Beth Hart Looks To The 'Light'Excerpted from the magazine for Billboard.com.
Beth Hart feels like she has returned from the
dead.
"I've been in some dark, dark places, man. I was
so terrified of becoming successful -- that people
would see who I thought I was, as not good
enough or strong enough," she says. "I just let the
fear take me down. I'm a champion of self-
sabotage."
It has been a long road with many lessons learned
for the confessional singer/songwriter, whose raw,
profoundly personal songs reveal the tortured soul
of a woman who has been to hell and back more
than once.
Now clean and sober after repeated bouts with
substance abuse, Hart is ready to show the world all
that she is capable of accomplishing, through the Koch Entertainment release of her third album, "Leave the
Light On," due Oct. 21.
The 11 songs showcase an uphill journey, marked by the raucous down-and-out enthrall of "Bottle of Jesus" and
metallic garage rock anthem "Broken and Ugly," countered by the stunning beauty of the hopeful piano-driven
title track and the soft ode to reliance, "I'll Stay With You."
"Music has been my loyal friend," 29-year-old Hart says. "No matter how freaked out I was, I could still sit down
and write on the piano. I've been able to work out a lot of the sadness, but more so examine the awe of talking
about things in a positive way."
Hart's first brush with success came with the 1996 release of "Immortal" on Atlantic, which attracted the attention
of such producers as David Foster and Hugh Padgham. The album was not successful, but the label stuck by for
1999's "Screamin' for My Supper," which featured the adult top 40 hit, "L.A. Song," a gripping story song about
moving past failure and deception.
"I had finished recording all of the songs for the album, and I was trying them out at the Mint," an intimate club in
Los Angeles, Hart says. "Then I wrote 'Leave the Light On,' and people started reacting to it immediately. So
Leiber and I worked on it for a couple days, and it turned out to be a beautiful thing."
Hart's return, however, was precipitated by an intensive period of solitary searching.
After her run with Atlantic ended, she retreated behind her fears, developing an addiction to the anxiety
medication klonopin. "I really thought I had to be perfect and always on the ball," Hart confesses. "I was trying so
hard to be someone else, and God forbid anyone see who I truly am. The only way I could deal with it was to be
numb."
One night, Hart mixed alcohol and drugs and made the mistake of getting behind the wheel: "The cops pulled me
over, and I spent the night in lockdown. I figured I was either going to kill myself or be this jailhouse chick. It was
good for me to see that side, because [the police] don't give a sh*t about your woes. It was time to fight for my
life. It was the last time I ever took klonopin."
Fortunately, Hart had good people on her side, including roadie friend Scott Guetzkow. "He is a walking f*cking
miracle," she says. "He took me in, fed me and loved me long enough to love myself." Today, the two are
married.
Hart hopes that the songs on "Leave the Light On" will serve as an example to those battling their own demons.
"I want to tell people what I've been through and inspire them to go for their dreams. It's OK to be who they are
and not hide," she says. "It can be a horrible and dark world, but there are so many angels out there walking
around who want to help people."
"It has been an amazing journey," Hart says. "I've never sold a million records, I've never become a star, but I've
got something better. I became myself."
"Leave The Light On" – Beth Hart
http://mp3.zing.vn/bai-hat/Leave-the-Light-On-New-Recording-Beth-Hart/ZW6ZCCW0.htmlI seen myself with a dirty face,
I __________ my luck with a dirty ace I leave the light on, I leave that light on
I went from zero to __________ ten I drank your wine then I __________ your man
I leave the light on, I leave that light on.
Daddy ain't that bad he just __________ roughI ain't that scarred when I'm __________ up
I leave the light on, I leave that light onLittle girl __________ underneath the bed
was it something I did Must be something I said
I leave the light on, better leave the light on.
I wanna love I wanna __________
I don't know much about it I __________ did
17 and I'm all __________ up inside I cut myself just to feel __________
I leave the light on, I leave that light on
__________on the run,on the run,on the run,from myself, from myself and __________
I leave the light on, Better leave the light on.
Cause I wanna love And I wanna __________
I don't know much about it And I __________ did,
I don't know what to do, can the damage be __________I __________ to God that I'd never be what I've
become
Lucky stars and fairy __________I'm gonna __________ myself in a wishin' well
Pretty scars from __________ I...never will forget, I...never will forget
I'm still afraid to be __________ wish that moon would follow me home
I leave the light on, I leave that light on
I ain't that bad I'm just __________ up I ain't that sad but I'm sad enough
Cause I wanna love And I wanna __________
I don't know much about it And I __________ did,
I don't know what to do, can the damage be __________
I __________ to God that I'd never be what I've become
na na na na na na na na... I leave that light, I leave that light, I leave that light on
God bless the child with the dirty face, __________ cuts her luck with a dirty ace She leaves the light on,
I leave that light on
1. Listen to the song and complete its lyrics.
2. What do you achieve after you’ve read the article above?
3. What is the meaning of the term “Leave the light on”?
4. Check notes and look up your dictionary to find the meaning of new words.