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/
My Baby...
Juliana Hatfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's a beautiful night full of stars
And isn't it a heavenly breeze
Whispering sweetly through the screen
All the little things are in place
I still like to dream
I still got the same face
But oh my baby doesn't love me anymore
Oh my baby doesn't love me anymore
I just know, I just know
He used to look in my eyes and talk to me
But now we just have sex and watch tv
And when he touches my body
There's something off with the chemistry
I feel him going through the motions
The same ones that still breed hope in me
[Chorus]
Did he know me
Did he know
Did he ever
Where does love go when it goes
It's like a white bird in the snow
He used to want to make me breakfast
But more and more he's sleeping in
And though he doesn't want to hurt me
I know he'll soon be leaving
[Chorus]
The lyrics of "My Baby" by Juliana Hatfield tell the story of a relationship that has lost its spark. The first verse sets the scene of a beautiful night with an open window, full of stars and a breeze that whispers sweetly. The singer, however, acknowledges that despite everything being in place, they still like to dream and still have the same face. The chorus then reveals the sad reality that the singer's baby doesn't love them anymore. It's evident that there has been a shift in their relationship as they don't talk the way they used to. They still have sex and watch TV, but when he touches her body, there's something off with the chemistry. The singer can feel that he's going through the motions even though the same actions still breed hope in her.
The lyrics then question if he ever knew her and where love goes when it goes. It's like a white bird in the snow, hard to find and easy to lose. He used to want to make her breakfast, but now he's sleeping in more often. Despite not wanting to hurt her, the singer knows he'll soon be leaving.
Overall, "My Baby" is a heartbreaking song that delves into the complexities of relationships that have lost their passion. The lyrics describe the feelings of the singer as she struggles to come to terms with the fact that her partner doesn't love her anymore, and the sadness that comes with knowing their relationship is coming to an end.
Line by Line Meaning
There's an open window where we are
We are in a place with an open and unobstructed view
It's a beautiful night full of stars
The evening is bright, with numerous stars shining
And isn't it a heavenly breeze
The wind is pleasantly and almost godly
Whispering sweetly through the screen
The wind is gently and softly blowing through the wire mesh
All the little things are in place
Everything is arranged and settled
I still like to dream
I still enjoy imagining possibilities
I still got the same face
My face and identity have not changed significantly
But oh my baby doesn't love me anymore
Unfortunately, my partner has stopped loving me
Oh my baby doesn't love me anymore
I have lost the love of my life
I just know, I just know
I am certain of this fact
He used to look in my eyes and talk to me
He used to be attentive and communicate with me
But now we just have sex and watch tv
Our relationship has become purely physical and lazy
And when he touches my body
However, even the physical part seems lacking now
There's something off with the chemistry
It feels like our chemistry has gone awry
I feel him going through the motions
I can sense him only pretending to care as before
The same ones that still breed hope in me
But I still see hope in that pretended display of affection
Did he know me
Has he ever really understood me?
Did he know
Did he truly know?
Did he ever
Did he ever really care for me?
Where does love go when it goes
Where does love disappear when it fades?
It's like a white bird in the snow
It's hard to find and see when it's gone
He used to want to make me breakfast
He used to be thoughtful and caring
But more and more he's sleeping in
But now he is becoming lazy and detached
And though he doesn't want to hurt me
And though he doesn't intend to cause me pain
I know he'll soon be leaving
I have a feeling he will go away soon
Oh my baby doesn't love me anymore
Unfortunately, my partner no longer loves me
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: WARREN MOORE, SMOKEY ROBINSON, WILLIAM ROBINSON JR., ROBERT ROGERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind