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).
http://www.lucywoodward.com
Hot and Bothered
Lucy Woodward Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Channel surfing alone
Waiting for your unexpected
Visit through my window
You take me and undress me
Educate and test me
Breathless and bewildered
It doesn't really matter
When you come or where you go
And it doesn't really matter
I really don't want to know
Cause you're the only thing
That gets my boring life
Hot and bothered
So baby come back
And hot and bother me
Its 3 a.m. I wake up
I get myself all dressed up
I wait for you to kiss and burn me
Melt off all my make-up
Your crazy thoughts are unkind
But in the back of my mind
I think that you would love me, need me
Its just a waste of my time
And it doesn't really matter
When you come or where you go
And it doesn't really matter
I really don't want to know
Cause you're the only thing
That gets my boring life
Hot and bothered
So baby come back
And hot and bother me
And maybe its what I deserve
For all the times that I've
Hurt, and burned, and toyed
And played with your heart
Look at me caving in
You win...
Oh, you're the only thing
You're the only thing
That gets my boring life
Hot and bothered
So baby come back
And hot and bother me
Baby won't you come back
Baby won't you come back
Baby won't you come back through my window and bother me
Baby won't you come back
Baby won't you come back
Baby won't you come back and hot and bother me
The song "Hot and Bothered" by Lucy Woodward deals with the theme of a tumultuous and passionate relationship full of mixed emotions. The opening lines suggest that the singer is bored with their life and eagerly anticipates the arrival of a lover who keeps them feeling alive and excited. The lyrics describe a complicated relationship, full of moments of intensity and passion followed by moments of uncertainty and doubt. The chorus suggests that despite the ups and downs of the relationship, the singer cannot resist the thrill of the lover's presence and is willing to endure the emotional rollercoaster to keep them in their life.
The second verse of the song continues the theme of a complex relationship that is characterized by a power struggle. The singer seems to acknowledge that the relationship is not entirely healthy and recognizes that their lover may not have their best interests at heart. However, the attraction is so strong that they cannot resist their lover's charms. The lyrics suggest that the singer has manipulated and hurt their lover in the past but is now willing to take a backseat and let the lover take control.
Overall, "Hot and Bothered" is a song about the thrilling but complicated nature of intense relationships that keep us on our toes, even when we know they may not be the healthiest for us.
Line by Line Meaning
All day long I sit home
I spend my entire day at home
Channel surfing alone
I switch TV channels by myself
Waiting for your unexpected
I'm eagerly waiting for you to show up without warning
Visit through my window
To come to my house without using the front entrance
You take me and undress me
You seduce me and strip me of my clothes
Educate and test me
You guide me and challenge me
Breathless and bewildered
I'm left feeling amazed and confused
Then like magic you're gone
You disappear without a trace
It doesn't really matter
It's not important
When you come or where you go
The timing or location of your presence is inconsequential
And it doesn't really matter
It's not significant
I really don't want to know
I have no interest in finding out
Cause you're the only thing
You're the sole source of excitement in my life
That gets my boring life
You bring some thrill to an otherwise dull existence
Hot and bothered
You make me feel aroused and flustered
So baby come back
Please return to me
And hot and bother me
Make me feel excited and stimulated
Its 3 a.m. I wake up
I'm awake at three in the morning
I get myself all dressed up
I put on my best clothes and makeup
I wait for you to kiss and burn me
I yearn for your passionate and intense affection
Melt off all my make-up
Your fiery kisses cause my makeup to smudge
Your crazy thoughts are unkind
Your irrational ideas are hurtful
But in the back of my mind
Deep down, I secretly believe
I think that you would love me, need me
I believe that you have feelings of love and dependency towards me
Its just a waste of my time
But I know that this belief is pointless
And maybe its what I deserve
Perhaps, it's my due punishment
For all the times that I've
As a result of all the instances when I have
Hurt, and burned, and toyed
Caused pain, inflicted emotional damage, and played with
And played with your heart
Your emotions
Look at me caving in
I'm giving in to my impulses
You win...
You've succeeded in manipulating me
Oh, you're the only thing
Again, stressing that
That gets my boring life
You're the only one that brings excitement to my mundane existence
Baby won't you come back
Asking, requesting
Baby won't you come back through my window and bother me
Come via an unconventional way and excite me again
Baby won't you come back
Asking, pleading
Baby won't you come back
Only you can make me feel alive
And hot and bother me
And make me burn with desire
Lyrics © Downtown Music Publishing, Peermusic Publishing, WORDS & MUSIC A DIV OF BIG DEAL MUSIC LLC
Written by: Lucy Woodward, Itaal Shur
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind