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/
Shining On
Juliana Hatfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't wanna be down anymore
It's all still a mystery to me
I've forgotten what we were fighting for
Every light in my mind goes shining on
Every fire that died goes shining on
Every setting sun goes shining on
Do you need a resolution
To understand where the pain is coming from?
Were you accused of things you didn't do?
Or were you standing in the middle of a dream coming true?
Every light in my mind goes shining on
Every fire that died goes shining on
Every star at dawn goes shining on and on
On and on and on
Condemnations tears and lies released from memory
We will always be beautiful, beautiful
Condemnations tears and lies released from memory
We will always be beautiful on the night we kissed in the stairwell
Before we really knew each other yet
It may not be easy but we need to forget
All the mistakes, disasters and words
That should never have been spoken
Every light in my mind goes shining on
Every star at dawn goes shining on
Every setting sun goes shining on
On and on and on, on and on and on
On and on and on, shining on and on
The verses of "Shining On" by Juliana Hatfield are a plea for a break from the struggle of daily life. The singer is exhausted from worrying about what she and her partner are fighting about, and she'd rather find some peace. She has reached the point where she no longer wants to be someone who is down and out all the time. She wants to forget what's bothering her and move on from it.
The chorus takes a brighter turn, expressing hope that even though things might be difficult right now, they will get better. The light in the singer's mind and every fire that has burned out will continue to shine on. The idea that everything goes on and on and on, and every new day is a fresh start, is uplifting. The lyrics touch upon the idea of resilience – the idea that even when we feel like we've hit rock bottom, a new day brings new opportunities for happiness.
Overall, "Shining On" conveys the idea that no matter how difficult things may be right now, they will not last forever. There will always be another sunrise, another chance to start anew. The song is a reminder that even though life can be tough, staying positive can help see us through.
Line by Line Meaning
Tonight, I'm gonna take it easy
I'm going to relax and not stress about anything tonight
Don't wanna be down anymore
I don't want to be sad or depressed anymore
It's all still a mystery to me
I still don't understand what happened or why things turned out the way they did
I've forgotten what we were fighting for
I can't remember why we were arguing or what we were trying to accomplish
Every light in my mind goes shining on
Even though things can be tough, my mind is still active and full of ideas
Every fire that died goes shining on
Even when things seem to end or fade away, their memory and impact still remain with me
Every setting sun goes shining on
Even when things come to an end, life goes on and there will always be new beginnings
Do you need a resolution
Do you need closure or a solution to what's been bothering you?
To understand where the pain is coming from?
Do you want to figure out why you're hurting and where it's all stemming from?
Were you accused of things you didn't do?
Were you wrongfully accused or blamed for something that you didn't do?
Or were you standing in the middle of a dream coming true?
Or were you caught up in the excitement of something amazing happening to you?
Condemnations tears and lies released from memory
All the negativity, sadness, and falsehoods from the past are being let go of
We will always be beautiful, beautiful
No matter what happens, we will always be amazing and special in our own way
On the night we kissed in the stairwell
Referring to a specific moment in time when something wonderful happened
Before we really knew each other yet
Before we became close or familiar with one another
It may not be easy but we need to forget
Even though it may be difficult, it's important for us to release the past and move forward
All the mistakes, disasters and words
All the errors, failures, and hurtful things said that have caused damage
That should never have been spoken
Things that were better left unsaid, and caused more harm than good
Every star at dawn goes shining on and on
Every day brings new opportunities and chances to shine
On and on and on
Life keeps moving forward, and we need to make the most of it
On and on and on, shining on and on
Life will continue to go on, and we need to hold on to hope and optimism
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JULIANA HATFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind