1) Wild Strawberries i… Read Full Bio ↴There are two bands called Wild Strawberries:
1) Wild Strawberries is a Canadian pop band made up of married couple Roberta Carter Harrison (vocals) and Ken Harrison. Interestingly, the former is a physiotherapist and the latter is a doctor. They have released a number of albums, their latest being Deformative Years in 2005.
The band's early releases were produced independently, leading to the creation of the Strawberry Records label. After the successful Bet You Think I'm Lonely album, the band partnered with Nettwerk for the production of their albums. Two albums were released under that label; a third album, Twist, was initially sponsored by Nettwerk, but creative differences resulted in the dissolution of the partnership.
The band has since eliminated all dependence on record labels, preferring instead independent production and promotion; the band has adopted a strategy to promote themselves directly to fans. With the release of the album Deformative Years, the band simultaneously released a web film, essentially a music video for the internet. The costs of producing this video were substantially lower than a music video production for television music stations, such as MTV or MuchMusic.
The success of Bet You Think I'm Lonely also earned the band a Juno Award nomination for Best New Band.
2) Popular Bosnian hard rock/heavy metal band originally known as Divlje Jagode (which means Wild Strawberries in Bosnian). They have recorded several albums in Bosnian and one in English by this name.
After a sold-out concert in the "OTV Dom" in Zagreb, they have signed the exclusive contract with Goeff Hunnington, owner of the "Logo Records" (most famous by the launching of the career of "Eurythmics"). They got an additional member on keyboards, Don Airey, who was in bands like "Rainbow", "Whitesnake", "Coloseum II", "The Cozy POwell Band" and more recently "Deep Purple". The producer of the album, the album that was recorded in famous London studio "Matrix", was Keith Woolvin; who also produced "Thin Lizzy" at that time. Their tour mananger was Rayner Jason; Nick Cave's manager. The album was released in 1986. It was sold in Great Britain, Italy, Germany and Holland.
Their final concert in England was held at the famous "Marquee" club.
Hollywood
Wild Strawberries Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Sitting outside Thistletown Laundry at night
That looks like me between the Holly twins
Singing hey ho this is your life
And there's old Ruby and her worn out magazines
And the guy we called Joe Cinnamon who's polishing his speech
Hey it looks like Hollywood
Hey it looks like Hollywood
And they ran the local five and dime
My mama told me that the other twin
Got a teaching job at Thistletown High
But me and Ruby and her worn out magazines
Jumped a box car on the western line by ol' Cole Martin's stream
Well me and Ruby had big plans
Gonna' move to the city gonna' be larger than life
Just like the girl beside the Marlboro man
And the pretty lady in the Ivory ad
Thistletown, Indiana is no place for me
Give me miles and miles of neon signs and flashy magazines
Me, I sold my camera for a string of beads
And Ruby sold he mother's china figurines
I got a picture of Ruby and me
Selling candy bars at the Roxy
The guy who took it called us calendar girls
And he said someday he'd make us famous
But me and Ruby never made no magazines
All we got was just a cold recurrent broken bottle dream
The song “Hollywood” by Wild Strawberries tells the story of the singer’s dreams to leave Thistletown, Indiana and make it big in Hollywood. The lyrics start with a picture of the singer and their friends outside Thistletown Laundry at night, with a reference to the Holly twins. The singer then talks about old Ruby and her worn-out magazines and the guy they called Joe Cinnamon, who is polishing his speech. The scene looks like Hollywood, hence the repeated chorus of “hey, it looks like Hollywood”.
Joe Cinnamon married one of the Holly twins and they ran the local five and dime, while the other twin got a teaching job at Thistletown High. In contrast, the singer and Ruby jumped a boxcar on the Western line by ol' Cole Martin's stream. They had big plans to move to the city and be larger than life, just like the girl beside the Marlboro man and the pretty lady in the Ivory ad. Thistletown, Indiana was no place for them, as they wanted miles and miles of neon signs and flashy magazines.
However, they never made it big. The singer sold their camera for a string of beads, and Ruby sold her mother’s china figurines. They were just calendar girls to a guy who took their picture while selling candy bars at the Roxy. The repeated chorus of “hey, it looks like Hollywood” contrasts with the irony of their broken dreams, symbolized by the recurring image of Ruby’s worn-out magazines. The song highlights the gap between the aspirational glamorized image of Hollywood and the reality of the singer and Ruby’s unfulfilled dreams.
Line by Line Meaning
I got a picture of my friends and me
The persona has a photograph of them and their friends in his possession.
Sitting outside Thistletown Laundry at night
The picture was taken in front of the laundry facility in Thistletown, Indiana at night time.
That looks like me between the Holly twins
The persona is situated between two women called the Holly twins in the picture.
Singing hey ho this is your life
The persona and their friends are enjoying themselves and the moment while singing "hey ho this is your life".
And there's old Ruby and her worn out magazines
Ruby, who is one of the persona's friends, has some old magazines in the picture.
And the guy we called Joe Cinnamon who's polishing his speech
Joe, one of the persona's friends, is practicing his public speaking skills in the picture.
Hey it looks like Hollywood
The picture looks like something that would be seen in Hollywood, California.
Joe married one of the Holly twins
Joe ended up marrying one of the Holly twins.
And they ran the local five and dime
Joe and his wife ran the town's dime store.
My mama told me that the other twin
The persona's mother informed the persona that the other Holly twin got a teaching job at Thistletown High school.
Got a teaching job at Thistletown High
The other Holly twin ended up getting employed as a teacher at Thistletown High school.
But me and Ruby and her worn out magazines
The persona and Ruby plan to leave Thistletown, Indiana to make a better life for themselves elsewhere.
Jumped a box car on the western line by ol' Cole Martin's stream
The persona and Ruby hopped onto a train via the western line by Cole Martin's stream to depart from Thistletown, Indiana.
Well me and Ruby had big plans
The persona and Ruby had grand aspirations for their future.
Gonna' move to the city gonna' be larger than life
The persona and Ruby intended to move to the city and live a bigger and more fulfilling life than what Thistletown, Indiana had to offer.
Just like the girl beside the Marlboro man
The persona and Ruby had dreams of becoming famous, like the woman in the advertisement for Marlboro cigarettes.
And the pretty lady in the Ivory ad
The persona and Ruby also had aspirations of being featured in a promotional ad like the lady in the Ivory soap advertisement.
Thistletown, Indiana is no place for me
The persona feels like Thistletown, Indiana isn't the right place for them to thrive in life.
Give me miles and miles of neon signs and flashy magazines
The persona desires to be somewhere with lots of bright and glitzy appeal, such as a city filled with neon lights and flashy magazine advertisements.
Me, I sold my camera for a string of beads
The persona, in the pursuit of their dreams, sold their camera in exchange for beads.
And Ruby sold he mother's china figurines
Ruby also sold some of her mother's china figurines as a way to obtain money for their escape from Thistletown.
I got a picture of Ruby and me
The persona ended up with another photograph of him and Ruby.
Selling candy bars at the Roxy
In the new picture, the persona and Ruby are selling candy bars at a place called The Roxy.
The guy who took it called us calendar girls
The person who took the photo referred to the persona and Ruby as calendar girls.
And he said someday he'd make us famous
The photographer promised that someday, he would make the persona and Ruby famous.
But me and Ruby never made no magazines
In the end, the persona and Ruby never became actual calendar girls or stars in magazines like they had hoped and dreamed.
All we got was just a cold recurrent broken bottle dream
All the persona and Ruby were left with was a depressing and resentful dream that never materialized.
Contributed by William Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.