I just love this song by Lilly Hiatt, with its great tunes, rousing sing-along chorus, and powerful, moving words. The trick of using a historical event, Bowie’s death, to wrap the song around works well to make the song very memorable. I like the video, with Hiatt wearing Aladdin Sane face paint, too. The words, addressed to the partner that Hiatt had recently split from, come right from her heart.
She starts with “I wanted to call you the night David Bowie died/ But I just sat in my room and cried”. She then tells, over a chugging rock riff, of her bitter, searing regret that the relationship has ended, accepting some responsibility and hoping that they can get back together again: “I’m sorry I was such a bitch that night in the city/ Baby, I want ya back”. In then comes the chorus “’Cause I, I realize what I screwed up/ I love you baby, what we had it was good enough”. The second verse then sounds so much like what someone might say to try to start to patch things up – it has a real authenticity: “I see you got your place all cleaned up now/ Must be nice to have me out/ I know you’re finding hairs on the mattress and stuff/ I left a few things over there/ maybe I could keep them there/ I’m sorry it got rough”
The track is from her excellent 2017 album, “Trinity Lane” , which deals with the trials, tribulations and loves of her early thirties. She had stopped drinking five years earlier and had felt challenged by this in the wake of her break-up. This was a period of self-reflection while living alone in her new East Nashville apartment, where she realised that some of the self-destructive traits that she had as an addict didn’t go away when she stopped drinking.
“Trinity Lane” followed “Let Down” (2014) and “Royal Blue” (2015). It is much rockier than either of these, both of which have a real country flavour and showcase Hiatt’s superb country vocals. Hiatt said that “Trinity Lane” drew on her love of 90s rock bands like The Pixies and Dinosaur Jr. Other belters on it are the title track, ‘I Wanna Go Home’, and the joyous ‘Records’, where Hiatt writes a love song to the music that has never let her down. However, the whole album is strong, with some very nice lower-key songs such as ‘So Much You Don’t Know’, and with a country influence still heard from time to time.
This was followed by the pop-rock gem “Living Proof” (2020), crammed with sweet tunes and driven by Hiatt’s beautiful vocals. Our own Martin Johnson wrote: “Lilly Hiatt has made the best album of her career and is helping to forge a new sound and direction in Nashville music, while still honouring the best traditions of that city”. “Lately” (2021), written in the pandemic, then went back to a gentler sound. Her latest offering, “Forever” (2025), offers more sweetly melodic rock tunes with some country at times – it is very well worth a listen if you have enjoyed Hiatt’s music in the past.
