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
Purple Heart
Lucy Woodward Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Still lingers on the thought of you
Thou it's just a little stain
I was hoping it would fade by now
Thou it's over done and said
It's heavier than lead somehow
It lights a spark, leaves a residue
It's a darkest lullaby, tucks me in but still I lie awake
'Cuz that morning sun will rise
And I hope I'm not the same as yesterday
You would think that I'm okay from the outside looking in
Yes I'm hard on myself but that's just the way I am
So I put it in a box and I keep it locked away
For as long as I can
I picture you alone and you're picking up the pieces
I know I let you down
But I swear I had my reasons to let you go
But I'm just stuck with this purple heart, all red and blue
Still lingers on the thought of you
I know you can't forgive but I don't want to regret
The life I would have lived if I didn't say the things I said
I'll surrender to this purple heart
It's no longer pumping red, this purple heart
The darkest shade of blue, this purple heart
In Lucy Woodward's song Purple Heart, she sings about a heart that's broken and bruised beyond repair, like a purple bruise on the skin. She refers to this heart as a "purple heart" that is all red and blue, indicating the mix of emotions that she feels from the hurt and heartache caused by a past relationship. Despite the passage of time, the singer is unable to let go of this heartache, as it has left a stain that lingers on her mind even when she tries to move on. She describes her feelings as being heavy as lead, leaving a residue, and a spark that continues to burn with all the embers of her past relationship.
The singer's vulnerability and pain are evident in the lyrics, as she confesses her inability to let go of the past despite her attempts to put it behind her. She recognizes that she has hurt the other person and apologizes, hoping that they can forgive her, even if she can't forget the memories of the past.
Woodward beautifully expresses the pain of heartbreak that many of us have encountered in life. Her lyrics capture the essence of how emotional wounds can leave a lasting impact and prevent us from moving on with our lives. The song presents a feeling of surrender, acknowledging that despite the pain, the singer is willing to let the purple heart be and accept that her heart will never be the same again.
Line by Line Meaning
My purple heart, all red and blue
Despite being a symbol of a brave act, it reminds me of the pain you caused me, which is making me sad and contemplative
Still lingers on the thought of you
I can't help but keep thinking about you, even though I know it's over
Thou it's just a little stain
Although it may seem insignificant, the pain you caused me still lingers on
I was hoping it would fade by now
I thought time would help me forget about you, but that hasn't been the case
Thou it's over done and said
Even though we've moved on and it's been a while, the pain is still present
It's heavier than lead somehow
The weight of this heartache is a huge burden to bear
It lights a spark, leaves a residue
The memory of you still has an effect on me and leaves a lasting imprint
It burns in me, all the embers of you
The pain and memory of our relationship still has a hold on me and causes me distress
It's a darkest lullaby, tucks me in but still I lie awake
The memory of you is like a sad lullaby, it puts me to sleep but I end up staying awake, lost in thought
'Cuz that morning sun will rise
I have hope that tomorrow will bring a new day and help me move on
And I hope I'm not the same as yesterday
I hope to continue growing and healing from this pain
You would think that I'm okay from the outside looking in
I might appear fine to others, but internally I'm still struggling
Yes I'm hard on myself but that's just the way I am
I tend to be critical of myself, but it's just part of my personality and how I cope with pain
So I put it in a box and I keep it locked away
I try to hide my pain and emotions from others by bottling them up
For as long as I can
I keep it hidden as long as possible, but eventually it will resurface
I picture you alone and you're picking up the pieces
I imagine you moving on and fixing your life without me
I know I let you down
I'm aware that my actions hurt you and caused damage to our relationship
But I swear I had my reasons to let you go
I had valid reasons for ending our relationship, even though it still haunts me
But I'm just stuck with this purple heart, all red and blue
I'm still dealing with the aftermath of our breakup, despite my best efforts to move on
I know you can't forgive but I don't want to regret
Even though I know you can't forgive me for what I did, I don't want to regret ending things
The life I would have lived if I didn't say the things I said
I wonder what our lives would be like if I hadn't ended our relationship and said the things I did
I'll surrender to this purple heart
I give in to the pain and hurt caused by our relationship
It's no longer pumping red, this purple heart
My heart is no longer filled with love or passion, just pain and sadness
The darkest shade of blue, this purple heart
The weight of our relationship and its aftermath has left me feeling deeply sad and sorrowful
Lyrics © SONGS OF MEDIA CREATURE, FUN ATTIC MUSIC, LLC
Written by: Lucy Woodward, Scott Simons
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind