All she needed were some stories to tell. But Pleasantville just didn't provide the proper inspiration. At 21 years old, Laura Dawn packed her bags and moved to New York City Believer is the soundtrack to her roller coaster life of the next few years. "I showed up in New York, straight from Iowa, with almost no money and not knowing a single soul. I started out living at the Lexington Avenue YMCA, and then graduated to a lower East Side squat on 13th St., where I was sleeping on a board on top of my suitcases. And within a couple of years, I'd become the singer in an all-girl art-punk band that ended up being a toast of the town for a while. We were going to all these decadent parties, drinking a lot, doing drugs for the first time. Hell, in Pleasantville, Iowa, the heaviest drug I'd ever seen was Budweiser! And now I'd gotten involved in this crazy scene. It was fun at first, but after a while, I really lost my way. I had to deal with some very intense personal trials--some serious heartbreak, a very close friend dying--and it just threw this life I was living into a new light. By the time that band broke up I felt so far away from the person I was when I came to New York in the first place, the one who wanted to be a real artist. So I just started writing, by myself, for the first time. I wrote so many songs, 50 or so. I had so many stories to tell from all those years of wrong turns and poverty and mayhem, trying to make it in New York City. And writing those songs saved me. I felt like I found myself again. I called my album Believer because I emerged with a faith that there had to be some purpose to my life, that there was some future ahead I couldn't possibly foresee that would explain everything."
Of course, her future was to take those amazing songs and bring them to the world. Laura began playing out with her powerful new material, and record labels immediately took notice. Within a few months of her first solo show, she'd landed a deal with Extasy Records International and began working on the album that was to become Believer—a collection of songs illustrating her early years in New York City. “I was very young, very independent and fearless, and very, very green,” Laura admits. "Let's just say I got into plenty of trouble, and sometimes didn't know how to get myself out it."
From the sexy punk edge of "Delicious," to the timeless, melancholy pop of "Useless in L.A., " to the innovative, gothic hard rock of the title track, Believer is an eclectic musical journey, brought together by Laura Dawn's consummate auteur songwriting and unique, infectious vocals. "People have told me I sound like a cross between Kim Deal and Dusty Springfield," says Laura, of a voice that goes from a breathy purr to a soulful wail. The album's sonic landscape is rich and varied, fusing rock guitar, bass and drum sounds with ethereal effects, drum loops, and textural instruments like electric cello and piano.
"I was inspired, in part, by Moby's Animal Rights," says Laura. "I wanted to make a pop album that was extreme, that could go from the most beautiful, sparse love song to the most solid, traditional pop songwriting, and then on to the most pounding punk rock. In a way, it's kind of a woman's version of emo-core. We worked very hard to keep it intimate and real, yet when it came time to blow your head off-well, I think some tracks rock very, very hard."
Laura enlisted producer Ted Niceley (Fugazi, Shudder to Think, Girls Against Boys), and a varied group of musicians, including legendary Replacements bassist Tommy Stinson, drummers Josh Freese (A Perfect Circle, The Vandals), Kevin March (Shudder to Think, Dambuilders), and guitarist Richard Fortus (Psychedelic Furs, BT, Love Spit Love), to work on the LP. Laura also had the chance to work with Yoshiki (Extasy Records CEO and President and former leader of the legendary Japanese rock group, X-Japan), who produced his favorite track "I Would," the album's lead single (written by Laura and Linus of Hollywood).
"In the best of all possible worlds," says Laura, "people will hear this album and realize that a woman can be sexy, smart, funny, vulnerable, foolish and bad-ass - sometimes, all at once. The song "Believer" kind of says it all for me, in a way. Being a believer, keeping the faith that there's purpose to your life, is certainly a double-edged sword. Faith is sexy, it's silly, it's moving and real and elusive. But it can be dangerous and destructive if it's not tempered with some experience and wisdom. I guess the main thing I learned from all my adventures is that sometimes it's important to just keep going on, whether you can find a reason to or not. No matter what life throws you, you gotta stay a believer, you know? We need more of them."
The Best Part
Laura Dawn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Don't know what i'm doin' here
Where to stay, or where to begin
Oh mama, gotta figure out how far i'll go
And i'm addin' to the list of things
That you don't know
Your daughter is dead
Your daughter is dead
Your daughter is dead
Your daughter is dead
I think you made her up in your head
I'm alive in several scary ways tonight
Been on fire and had trouble
Hiding the blaze from your sight
Oh mama, i been noticin' more and more
That my crooked fingers
Are beginning to look just like yours
Just like yours
Your daughter is dead
Your daughter is dead
I think you made her up in your head
Your daughter is dead
Your daughter is dead
I think you made her up in your head
Let me be the best part
Of me and you
Let me be the brave part
Of me and you
Don't think i didn't see you there
Poor, broken-hearted and alone
I want you to know i've always cared
And always thought of you as home
Home
Your daughter is dead
Your daughter is dead
I think you made her up in your head
Let me be the best part
Of me and you
Let me be the brave part
Of me and you
Oh mama i been noticin'
More and more
That my hands look just like yours
"The Best Part" by Laura Dawn is a hauntingly beautiful song about a daughter's complex and tumultuous relationship with her mother. The opening verse speaks of the singer walking up and down avenue A until 4 am, struggling to find a place to stay and figure out where to begin. She addresses her mother, expressing that she needs to "figure out how far I'll go" and that she's adding to the list of things her mother doesn't know. The repetition of the phrase "your daughter is dead" is jarring, and suggests that the singer has possibly severed ties with her mother. She even hints at the possibility that her mother made her up in her head, casting doubt on the authenticity of their relationship.
The second verse is equally poignant, with the singer acknowledging that she's "alive in several scary ways tonight." She's been on fire and has been hiding the blaze from her mother's sight, suggesting that she's been living a life that her mother may not approve of. She also notices that her hands are beginning to look just like her mother's crooked fingers, hinting at the inherited nature of personal traits.
Throughout the song, the singer keeps repeating the refrain "let me be the best part of me and you, let me be the brave part of me and you." The line is an appeal to her mother to accept her for who she is and to let her be the best version of herself. The final verse is a compassionate acknowledgment of her mother's pain and loneliness. The song is an emotional rollercoaster that echoes the complexities of mother-daughter relationships, with raw and honest lyrics that will resonate with many.
Line by Line Meaning
I walked up and down avenue a til 4am
I was wandering around aimlessly until the early hours of the morning.
Don't know what i'm doin' here
I feel lost and uncertain about what I am doing with my life right now.
Where to stay, or where to begin
I'm unsure about where to start my journey or where to even lay my head.
Oh mama, gotta figure out how far i'll go
I need to figure out how far I am willing to take myself in life.
And i'm addin' to the list of things
I'm constantly adding to my list of thoughts and worries.
That you don't know
That I choose not to share with you.
Your daughter is dead
I am not who you thought I would turn out to be, mom.
Your daughter is dead
I am not the person that you see in your head, mom.
I think you made her up in your head
The person you want me to be is not who I actually am, mom.
I'm alive in several scary ways tonight
I am alive but in a way that scares me.
Been on fire and had trouble
I have been passionate and intense but have had difficulty hiding it.
Hiding the blaze from your sight
Trying to conceal my passions and feelings from you, mom.
Oh mama, i been noticin' more and more
Mom, I am beginning to see myself in you.
That my crooked fingers
How my fingers distinctly resemble yours, mom.
Are beginning to look just like yours
How I am becoming more and more like the person you want me to be, mom.
Let me be the best part
Allow me to be someone you can be proud of, mom.
Of me and you
Let's work together to be the best versions of ourselves.
Let me be the brave part
Allow me to be the courageous part of our relationship, mom.
Don't think i didn't see you there
I see you, and I am here for you, mom.
Poor, broken-hearted and alone
I see how hard life has been for you, mom.
I want you to know i've always cared
I love you, mom, and I have always cared about you.
And always thought of you as home
You are my home, mom, and where I feel most comfortable.
Oh mama i been noticin'
Mom, there is something I have been noticing.
More and more
As I grow older and learn more about myself.
That my hands look just like yours
How my hands resemble yours, mom, as I am becoming more like you.
Contributed by Maya W. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
just just
I love this woman
asma khadir
still beautiful. i love her