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 Old You
Laura Dawn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Before you did all that cocaine
And turned into an asshole
Back when you were my best friend
Before it all got insane
And turned into a hassle, yeah
(CHORUS)
What it was to be happy?
Well, I do, yeah, I do
Do you remember when things
Were just all right for a day or two?
And sometimes alone in the dark
I sit around just for a lark
Rememberin the old me
And the old you
Making out in the parking lot
As your mothers saying "what's that smell?"
You were feelin' me up in the back seat
Do you think she could tell?
Stealin pbr at the stop-n-go
You be bonnie and I'll be clyde
You said "what have I done
In the name of fun?"
Oh, it was a beautiful ride
Sometimes
(REPEAT CHORUS)
Yeah, I remember you when
Before you did all that cocaine
And ruined everything in sight
I'm so sorry I went away
Maybe I could have helped
You out that night
But you'd grown into the kind of man
That took matters into his own hands
Do you remember what it was to be happy?
Well, I do, yeah, I do
Do you remember when things
Were just all right for a day or two?
And sometimes alone in the dark
I wrap my hands around my heart
Rememberin' the old me
And the old you
The old you
I remember well
The old you
I remember well
The old you
I remember you
I remember you
I remember you......
The lyrics to the song "The Old You" by Laura Dawn reminisce about a past friendship that has been lost due to the effects of addiction. The song starts with the singer looking back at the times when their friend was not addicted to cocaine and how their friendship was better then. They sing about the old days when they were happy and carefree, and their memory fades into the present, where their friend has transformed into someone completely different, someone they do not recognize anymore. They wonder what it must be like to be happy again, hoping that one day they will get back to their old selves, unable to forget the past.
The chorus of the song talks about the good old times, and the singer continues to reminisce about how their friend would steal PBR at the stop-n-go, and what an adventure it used to be for them. The chorus asks the question if their friend remembers how to be happy since the present time is not good for them. The song sounds like a lament for a friend that they have lost because of the addiction, and they miss the old version of their friend. The lyric "But you'd grown into the kind of man/That took matters into his own hands" suggests that the friend has taken a path that the singer does not approve of and cannot help in the present.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah, I remember you when
I remember the person you used to be
Before you did all that cocaine
Before you started doing drugs
And turned into an asshole
And became someone unpleasant to be around
Back when you were my best friend
When we were close
Before it all got insane
Before everything changed for the worse
And turned into a hassle, yeah
And became difficult to deal with
Oh yeah, do you remember
Do you recall
What it was to be happy?
What it felt like to be content
Well, I do, yeah, I do
I remember
Do you remember when things
Do you recall the time when everything
Were just all right for a day or two?
Seemed okay for a short while
And sometimes alone in the dark
And when I'm by myself
I sit around just for a lark
I reminisce just for fun
Rememberin the old me
Thinking back to who I used to be
And the old you
And remembering who you used to be
Making out in the parking lot
Kissing in the parking lot
As your mothers saying "what's that smell?"
While your mother is asking about the odor
You were feelin' me up in the back seat
You were touching me intimately in the car
Do you think she could tell?
Do you think she noticed?
Stealin pbr at the stop-n-go
Taking Pabst Blue Ribbon from the Stop-n-Go
You be bonnie and I'll be clyde
You play the role of Bonnie and I'll be Clyde
You said "what have I done
You questioned what you did
In the name of fun?"
In the pursuit of enjoyment?
Oh, it was a beautiful ride
It was a great experience
Sometimes
At times
Yeah, I remember you when
I recall what you were like before
Before you did all that cocaine
Before you started doing drugs
And ruined everything in sight
And destroyed everything that mattered
I'm so sorry I went away
I regret leaving you
Maybe I could have helped
Perhaps I could have assisted
You out that night
You on that particular night
But you'd grown into the kind of man
But you had become the type of person
That took matters into his own hands
Who dealt with things by himself
The old you
The person you used to be
I remember well
I remember clearly
I remember you
I still think of you
I remember you......
I still remember who you were
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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