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/
Until Tomorrow
Juliana Hatfield Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
They've come to put me in my place
Angels are floating down the river
Today
It all happened too soon
On a muggy afternoon
I knew it would end but I'm not ready
Heaven can
Wait until tomorrow
Give us this day
Just let me borrow some time
So we can say goodbye
I know that you've gotta go
There are so many things I want you to know
But I don't have to say it
I don't have to explain because you know
And maybe you wouldn't even care
But I feel the need to be there
To thank you for understanding
When I was scared
Heaven can
Wait until tomorrow
Give us this day
Just let me borrow some time
So we can say goodbye
I'm walking away
And when I reach the next stage
I'll be with him
We'll be celebrating
Heaven can
Wait until tomorrow
Give us this day
Please let me borrow some time
So we can say goodbye
Juliana Hatfield's song Until Tomorrow is a bittersweet reflection on the fleetingness of time and the inevitability of loss. The opening lines, "They've come to take you away / They've come to put me in my place," suggest a scenario in which two people are being separated against their will, most likely by some external authority or circumstance. The use of the word "angels" to describe the agents of separation adds a spiritual dimension to the scene, as if some larger force beyond human control is at work.
The second stanza adds more detail to the scene, describing it as happening on a muggy afternoon and suggesting that the singer had some foreknowledge that things would end this way. The line "I knew it would end but I'm not ready / To lose you" poignantly captures the conflicting emotions of acceptance and denial that often accompany grief. The chorus provides a wistful sentiment, with the singer wishing for just a little more time to spend with their loved one before they part ways. The repetition of the phrase "Heaven can / Wait until tomorrow" reinforces the idea of a greater power that controls the timing of life and death.
The final stanza takes on a more hopeful tone, as the singer imagines a future where they will "be with him / We'll be celebrating" after they have both moved on from this current moment of separation. The song ends with a plea for more time to say goodbye, indicating that even in the face of loss, there is still value in taking the time to honor and cherish the memories of those we have loved and lost.
Line by Line Meaning
They've come to take you away
Someone is taking someone else away, possibly to jail or to a mental institution.
They've come to put me in my place
The singer is being put in their rightful position, possibly in response to something they did or said.
Angels are floating down the river
There are angels gently drifting along the river, possibly in a dreamlike or surreal setting.
Today
This is happening right now, at this moment.
It all happened too soon
Something happened unexpectedly or faster than the artist was ready for.
On a muggy afternoon
The setting is a hot and humid day, which may contribute to the singer's emotions.
I knew it would end but I'm not ready
The singer had an idea that things would change or come to an end, but they were not prepared for it emotionally.
To lose you
The artist is facing the idea of losing someone important to them.
Heaven can
The artist is addressing the idea of heaven, and the possibility of an afterlife.
Wait until tomorrow
The artist is asking heaven to postpone something that is expected to happen soon.
Give us this day
The singer is asking for a moment or a day to just be able to spend time with the person they are holding onto before they leave.
Just let me borrow some time
The artist is asking for more time than they currently have with the person they are holding onto.
So we can say goodbye
The singer wants to have a chance to say goodbye to the person they are holding onto, to properly express their feelings and leave things on a good note.
I know that you've gotta go
The singer is acknowledging that the person they are holding onto has to leave or go somewhere.
There are so many things I want you to know
The singer has many feelings they want to express before the person they are holding onto leaves.
But I don't have to say it
The artist feels that the person they are holding onto already knows how they feel, without needing to express it verbally.
I don't have to explain because you know
The artist is confident that the person they are holding onto understands their feelings and doesn't need them explained.
And maybe you wouldn't even care
The singer is expressing the possibility that the person they are holding onto might not have the same feelings or priority as them.
But I feel the need to be there
The singer still feels the desire to be there for the person they are holding onto, despite the possibility that their feelings may not be reciprocated.
To thank you for understanding
The artist is expressing gratitude to the person they are holding onto for understanding them in some way.
When I was scared
The person the artist is addressing was there for them during a time of fear or anxiety.
I'm walking away
The artist is physically leaving the situation or person they have been holding onto.
And when I reach the next stage
The singer is moving onto the next phase or chapter of their life, separate from the person they have been holding onto.
I'll be with him
The artist is now with someone else, either physically or emotionally.
We'll be celebrating
The singer and the person they are now with will be celebrating something, possibly a new stage of their relationship or life.
Please let me borrow some time
The singer is once again asking for extra time with the person they are holding onto, even though they know it is likely not possible.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JULIANA HATFIELD
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Terry Rice
I'm in love with Juliana Hatfield. This is such a beautiful song from such a Beautiful Creature!
Orion Contactee
her soul is so beautiful, she is golden ♥
jedi on board
This song is as beautiful as Juliana. She can write such heart felt music, just like Make it home.
alisonisthebomb
One of my all time favorites <3
oldmotem
Strange how hard times produce such beautiful tunes. Once you've heard this, it's with you forever. Very sad and hauntingly beautiful.
trooperJac
This is a beautiful song.
David Carpenter
Beautiful song, one of Juliana's true jewels. The process of losing family and friends is such a common experience, but there are few songs written about it. I cannot really think of any others that are this evocative.
steverok67
One of the finest ballads ever. Her songwriting talent is miles beyond the norm of today's mediocrity.
Jo
Makes me think of my g'ma who was so precious to me. :)
Static Underground
I'm Speechless....