Hanley was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts. She was a member of Letters to Cleo from 1990 to 2000 (the length of the band's existence). She came up with the band's name (she had a pen pal named Cleo when she was younger). In 1997, she started to work on other projects than the band, starting with a role in the Boston Rock Opera's performance of Jesus Christ Superstar as Mary Magdalene.
In 1999, Hanley made a cameo as herself in the film 10 Things I Hate about You, singing a cover version of Nick Lowe's "Cruel to be Kind" at the movie characters' high school prom. Towards the end of Letters to Cleo's career, she began performing with her husband and fellow Letters to Cleo member Michael Eisenstein outside of the band. Around the same time, she gave birth to their daughter, Zoe.
Starting her own solo career, Hanley started doing music for the cartoon Generation O. She also provided the singing voice for Rachael Leigh Cook's character Josie in the movie Josie and the Pussycats. In 2002, she released her first solo album, Cherry Marmalade. That same year, she appeared on the Dropkick Murphys/Face to Face split cd, providing guest vocals on the original version of the Dropkick Murphys song "The Dirty Glass". She also performed the song "Follow Me" for the video game Sonic Heroes in 2003. In 2004 she released a follow up to Cherry Marmalade, The Babydoll EP. She is very involved with the Boston based charity "Hot Stove, Cool Music." She is currently in the Los Angeles-based girl band, The Dilettantes, with New York native Michelle Lewis. In 2004, she and her husband Michael Eisenstein had their second child, Henry Aaron, the name given in honor of baseball player Hank Aaron and their love for baseball.
In August 2005, Hanley announced on her website's message board that she would be recording a cover of Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" for the soundtrack of the Reese Witherspoon film Just Like Heaven In September 2005, she appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as part of a pretaped man-on-the-street segment, singing a song about falling in love at Starbucks.
The internet radio station KGRL featured her as their Flower-Powered Artist for September of 2006. The feature includes an exclusive interview, CD Review of Cherry Marmalade, Review of Babydoll EP, and an on-demand video stream of the whole Hotel Cafe performance last July 2006.
She's also quite popular with fans of the New England Patriots, as every time she has sung the National Anthem for them at Gillette Stadium the Patriots have won. She has sung eight times as of January 2007 with as many wins, including the only home playoff games for the Patriots in 2006 and 2007.
She sings the main theme song for My Friends Tigger and Pooh, a half-hour Disney Channel TV show that premiered on Playhouse Disney on May 12, 2007 and "We Are The Care Bears" from Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!.
On Thanksgiving Day 2007, Hanley sang a song called "Caring Changes The World" in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the Care Bears Float. Hanley toured as a back up singer with Miley Cyrus on her Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus : Best of Both Worlds Tour.
Princely Ghetto
Kay Hanley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Just given up
But I stopped listening to my mind
And still I summon the will to chase you
Like you've committed a crime
I just want what's mine
So I watched the sun
Through the dust off my tires
And I've told myself so many damned lies
Often times I don't even know what's true
Color my baby blue
And the light spilled out around us
So I wore it like stiletto
And you shoulda hid
But I gotcha kid
Ain't this a princely ghetto
My fingers on your faded blue jeans
Where my eyes had already been
You're not too young
Don't be scared
Nothing's wrong
Did your mama say it's a sin?
Just let me in
And the light spilled out around us
Diamond and ruby and aquamarine
Sapphire, emerald and tourmaline
Opal and onyx and amethyst and you
A lesser girl might have just given up
The lyrics in Kay Hanley's song "Princely Ghetto" describe a relentless pursuit for love, as the singer refuses to give up on chasing their desired partner. Despite the complications and doubts that arise, the singer remains steadfast in their pursuit, longing to claim what's theirs. As they drive towards this person, they've convinced themselves of lies and half-truths in order to justify their actions. They feel they have a right to this love, and speak of it in terms of ownership with lines like "I just want what's mine."
The chorus of the song is where the title comes from, as Hanley sings "Ain't this a princely ghetto" while listing a variety of precious stones. This juxtaposition of royalty and destitution speaks to the complexity and unpredictability of love. The singer is willing to endure the ups and downs, the beauty and ugliness of the pursuit, as long as they can be with the person they desire.
Line by Line Meaning
A lesser girl might have
Another girl might have
Just given up
Given up on you and moved on
But I stopped listening to my mind
But I stopped paying attention to my own thoughts
And still I summon the will to chase you
And I still have the desire to pursue you
Like you've committed a crime
As if you have committed an offense against me
I just want what's mine
I only want what I believe belongs to me
So I watched the sun
I watched the sun rise
Through the dust off my tires
Through the dirt that was kicked up from my car's wheels
As I sped my way to you
As I drove quickly to where you were
And I've told myself so many damned lies
I have told myself countless lies about us
Often times I don't even know what's true
To the point where I don't even know what is true anymore
Color my baby blue
My mood was blue
And the light spilled out around us
And the light was shining around us
So I wore it like stiletto
So I dressed up to impress you
And you shoulda hid
You should have run away
But I gotcha kid
But I caught you, my dear
Ain't this a princely ghetto
Isn't this a luxurious and yet rundown place
My fingers on your faded blue jeans
I touched your worn blue jeans
Where my eyes had already been
Where I had already been looking
You're not too young
You're not too inexperienced
Don't be scared
Don't be frightened
Nothing's wrong
Nothing is going wrong
Did your mama say it's a sin?
Did your mother say that this is wrong?
Just let me in
Just allow me to be with you
Diamond and ruby and aquamarine
Precious stones like diamond, ruby, and aquamarine
Sapphire, emerald and tourmaline
Other gemstones like sapphire, emerald, and tourmaline
Opal and onyx and amethyst and you
Even rare and exotic ones like opal, onyx, and amethyst - and you
A lesser girl might have just given up
Another girl might have quit their pursuit of you
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
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