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
Tradin' Down
Pat Benatar Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And the walls look high
'Til you step away
Ain't it funny how you can look around
And never see the truth
'Til it knocks you down
Never see the light
'Til you're tradin down
Work hard labor for your daily bread
While the golden dream spins around your head
Time gets money, money buys you time
For the foolish things that you left behind
Workin workin overtime
And tradin down
It's gunna be alright (he said)
It's gunna be alright
There's nothing that's here for us
That we won't mind missin
There's no future for thw workin man
See him growin old in the promised land
Nothin to show for the wasted years
But a heart full of hollow
And a taste of tears
Pushin Monday to the wall and
Tradin' down...
The opening lines of Pat Benatar's "Tradin' Down" describe a town with "shades of gray" that feel confining, represented by walls that look "high." It's only when one "steps away" that they can see the truth, which is often hiding in plain sight. Benatar laments how it's "funny how you can look around and never see the truth 'til it knocks you down," which suggests that sometimes people need a wake-up call to notice the stark realities of their lives. She repeats the phrase "Never see the light 'til you're tradin' down," which could mean that only when one experiences loss or hardship do they realize what they had, or how they weren't appreciating what they had.
The lyrics go on to talk about people working hard for money to maintain a certain standard of living. Benatar speaks of the "golden dream" that spins around people's heads as they work, but they're only able to keep up this lifestyle by trading down in other areas of their lives. They may be sacrificing their time, or working overtime, to keep up with their bills and expenses. The chorus reassures that "it's gunna be alright," perhaps as a way to persuade these working-class individuals that they're doing what they need to do to get by.
Line by Line Meaning
We paint this town in shades of gray
We create a monotonous life for ourselves.
And the walls look high
Our problems appear huge and unconquerable.
'Til you step away
Until you remove yourself from the situation.
Ain't it funny how you can look around
Isn't it strange how we can be oblivious to what's happening around us?
And never see the truth
And not realize the reality of our situation.
'Til it knocks you down
Until something bad happens to make us realize the truth.
Never see the light
We don't see the positives in our current situation.
'Til you're tradin down
Until you've given up what you had before for something worse.
Work hard labor for your daily bread
Working hard to survive.
While the golden dream spins around your head
While dreams of success occupy our thoughts.
Time gets money, money buys you time
Time is valuable and money can buy us opportunities.
For the foolish things that you left behind
For the things we gave up for the wrong reasons.
Workin workin overtime
Working excessively to achieve our goals.
And tradin down
Only to end up with something worse.
It's gunna be alright (he said)
We are promised that everything will be okay.
It's gunna be alright
We are reassured that everything will work out in the end.
There's nothing that's here for us
There's nothing in our current situation that we truly want.
That we won't mind missin
Things we can let go without regret.
There's no future for thw workin man
There's no hope for those who work tirelessly to survive.
See him growin old in the promised land
Watching the years pass by with little to show for it.
Nothin to show for the wasted years
All those years of hard work have resulted in little reward.
But a heart full of hollow
Feeling empty despite everything we've accomplished.
And a taste of tears
Being reminded of our failures and disappointments.
Pushin Monday to the wall and
Fighting against the monotony of our daily routines.
Tradin' down...
Only to end up with something worse.
Contributed by Jasmine K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.