The lineup of the Los Angeles, California, indie-pop quartet that dog. repr… Read Full Bio ↴The lineup of the Los Angeles, California, indie-pop quartet that dog. represented the flowering of a second generation of musical luminaries: singer/guitarist Anna Waronker was the daughter of famed producer and Warner Bros. head Lenny Waronker, while violinist Petra Haden and her sister bassist Rachel Haden were two of the triplet daughters born to jazz titan Charlie Haden. Friends since high school, the trio first began playing music together in Waronker's bedroom in the early 1990s, with original drummer Maya Rudolph on board until she had to move away for college. Rudolph was replaced by drummer Tony Maxwell in 1992, that dog. issued their debut double seven-inch on the tiny Magnatone Records, quickly becoming a staple of the L.A. club circuit; a flurry of label interest followed, and the group signed with DGC in 1993. that dog.’s self-titled debut LP appeared in 1994; an energetic and quirky punk-pop effort highlighted by sunny harmonies and the intriguing use of violin and cello, the record became a college radio hit, and the light-hearted video for the lead single “Old Timer” even garnered some MTV airplay. The follow-up, Totally Crushed Out!, was issued a year later; a concept album wittily exploring the teen angst of unrequited love (packaged to recall a Sweet Valley High romance novel), the record marked a significant maturity in Waronker’s songwriting, evidenced by tracks like “Ms. Wrong” and “He's Kissing Christian.” A planned Waronker solo project was scheduled to follow, but instead her more pop-oriented material became the basis for the third that dog. record; co-produced by Brad Wood, the stellar Retreat from the Sun appeared in 1997. The band’s breakup was announced that September.

The band reunited in 2017, minus Petra. The reformed group released Old LP in 2019, with original drummer Maya Rudolph rejoining the group as a background vocalist.

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Hawthorne
that dog. Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Driving
Looking for your parents house
Striving
To find a piece of you
And I saw a punk rock show
In a car garage
And I saw you.
Trying

To be strong for you and myself
I was dying
To get a piece of this
And I saw a punk rock show
In a car garage
And I saw you as a child
Visiting while
I saw you.

And I saw a punk rock show
In a car garage
And I saw you as a child visiting while
I saw a punk rock show
In a car garage
And I saw you.
A dream come true (I saw)
A dream come true (I saw)
A dream come true (I saw)

A dream come true (and I saw you)
My dream come true.

Overall Meaning

The song "Hawthorne" by that dog. explores the singer's search for self-identity and connection to their past. The opening lines "Driving/Looking for your parents house/Striving/To find a piece of you" suggest a journey to find one's roots and history. The reference to "parents' house" implies a longing for a sense of belonging and a desire to reconnect with familial ties. This is further underscored by the subsequent line "striving to find a piece of you," where "you" can be interpreted as a part of oneself that is missing or disconnected.

The chorus of the song is anchored around the singer's experience of encountering a punk rock show in a car garage, where they saw the object of their search - symbolized by the line "and I saw you." The repetition of this line evokes a sense of wonder and surprise at finding a connection to the past in an unexpected setting. The reference to "you as a child visiting while" creates a juxtaposition between the present and the past - suggesting that the singer sees themselves in a different light by revisiting a place from their childhood.

The repetition of the line "a dream come true" is a powerful declaration of the significance of this moment - it represents a long-held yearning finally being fulfilled. The dream, in this case, is the singer's search for self-discovery, and the punk rock show in the car garage represents a key moment in which they found a sense of belonging and connection to their past.

Line by Line Meaning

Driving
Starting a journey or search

Looking for your parents house
In search for a particular location or memory

Striving
Pushing oneself to achieve a goal

To find a piece of you
Searching for a missing part of oneself

And I saw a punk rock show
Experiencing a moment of artistic expression

In a car garage
An unconventional yet intimate setting

And I saw you.
Sharing a moment with someone else

Trying
Putting in effort to overcome a challenge

To be strong for you and myself
Working to support oneself and another person

I was dying
Feeling a strong desire for something

To get a piece of this
Yearning to be part of something bigger