Lucy was born in London, but was raised in Amsterdam and New York City. She has a very musical background: her British father is a composer and conductor and her New Yorker mother is a musicologist and an opera singer.
Raised on classical and Middle-Eastern music, Lucy studied piano and flute before asking for singing lessons at age 12. She attended a Bronx high school renowned for its music department and made her first recordings singing house music in her friends’ basements. She spent part of each summer in music camp and part in Holland, where she frequently locked herself up in her father’s studio and listened to jazz and old R&B records. At 16 she was accepted into the Manhattan School of Music to study jazz, but after a year decided to learn her songwriting and performing skills on her own. She spent the next few years performing in swing-organ trios, working as a session singer, waiting tables, and singing jazz standards in Greenwich Village restaurants. She started off singing in jazz cafes and singing for tips or dinner. "You sing with a piano player and a tip jar on top of the piano." She said in an interveiw on NZGirl.
In 2003 Lucy signed with Atlantic Records and recorded her debut album While You Can, out of which came the Top 40 hit “Dumb Girls,” produced by Kevin Kadish; other songs on the record were produced by John Shanks at Jim Henson Studios. Although her efforts won her some mainstream notoriety, making slick, radio-ready pop proved artistically unsatisfying for her.
The following year, Lucy was asked by producer friend Jaime Houston to record a version of the big-band tune "It's Oh So Quiet" for the Disney film Ice Princess. The song had originally been recorded by Betty Hutton in 1948 and was subsequently popularized by Björk. Lucy credits it as being a major creative turning point for her, one that inspired much of the writing in her second album.
Lucy began her musical reinvention on her second album, the independently released Lucy Woodward Is... Hot and Bothered (2007), a transitional effort that incorporated R&B grooves and electronic beats, while mining deep-rooted jazz influences. Hot and Bothered was produced by longtime collaborator Itaal Shur and Tim K. . Barnes & Noble named her “Artist of the Month” for August 2008. Released in 2007 on Atlantic, it was initially only available through iTunes, on July 29, 2008 getting a physical release exclusively through Barnes & Noble.
Lucy’s third album, Hooked!, was recorded at Stratosphere Sound in New York and Jim Henson Studios in Hollywood and released on Verve Records in 2010. It was largely produced by Tony Visconti (David Bowie, T-Rex), but included contributions by Justin Stanley (Nikka Costa, Sheryl Crow), Itaal Shur and Tim K. Lucy penned much of the record with songwriters Dan Petty and Michelle Lewis, claiming she had been inspired by the music of Peggy Lee and Django Reinhardt. One song on the album, “Another Woman,” was written for her by longtime inspiration Nellie McKay (also Verve), who is also featured on background vocals.
In 2011, Lucy was asked to tour with Pink Martini after the band’s singer China Forbes had to undergo vocal surgery. Her quick study of Pink Martini’s repertoire of Croatian, Japanese, French, English and Turkish songs did not go unnoticed in the music press. She toured cross-continent with the band for a number of concerts the same year, including performances at the Toronto and Montreal jazz festivals and Ravinia, as well as a three-night stint with the San Francisco Symphony (Donato Cabrera conducting).
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Another Woman
Lucy Woodward Lyrics
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He gives up everything to me
But although I show the world I need him
He'll never know 'cuz he's not free
And I can't do it to another, do it to another woman
I can't do it to another, do it to another girl
Her life depends on him more than mine ever could
Oh no
He's with me night and day and I love him
He's near me come what may, yes indeed
But, though I cry the skies above him
I know that I should let him be
And I just did it to another, did it to another woman
I just did it to another, did it to another girl
Her life depends on him more than mine ever could
I'd die to look within, I've got it bad and I'm not good
Her life depends on him but then I feel the same
I'd cry to look within, I guess I'll just learn to live in pain
She can't do it to another, do it to another woman
She can't do it to another, do it to another girl
He gives me everything and I love him
She loves him
These emotionally packed lyrics from Lucy Woodward's "Another Woman" delineate the complex circumstances of a love triangle. The singer is in love with a man who is already in a committed relationship with another woman who depends on him for her life. The singer is well aware of her love interest's unavailability, yet she cannot resist loving him. The lyrics reveal that she is in pain and wishes she could live without this conflicted love. Additionally, she is convinced that no one else should bear the same suffering and anguish as she does, which is why she sings, “I can't do it to another woman.”
Through the chorus, she repeatedly tells herself that she won't put another woman in her shoes, underlining how her conscience, despite her falling head over heels with the man, is still compelling her to resist and not want to hurt someone else. Throughout the song, the singer portrays the confusion and turmoil that comes with being in love with someone who is not available. Still, in the end, she realizes that the other woman's life depends on the man more than hers could, and although it's hard to accept it, she needs to let him go.
Line by Line Meaning
He gives me everything and I love him
He sacrifices all of himself for me and I'm grateful
But although I show the world I need him
I pretend like I need him in public
He'll never know 'cuz he's not free
He can't see how much I truly need him because he's not available
And I can't do it to another, do it to another woman
I can't bear to hurt another like I'm being hurt
Her life depends on him more than mine ever could
She relies on him more than I ever will
I'd cry to look within, I got it bad and that ain't good
I'm struggling to come to terms with my own emotions
He's with me night and day and I love him
He's always by my side and I cherish him
But, though I cry the skies above him
Even though I'm emotional about it, I know I have to let him go
I just did it to another, did it to another woman
I hurt someone else, just like I'm being hurt
Her life depends on him more than mine ever could
She relies on him more than I ever will
I'd die to look within, I've got it bad and I'm not good
I'm struggling with my emotions and it's taking a toll on me
Her life depends on him but then I feel the same
She needs him, but so do I
I'd cry to look within, I guess I'll just learn to live in pain
I'm learning to cope with my emotions and accept the pain
She can't do it to another, do it to another woman
She can't bring herself to hurt someone else like this
He gives me everything and I love him
He gives me everything and I still love him
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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