Hazel

Album: This Can't Be My Life (2010)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Gerson, who is a singer/songwriter from New York City, graduated from Princeton in 1992 and toured as an opening act for Dave Matthews, Suzanne Vega, Steven Wright and Roger McGuinn. An abusive relationship led to the very personal songs on This Can't Be My Life, which she completed in 2007 but held back until 2010 so she could care for her daughters, who were ages 5 and 2 at the time. Gerson told us: "'Hazel' is a song about my younger daughter and may be my favorite song on the album, mostly because of work Dave Amels did on it (keys). I think, as an artist, sometimes listening to your own work and enjoying hearing it back can be a challenge. When I listen to 'Hazel' I can stay in the moment of the song and just hear it, it's beautiful, and expresses everything I wanted it to." (Ruth's website is ruthgerson.com.)

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Lita Ford

Lita FordSongwriter Interviews

Lita talks about how they wrote songs in The Runaways, and how she feels about her biggest hit being written by somebody else.

Metallica

MetallicaFact or Fiction

Beef with Bon Jovi? An unfortunate Spandex period? See if you can spot the true stories in this Metallica version of Fact or Fiction.

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

P.F. Sloan

P.F. SloanSongwriter Interviews

P.F. was a teenager writing hits and playing on tracks for Jan & Dean when he wrote a #1 hit that got him blackballed.

Kerry Livgren of Kansas

Kerry Livgren of KansasSongwriter Interviews

In this talk from the '80s, the Kansas frontman talks turning to God and writing "Dust In The Wind."

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)

Bands Named After Real People (Who Aren't In The Band)Song Writing

How a gym teacher, a janitor, and a junkie became part of some very famous band names.