me at all
Don't look me in the eyes
Don't try to call
Just take your pictures down
From off my wall
You'll get too close to me girl
Chorus 1x
Know you gonna tear me apart (you're in my heart)
Don't wanna go back to the start (I've come too far)
Stay away
OOoh OoOoh
Chorus 2x