Ladyhawk awakens in a trash-filled, "morning after" apartment in East Vanco… Read Full Bio ↴Ladyhawk awakens in a trash-filled, "morning after" apartment in East Vancouver, British Columbia. Duffy, Darcy, Sean, and Ryan arise, pick up their instruments and head out into the heathen city, singing songs about life and love. They are rockers and dreamers -- still trapped in their apple country teenage minds, looking for girls and kicks, and mining their teenage quarries from the inside-out. Growing up together as the best of friends, Ladyhawk have stories that radiate with the presence of all four members. Their self-titled debut on Jagjaguwar is a stomping and sweaty ride through the Vancouver streets that they all know well, as viewed from the seats of a bruised and doorless Astro Van. In this ride, you can't help but feel that you will fall out and you will fall down, and your joints will all be sore at the end of the trip.

Ladyhawk's core is bracing rock. Neil Young's Tonight's The Night is the hailstorm on the hood of The Replacements Let It Be, while distorted guitars invoke the thread and swerve of Silkworm and Dinosaur Jr. Helped along the way by Amber Webber (vocals) and Josh Wells (percussion, organ, singing) of Black Mountain, it will be hard to find a more hauntingly beautiful set of rock music than this debut. It was recorded and mixed, with the help of Black Mountaineers Wells and Matthew Camirand, in the "Karachi Vice" clubhouse, in the back of a furniture factory, amongst chicken and fish processing plants. With some of the more "inexpensive" ladies of the night scattered about, it captures the bottlenecked frenzy of their much-loved live show. There, each night, these grown-up kids at heart fall over, get right back up, cry on shoulders and fold the day in halves, watching the sun come up over the dashboard.

Advice
Ladyhawk Lyrics

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Don't take it so personal when they forget about you
Because you're just a drop in the bucket, more meat for the stew
To be chewed up and swallowed and spat back out
Just 'cause it's cruel, it doesn't mean that it's not true
So take my advice, my friend
Listen to me
Don't work for nothing
No, don't work for free

God's up in heaven, I'm not bitter at all
And down on the ground it ain't too far to fall

And don't you worry because time will pass quickly
Yeah, soon you'll be 50
Soon you'll be dead
So smoke if you want to and drink up your fill
Your good looks are fading fast, so fuck you, you will

So take my advice, my friend
Listen to me
Don't work for nothing
No, don't work for free
God's up in heaven, I'm not bitter at all
And down on the ground it ain't too far to fall

So take my advice, my friend
Listen to me
Don't work for nothing
No, don't work for free

God's up in heaven, I'm not bitter at all
And down on the ground it ain't too far to fall

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Ladyhawk's song "Advice" convey a scattered assortment of life advice based on the singer's own hard-won experience. The opening lines warn against taking it too personally when people forget about you. The metaphor of being "just a drop in the bucket, more meat for the stew" suggests that in the grand scheme of things, people are expendable and replaceable. The brutishness of reality is acknowledged when the singer acknowledges that being cruel doesn't make it any less true.

Next, the singer imparts the advice to not work for nothing, and to not work for free. This advice could be interpreted as a rejection of the idea of working tirelessly for little or no reward. The line "God's up in heaven, I'm not bitter at all" helps to reinforce the idea that the singer is not bitter, but rather has learned these life lessons through their own struggles. Finally, the song ends with a somewhat fatalistic outlook on life, suggesting that time passes quickly and that death is inevitable. In the face of these truths, the singer exhorts the listener to "smoke if you want to and drink up your fill" and not worry too much about life's fleeting nature.

Line by Line Meaning

Don't take it so personal when they forget about you
Don't feel bad when people forget about you because you are just a small part in their larger life.

Because you're just a drop in the bucket, more meat for the stew
You are insignificant in the grand scheme of things and people will use you as they please.

To be chewed up and swallowed and spat back out
People will use you until they are done with you and then discard you like garbage.

Just 'cause it's cruel, it doesn't mean that it's not true
Even though it's harsh to hear, it doesn't make it any less true.

So take my advice, my friend
Listen to me because I have some wisdom to share.

Listen to me
Pay attention to what I'm saying.

Don't work for nothing
Don't waste your time and energy on things that won't benefit you.

No, don't work for free
Don't let people take advantage of you by working for free.

God's up in heaven, I'm not bitter at all
I'm not bitter or angry about the way things are because I believe in a higher power.

And down on the ground it ain't too far to fall
It's easy to lose everything and hit rock bottom.

And don't you worry because time will pass quickly
Don't worry too much because time flies by fast.

Yeah, soon you'll be 50
You'll be old before you know it.

Soon you'll be dead
Life is short and death is inevitable.

So smoke if you want to and drink up your fill
Enjoy life and do what makes you happy, even if it's harmful.