The daughter of Philip M. Hatfield (a radiologist) and The Boston Globe fashion critic Julie Hatfield, Hatfield was born in Maine and grew up in the Boston suburb of Duxbury. She acquired a love of rock music during the 1970s, having been introduced by a babysitter to the music of the seminal Los Angeles punk rock band X, which proved a life-changing experience. She was also attracted to the music of more mainstream artists like Olivia Newton-John and The Police, perhaps explaining the dialectic in her later music between sweet, melodic "pop" songs and more hard rock oriented material. Visualizing herself as a singer since her high school years, Hatfield sang in school choirs and briefly played in a cover band called The Squids, which played Queen and Rush songs.
Hatfield began her solo career following the Blake Babies' breakup in 1991, releasing her first solo album Hey Babe in 1992. The album was one of the highest selling independent albums of 1992. Hatfield recruited a rhythm section comprised of former Moving Targets and Bullet LaVolta drummer Todd Phillips, and Thudpucker bassist Dean Fisher, and thus becoming The Juliana Hatfield Three.
Hatfield achieved alterna-rock stardom with the release of 1993's Become What You Are (recorded under the group name The Juliana Hatfield Three). Several songs from the album received regular airplay on major North American rock stations, with Hatfield's song "My Sister" becoming the biggest hit of her career with the video becoming an MTV staple. Another one of her songs ("Spin the Bottle") was used in the soundtrack of the Hollywood film Reality Bites (1994). Hatfield also made the cover of Spin magazine. Hatfield's popularity coincided with the success, in the mid-1990s, of many other female musicians (such as Liz Phair, PJ Harvey, Belly, Letters to Cleo, Velocity Girl, The Breeders, Hole, Veruca Salt, Poe, Throwing Muses, Magnapop, Bettie Serveert). Although she has always maintained that her gender is of only incidental importance to her music, Hatfield was pleased to have been invited, in 1997, to tour with the first Lilith Fair, a prominent all-female rock festival founded by singer Sarah McLachlan. Hatfield was profiled in a number of girls' magazines at this time and was embraced by many pre-teen and teenage girls as a role model due to the positive way she addressed serious issues faced by young women in her songs and interviews. About this period she says: "I was never comfortable with the attention. I thought it had come too soon. I hadn’t earned it yet." She gained notoriety in 1992 for saying that she was still a virgin in her mid-twenties in Interview magazine. In a 1994 interview for the magazine Vox she said she was surprised by the effect 'outing' herself had: "I think there are a lot of people out there who don't care about sex, but who you never hear from, so I thought I should say it. The magazine I did the interview for is full of beef-cake hunky guys and scantily-clad models, so I thought it would be really funny to say that I didn't care about sex in a magazine that's full of sex and beauty - but no one really got the joke."
In 1995, following the success of Become What You Are she released her followup album, Only Everything, in which she "turned up the volume and the distortion and had a lot of fun". One reviewer describes it as "a fun, engaging pop album". The album spawned another alternative radio hit for Hatfield in Universal Heart-Beat. The video featured Hatfield as an overly demanding aerobics instructor. Prior to the tour for 'Only Everything', Hatfield released Phillips and brought on Jason Sutter (American Hi-Fi, Chris Cornell, Jack Drag), as well as Ed Slanker (Thudpucker, Tinsel) on 2nd guitar, and Lisa Mednick on keyboards. Two weeks into the tour, Hatfield canceled the tour citing exhaustion, and took a month long break. Sutter was replaced by once again drummer Phillips, and touring resumed with Jeff Buckley as the opening act.
In 1996 she traveled to Woodstock, New York where she recorded tracks for God's Foot, which was to be her fourth solo album (third if not counting Become What You Are, which was recorded with the Juliana Hatfield Three), intended for 1997 release. Containing some of Hatfield's finest work to date, the album was unfortunately put on indefinite hold by her record company due to a disagreement with Hatfield. Only substandard bootleg versions of these songs (which do not meet Hatfield's approval) have surfaced and she has rarely featured them in her subsequent live performances.
During this time Hatfield left Atlantic Records and ventured back into indie-world. She recorded a six song EP titled Please Do Not Disturb, along with Todd Phillips and Ed Slanker, and with new bass player Mikey Welsh (Weezer). The EP produced by Hatfield features a tender song "Trying Not To Think About It" which is a tribute to the deceased musician Jeff Buckley who was a friend of Hatfield's. The EP was released on Bar/None Records in 1997.
Following the traumatic experiences surrounding God's Foot and her departure from Atlantic Records, Hatfield recorded the album Bed in 1998 in six days, about which she says on her website: "It sounds as raw as I felt. It has no pretty sheen. The mistakes and unattractive parts were left in, not erased. Just like my career. Just like life."
In 2000, she released Beautiful Creature, an album which was among the most critically well-received of her career. This album left the rockier side of Hatfield's musical personality unexpressed, however, so at the same time she also recorded Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure with Zephan Courtney and Mikey Welsh, which she describes as "a loud release of tension", with "lots of long sloppy guitar solos. And no love songs...a not-at-all attractive reaction to the ugly side of humanity, specifically American culture" The two albums were initially released in a set as a pair. Juliana's Pony: Total System Failure was however received very badly by the critics, who much preferred the acoustic songwriting on Beautiful Creature. On Beautiful Creature Hatfield worked with Austin-based musician Davíd Garza who co-produced much of the album. Wally Gagel a producer for Sebadoh and Tanya Donelly helped Hatfield record her most electronica influenced songs "Cool Rock Boy" and "Don't Rush Me" which added texture to the otherwise acoustic album.
2002 saw the release of Hatfield's first "best-of" album. The album, titled Gold Stars 1992-2002: The Juliana Hatfield Collection, featured the singles from her solo albums. It also contained two of the songs from the previously unreleased God's Foot, a cover of Neil Young's Only Love Can Break Your Heart, as well as four new recordings.
In 2004 Hatfield released In Exile Deo, which was arguably an attempt at a more commercial sound, with input from producers and engineers who'd worked with Pink and Avril Lavigne. Hatfield did however produce the album herself with David Leanord receiving co-production credits on "Jamie's In Town" and the bright rocker "Sunshine'. The critics loved it, with a couple calling it her best work since the start of her solo career.
By contrast, the 2005 album Made in China was released on her own new record label, Ye Olde Records, and has a much rawer feel. John Doe of the band X described the disc as "A frighteningly dark & beautiful record filled w/ stark, angular, truly brutal songs & guitars. This is surely a 'Woman Under the Influence', though I'm not sure of what". Reviews were very mixed, with some liking the lo-fi sound, but others seeing it as slackness.
In December 2005 Hatfield toured the United States with the band X, whom she idolized during her teenage years.
In 2006, Hatfield released her first live album. Titled The White Broken Line: Live Recordings, the album featured performances from her tour with X. This was Hatfield's third release for her record label.
Hatfield's 9th studio album, How To Walk Away was released on August 19, 2008 on Ye Olde Records. The album's heartfelt subject on the break-up of a relationship resonated with critics, who gave the album largely positive reviews, with some hailing it as her best album since In Exile Deo.
On September 29, 2008 it was followed by her memoir, When I Grow Up.
Hatfield returned 2 years later as her 10th studio album Peace & Love was released on Ye Olde Records, February 16, 2010. The album's composition, arrangement, performance, production, engineering and mixing was solely credited to Hatfield.
There's Always Another Girl was released on August 30, 2011 again independently on her Ye Olde Records label.
In 2013, she joined with Matthew Caws (of Nada Surf) to form the duo Minor Alps.
In 2014, The Juliana Hatfield Three reunited two decades after it disbanded. Hatfield, drummer Todd Philips, and bassist Dean Fisher began practicing new material for an album, which would be their first together since Become What You Are in 1993.
In 2015, Hatfield and American musician Paul Westerberg formed the duo The I Don't Cares.
http://www.julianahatfield.com/
Get Off
Juliana Hatfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You're gonna crush me anyway
It doesn't matter what I do
You'll find a way to crush it too
In your mind you can create anything at all
It projects on the walls of your heart
What a beautiful vision, oh you can feel
What you want but it's not really real
You must get off of me
Because I can hardly breathe
Get off of me, yeah
It doesn't matter what I mean
You misinterpret everything
It doesn't even bother you
The evil way I look at you
In your mind you can create anything at all
It projects on the walls of your heart
What a horrible nightmare, oh you can feel
If you want but it's not really real
When will you get off of me
You must get off of me
I'm not here to serve your needs
Get off of me
When will you get off of me
You must get off of me
I didn't do anything
Get off of me
Juliana Hatfield's song 'Get Off' is a powerful and emotional piece of music that explores the themes of emotional manipulation, control, and abuse. The lyrics of the song describe a person who is being crushed under the weight of someone else's expectations and manipulations. The singer of the song feels suffocated by the other person's control and is desperate for them to let go so she can breathe again. She knows that no matter what she says or does, she will never be good enough for this person and they will always find a way to crush her.
The opening lines of the song, "It doesn't matter what I say, you're gonna crush me anyway" set the tone for the rest of the lyrics. The person in control has already made up their mind about the singer, and no matter what she does, it will never be enough. The singer is trapped in a cycle of emotional abuse where she feels like she can never escape her tormentor's control. The line "In your mind you can create anything at all, it projects on the walls of your heart" suggests that the other person has created an idealized image of the singer that they are trying to force her to live up to. They are projecting their own desires onto her and punishing her when she doesn't meet their expectations.
The chorus of the song, "When will you get off of me, you must get off of me, because I can hardly breathe, get off of me" is a cry for help. The singer is desperate for the other person to let go of their control so she can live her own life. She feels like she is suffocating under their weight and needs them to get off her so she can breathe again. The lines "I'm not here to serve your needs, get off of me" and "I didn't do anything, get off of me" suggest that the singer has been wrongly accused or blamed for something by the other person. She feels like she is being punished for no reason and wants the other person to leave her alone.
Overall, 'Get Off' is a powerful and emotional song about control, abuse, and the desperate need to escape. The lyrics show how emotional manipulation and control can crush a person's spirit and leave them feeling suffocated and helpless. The chorus is a cry for help, a plea for the other person to let go so the singer can breathe again.
Line by Line Meaning
It doesn't matter what I say
The singer's words will not make any difference to the listener's behavior towards her.
You're gonna crush me anyway
The listener is going to harm the singer in some way regardless of what she does or says.
It doesn't matter what I do
The singer's actions will not make any difference to the listener's behavior towards her.
You'll find a way to crush it too
The listener will find a way to harm or ruin anything the singer does or creates.
In your mind you can create anything at all
The listener has an active imagination and can invent any scenario in their mind.
It projects on the walls of your heart
The listener's thoughts and emotions affect them deeply.
What a beautiful vision, oh you can feel
The listener can create a pleasant and vivid image in their mind, but it is not based on reality.
What you want but it's not really real
The image the listener creates is not based in reality and cannot be made into a true experience.
When will you get off of me
The singer wants the listener to stop behaving in a harmful or overwhelming way towards her.
You must get off of me
The urgency of the singer's plea for the listener to stop their negative behavior.
Because I can hardly breathe
The listener's behavior is suffocating and overwhelming for the singer.
It doesn't matter what I mean
The listener will not interpret the singer's words or intentions accurately.
You misinterpret everything
The listener consistently misunderstands the singer's words and actions.
It doesn't even bother you
The listener is not affected by their own misinterpretations and continues to behave harmfully towards the singer.
The evil way I look at you
The singer is harboring negative feelings towards the listener, perhaps due to their harmful behavior.
When will you get off of me
The singer repeats her plea for the listener to stop behaving harmfully towards her.
I'm not here to serve your needs
The listener is behaving as if the singer exists solely to meet their own needs and desires, which is not the case.
I didn't do anything
The singer is innocent and has not done anything to deserve the harmful behavior from the listener.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JULIANA HATFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
spiketop
Great to hear Juliana play X's "Unheard Music" before "Get Off"
Nervous Breakdowns
Omg, "Unheard Music" needs to be in the listing of description. What a thrilling surprise!!