Hymn To Her by Pretenders

Album: Get Close (1986)

Charted: 8

License This Song

lyrics

artistfacts

Songfacts®:

"Hymn To Her" is about a woman carrying on through the pain with persistence. Bad things happen, but she remains strong.

The title, which doesn't appear in the lyric, is a play on the phrase "him to her." The song is like a hymn in that it's a form of praise, but unlike a traditional hymn that praises God, it's for this woman, which really can be womankind in general.
This song was written by Meg Keene, a friend from Pretenders frontwoman Chrissie Hynde's school days in Akron, Ohio. As teenagers, they had been close, but life took them in different directions, and they lost touch for over a decade. One day, someone handed Hynde a tape - not a polished demo, just Meg Keene playing piano and singing. The songs on it floored her. Hynde tracked her down and asked if she could record one of them. That tune became "Hymn to Her."

It's one of the few Pretenders songs from the '80s that Hynde didn't write.
Many Americans aren't familiar with this song, but it was a substantial hit internationally, reaching #8 in the UK and charting in several other countries. In America, it was issued with the title "Hymn To Her (She Will Always Carry On)," and it got hardly any attention. Gentle songs about the inner strength of a woman weren't exactly trending there in 1986, when dance pop from Madonna and Janet Jackson ruled the charts.
"Hymn To Her" is part of the fourth Pretenders album, Get Close, produced by Jimmy Iovine and Bob Clearmountain. The biggest hit from the album was "Don't Get Me Wrong," which went to #10 in the US. The band didn't release another album until 1990 with Packed!, which didn't go over very well. On their next album, Last of the Independents in 1994, they got some help from the outside writing team of Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly, resulting in the hits "I'll Stand By You" and "Night In My Veins."
"Hymn To Her" got a music video that shows the band performing in a warehouse on a winter night. By this time the Pretenders weren't getting much airplay on MTV but there were plenty of outlets in other parts of the world that played it.

Comments: 4

Bob from Oakland, CaThe title plays off of a song title from Lerner & Loewe's "My Fair Lady," "A Hymn to Him," which asks "Why can't a woman be more like a man?"
Alyson Black from London, EnglandYes indeed, this song is about the Goddess. Ms Hynde is said to be a Pagan. It's a beautiful song.
Christina from Staten Island, NyI fully agree Ceci it's a beautiful song dedicated to her as well.
Ceci from Kansas City, MoThis is a song for the Goddess, hence the maiden, mother and crone reference. Also, "I dress as your daughter, when the moon becomes round" referring to full moon ritual. It is pagan, Thank Goddess.

see more comments

More Songfacts:

Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)Edison Lighthouse

The love is growing in the '70s hit "Love Grows (Where My Rosemary Goes)" because rosemary is the name of an herb.

Run Like HellPink Floyd

Pink Floyd's "Run Like Hell" was released as a single in America because it has a catchy beat, but the lyrics describe a reign of terror instigated by the despot Pink, the main character in the concept album The Wall.

Killer QueenQueen

The Queen song "Killer Queen," according to lead singer Freddie Mercury, is about a high-class call girl.

Careless WhisperWham!

George Michael was 17 and on a bus to his job at the cinema when he came up with the idea for "Careless Whisper" and the lyrics, "Something in your eyes calls to mind a silver screen."

Blinded By The LightBruce Springsteen

Bruce Springsteen wrote "Blinded By The Light," which was a #1 hit for Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The "Madman Drummers" line is a reference to Springsteen's first E-Street drummer, Vinnie "Mad dog" Lopez.

When I'm 64The Beatles

In The Beatles' "When I'm 64," Paul McCartney asks a woman if she'll still be there for him when he's 64. In 2006, he got his answer when shortly before his 64th birthday, he and Heather Mills separated.