Penelope Houston (born December 17, 1958 in Los Angeles, California) is an … Read Full Bio ↴Penelope Houston (born December 17, 1958 in Los Angeles, California) is an American singer-songwriter and singer for the San Francisco-based punk rock band The Avengers. She was born in L.A. and raised in Seattle. In the mid-1970s she attended Fairhaven College in Bellingham, Washington. She became known for telling people in the dorm to turn down their music. In 1977, Houston moved to San Francisco, attended the San Francisco Art Institute and shortly thereafter became the lead singer and songwriter for the Avengers. The Avengers released only one posthumous album, their eponymous debut in 1983. Following the group's demise in 1979, Houston left the punk music scene and stopped recording music for several years. The album is now out of print, although two retrospective collections have been released.

Houston returned to music in the mid 1980s. As a solo artist, she distanced herself from her punk roots, instead exploring folk music and folk rock. Her first full-length album was Birdboys which came out in 1987. Her most recent album is 2004's The Pale Green Girl.

Shortly after the release of Pale Green Girl, Houston and original guitarist Greg Ingraham recreated the Avengers, adding bassist Joel Reader (formerly of The Mr. T Experience, currently of the Plus Ones) and drummer Luis Illades (formerly of Pansy Division, currently also of the Plus Ones) to round out the lineup. Since the spring of 2004 she has toured the U.S. and Europe with this lineup.

Sweetheart
Penelope Houston Lyrics

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Somebody tell somebody else lies like an avalanche they're gonna make you cry
Everybody knows when you've been wrong.
I remember our love was born hanging laundry in a lightening storm
hid in the cellar as long as we could.
Well the corn ran out and the water ran out
and we had to come out when the honey ran out.
out of the forest and in to the woods.

Sweetheart they're gonna talk about us
Well I say “Live and let die”
Sweetheart they're gonna talk about us
Well I say “Live and let die”

Will my lucky star shine down tonight
on a sleeping town in a northern light
shut my eyes I can see their words fall down
I Lay my head on a pillow of stone
wrap myself in a sinners robe.
sticks and stones, I'm gonna build myself a home
with their sticks and stones, I'm gonna build my home

Sweetheart they're gonna talk about us
Well I say “Live and let die”
Sweetheart they're gonna talk about us
Well I say “Live and let die”

Somebody tell somebody else lies like an avalanche they're gonna make you cry
Everybody knows when you've been wrong.
Will my lucky star shine down tonight
on a sleeping town in a northern light
shut my eyes I can see their words fall down
sticks and stones, I'm gonna build myself a home
with their sticks and stones, I'm gonna build my home

Sweetheart they're gonna talk about us
Well I say “Live and let die”
Sweetheart they're gonna talk about us
Well I say “Live and let die”
Sweetheart

Sweetheart
Sweetheart

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Penelope Houston's song "Sweetheart" describe a situation where someone has been hurt by lies that someone else has spread. Houston sings about how everybody knows when a person has been wronged in this way. She then reminisces about the time she and her lover first fell in love, which happened to be during a lightning storm when they were hanging laundry. They hid together in a cellar until they had to come out because they ran out of food and water. They made their way out of the forest and into the woods. The lyrics then return to the present with Houston singing about the idea that people will talk about them, but she says, "live and let die," indicating that she is not concerned with what people say about her.

In the second verse, Houston questions whether her lucky star will shine down on her while she is in a sleeping town in a northern light. She imagines the words people say falling down around her like rain. But despite this, she declares her determination to build herself a home out of the sticks and stones that are thrown at her. The final chorus repeats the idea that people will talk about them, but Houston once again says, "live and let die."

Overall, the song Sweetheart is about how people can be hurt by the lies that others tell about them, but with determination and resilience, they can build themselves up even stronger out of the adversity they face. It is a message of strength and resilience in the face of adversity.

Line by Line Meaning

Somebody tell somebody else lies like an avalanche they're gonna make you cry
If someone begins telling lies to others about you, those lies will quickly build up and come crashing down like an avalanche, causing you pain and distress.

Everybody knows when you've been wrong.
Everyone around you is aware when you have been in the wrong or made a mistake.

I remember our love was born hanging laundry in a lightening storm hid in the cellar as long as we could.
I recall that our love first came to fruition while we were both hanging laundry during a thunderstorm, and we took shelter in the cellar until it was safe to come out.

Well the corn ran out and the water ran out and we had to come out when the honey ran out. out of the forest and in to the woods.
When our resources were depleted, we had no choice but to leave our current location and venture into the unknown wilderness.

Sweetheart they're gonna talk about us Well I say “Live and let die” Sweetheart they're gonna talk about us Well I say “Live and let die”
People will inevitably gossip and spread rumors about us, but I believe in living life without letting those negative opinions affect us.

Will my lucky star shine down tonight on a sleeping town in a northern light shut my eyes I can see their words fall down I Lay my head on a pillow of stone wrap myself in a sinners robe. sticks and stones, I'm gonna build myself a home with their sticks and stones, I'm gonna build my home
I wonder if fortune will be on my side, while I lie in a place illuminated by the aurora borealis - I close my eyes and imagine the negative remarks that others make falling harmlessly away from me. Despite these jibes, I will continue to persist and create a comfortable and happy life for myself.

Sweetheart
An expression of affection directed to a loved one.

Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS

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