She was born in the neighborhood of Greenpoint in Brooklyn, New York City, New York on January 10, 1953 as Patricia Andrzejewski. She graduated from Lindenhurst High on Long Island in 1971. She married her lead guitarist, Neil "Spyder" Geraldo, in 1982, and she has two children, named Haley and Hana.
In 1973, Benatar quit her job as a bank teller to pursue a singing career after being inspired by a Liza Minnelli concert she saw in Richmond. She got a job as a singing waitress at a flapper-esque nightclub named "The Roaring Twenties", and got a gig singing in lounge band Coxon's Army. They garnered enough attention to be the subject of a never-aired PBS special, and the band's bassist, Roger Capps, would go on to be the original bass player for the Pat Benatar band.
This period also yielded Benatar's first solo single – 1974's "Day Gig" – until her eventual major label debut on Chrysalis Records in 1979. The song was released via Trace Records, and was both written and produced by Coxon's Army band leader Phil Coxon.
Benatar's big break came in 1975 at an amateur night at the comedy club "Catch a Rising Star" in New York City. Her rousing rendition of Judy Garland's "Rock-a-Bye Your Baby with a Dixie Melody" earned her a call back by club owner Rick Newman, who would later become her manager.
After many years of producing big budget albums, Neil and Pat have continued to produce albums together, even though they have decided to end their association with major labels. They have chosen instead to place the care of their children above industry demands, and make records at home in their own professional quality studio. Each summer when their girls get out of school for vacation, they all pack up, board a tour bus, and set out to play as many shows as they can fit into the summer months. Pat and Neil maintain a close, and much more personal, relationship with their fans, than they were able to do in 80's during the heights of their commercial success.
http://www.benatargiraldo.com
New Dream Islands
Pat Benatar Lyrics
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Falling though October skies that we brought again
In time
On winds that hint of winter
Blowing through your life you will find no shelter
Or is it answers tonight?
And their fragile walls will never claim you
Hear the distant thunder calling out your name
Crashing like the waves on New Dream Islands
And you search for comfort in a land so fair
Reachin' for those memories that are always there
For you
You can wear your sorrow like a veil of tears
But it's just illusion that you hold so dear
Castles made of sand are built against the rain
And their fragile walls will never save you
Hear the distant thunder calling out your name
Crashing like the waves on New Dream Islands
And the leaves of autumn will remain unchanged.
The lyrics to the song New Dream Islands by Pat Benatar are quite poetic and metaphorical. The first verse depicts the autumn leaves falling from the skies, almost as if they are a reminder of time passing. The winds whispering through one's life offer no shelter or answers to the questions that one may have. The chorus talks about how the castles we build to protect ourselves from the rains of life are fragile and do not offer any true safety. And even though the thunder may call out your name, like waves crashing onto the shore, it may not necessarily provide any real comfort. The second verse hints at the search for comfort in a fair but imaginary land, by reaching for memories which may not always be completely true. The final verse reminds us that all things are impermanent and like autumn leaves, they too will remain unchanged.
Line by Line Meaning
And the leaves of autumn will remain unchanged.
Change is inevitable, but some things remain constant and unchanging, just like the autumn leaves that always fall in October.
Falling though October skies that we brought again. In time.
We often repeat our mistakes and let time unfold the consequences, just like the leaves falling in October skies, which remind us of the past year.
On winds that hint of winter. Blowing through your life you will find no shelter. Or is it answers tonight?
Winter is a time of hardship that blows through our lives, and we often seek answers or shelter from the storms, but they may not come easily or at all.
Castles made of sand are built against the rain. And their fragile walls will never claim you. Hear the distant thunder calling out your name. Crashing like the waves on New Dream Islands.
All the defenses we build to protect ourselves from the storm of life, like castles made of sand, will eventually crumble down. The thunder calling out our name is a reminder of the inevitable crashing of the waves of time against our dreams and aspirations.
And you search for comfort in a land so fair. Reachin' for those memories that are always there. For you.
We often seek comfort in memories of the past, in a land where everything was fair and just. However, we must realize that we can't live in the past, and we must face the present and the future bravely.
You can wear your sorrow like a veil of tears. But it's just illusion that you hold so dear.
We often cling to sadness and pain, like a veil of tears, thinking that they are real and permanent. However, we must realize that they are just illusions that we create and maintain in our minds.
Hear the distant thunder calling out your name. Crashing like the waves on New Dream Islands.
The thunder calling out our name is a reminder of the passage of time and the inevitability of change. Just like the waves crashing on New Dream Islands, everything in life is temporary and constantly changing.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Myron Grombacher, Neil Giraldo
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind