“What if nothing ever will change? / Oh, I’m caught between your love and a hard place.” For Grammy-winning R&B artist H.E.R., she’s got a ‘Catch-22’ on her hands, sigh. Essentially, on this key lyric from “Hard Place,” it’s one of those ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ situations. She’s damned either way on this reflective, thoughtful record from I Used to Know Her (2019) where she must atone for the ‘hard place’ – a sketchy relationship or exiting for her personal well-being sans the select loving moments of the relationship. It’s definitely a tricky spot, but H.E.R.’s agony and pain are the audience’s listening pleasure.
On this smooth, soulful/singer-songwriter styled R&B cut (instrumentation includes acoustic guitar), H.E.R. never gets too high nor too low. She’s calm, cool, and collected; she never seems to perspire, even as she effectively expresses the plight that is love. On the first verse, she tells him, “You’ve been testing my faith and my patience,” later adding, “You know that you be dead wrong / Tell me to relax when I’m reacting.” Even with the flaws she clearly lays out, it’s just not easy for her to kick him to the curb and exit. “Yeah, you hurt me so good, it’s so good,” she sings on the second verse, continuing, “And even when you cause tears / You’re the one who wiped them away / Maybe that’s the reason I stay, stay.”
The big takeaway from “Hard Place” is a relatable one – love is hard. Clearly, the relationship has some toxicity, yet, H.E.R. just can’t seem to leave. If she does, she’ll miss the ‘good hurt’ that she highlights in the second verse. And, as she says herself on the pre-chorus, “I’d rather fight / Than lose sleep at night / At least you’re all mine.” Silver lining?
You can learn more about H.E.R. here:
About The Curator - Brent Faulkner
Slightly eccentric with interests that seem to know no ends, restless ‘Renaissance Man’ is the best way to characterize Brent Faulkner, a native of Kentucky. A certified music educator, multi-instrumentalist, and composer known for his incredibly sharp ear, he lives and breathes music of a variety of styles. In addition to passion for educating, performing, and writing music, he’s equally passionate blogging and writing about it, managing his own site, The Musical Hype (https://themusicalhype.com). When he’s not intensely analyzing music, you can find him reading or watching a movie, reality television or some sporting event.
