Lucette Stranded On The Island

Album: Have You in My Wilderness (2015)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Julia Holter sings here of a woman that wakes up on a Balearic island, badly wounded and strewn with cactus leaves. As the song proceeds, she explores the woman's flickering consciousness.
  • The song is based on a minor character from a Colette short story. Holter explained to Mojo: "Lucette is just this side character – she runs away with a Russian Prince and they have this affair, and they are on this cruise and he ends up stealing her jewels and hitting her and then leaves her on this island. She dies of blood poisoning, it's really awful – but it's part of this kind of funny short story by Colette, which is not supposed to be gruesome."

    "I was interested in the state of waking up from being unconscious in an unknown place. I wanted to make a song that was kind of grotesque that captures that moment of confusion and gradually the mind gets to remember what happens, and you start to see things emerge more clearly."
  • Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (1873-1954) was a French novelist, whose best known work, the 1944 novella Gigi, was the basis for the Leslie Caron-starring musical film and Lerner and Loewe stage production of the same name. Julia Holter's 2013 album Loud City Song was her own loose interpretation of Gigi - both the musical and the original novella.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)

Chad Channing (Nirvana, Before Cars)Songwriter Interviews

Chad tells tales from his time as drummer for Nirvana, and talks about his group Before Cars.

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song Titles

Spot The Real Red Hot Chili Peppers Song TitlesMusic Quiz

The Red Hot Chili Peppers have some rather unusual song titles - see if you can spot the real ones.

Commercials

CommercialsFact or Fiction

Was "Ring Of Fire" really used to sell hemorrhoid cream?

Which Songs are About Drugs?

Which Songs are About Drugs?Fact or Fiction

"25 or 6 to 4" to "Semi-Charmed Life" - see if you can spot the songs that are really about drugs.

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New York

Janis Ian: Married in London, but not in New YorkSong Writing

Can you be married in one country but not another? Only if you're part of a gay couple. One of the first famous singers to come out as a lesbian, Janis wrote a song about it.

Sam Hollander

Sam HollanderSongwriter Interviews

The hitmaking songwriter/producer Sam Hollander with stories about songs for Weezer, Panic! At The Disco, Train, Pentatonix, and Fitz And The Tantrums.